After breakout freshman season, Hawaii’s Pofele Ashlock hungry for more

When the University of Hawaii football team opened up fall practice in 2023, Pofele Ashlock was still biding his time in the shadows.

Ashlock, a native of Euless, Texas, tore his ACL as a high school senior and redshirted his true freshman year of college in 2022, joining UH as a lightly recruited prospect.

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In the first game of his collegiate career, Ashlock introduced himself in a big way, hauling in seven passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 loss at Vanderbilt. He followed that up with eight catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns against Stanford, earning back-to-back Freshman of the Week honors from the Mountain West.

All told, Ashlock finished with 83 receptions for 832 yards and nine touchdowns, earning freshman All-American status.

On Wednesday, Ashlock was sporting No. 5 to open fall camp, his third jersey number since joining the program. The sophomore exuded confidence on the field, knowing that he won’t catch opponents by surprise anymore.

“Confidence is through the roof, I didn’t have any snaps (before) last year so it was a little shaky but I knew what I was capable of. The feeling of it now, it’s just being comfortable in knowing what I know and I know within myself it’s gonna be a way better season,” Ashlock said following practice on Wednesday. Really excited for it, can’t wait to keep going.

“Just seeing how everyone has grown up and matured as a group together. Communication with all of us is in sync.”

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Among the newcomers on the field on Wednesday was freshman wide receiver Jarvis “Dino” Heimuli, Ashlock’s younger brother.

“This has always been our dream,” Ashlock said. “We always worked towards our dream. We’ve been in the background, we’ve been in the slums real-life working. It’s been amazing coming home over here, it’s at ease for us. There’s bigger dreams for us now. It’s been amazing having him around, showing him. Sometimes I get to teach him something and I didn’t even (look at it that way), so it’s been amazing for both of us and I know he’s taking it way better than I did when I first came here. It’s gonna be amazing. I’m really happy for him.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Hawaii will enter the 2024 season with a sense of continuity. Beyond his younger brother, Ashlock is striving to pass off what he knows to those under him.

“For the receivers, it does a lot of things for us. We’re not limited in anything. If you have guys that are willing to learn what it takes, you will get things right. For me, it just took time,” Ashlock said. “Offseason practice, bonding without football. We really dialed in together as a whole.”