NFL draft a special one for Rebel assistant

Last weekend’s NFL draft provided a special moment for UNLV’s football coaching staff when running back Frank “The Tank” Summers was selected in the fifth round by the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. That meant the Rebels had one more player picked in the 2009 draft than schools like UCLA, Washington, Stanford and Boise State and tied UNLV with Notre Dame and Miami.

Jimmy Morimoto, UNLV’s assistant recruiting coordinator, had even more reason to smile.

The Cleveland Browns in the fourth round drafted one of Morimoto’s former players from Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii, USC linebacker Kaluka Maiava, the 2009 Rose Bowl MVP.

Morimoto was defensive coordinator at Baldwin in 2004 when Maiava earned Gatorade state player of the year honors. The Bears’ defense allowed an average of just three points and 112 yards per game that year.

“He’s the first player ever drafted from Maui,” Morimoto said. “That’s huge for the island.”

Maiava will be playing linebacker alongside former UNLV star Beau Bell and also on the same defense as former Rebel corner Eric Wright.

Although Maiava is the first football player from Maui to be drafted by the NFL, the island known more for its sunny beaches and lush tourist resorts has produced two current Major League baseball stars, Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Kurt Suzuki of the Oakland A’s.

And UNLV redshirt freshman guard offensive guard Sean Tesoro, listed as a starter for the Rebels at the end of spring practice, is another Baldwin High product who played for Morimoto.