Hawaii's Esera to East-West Shrine
Hawaii left tackle Tala Esera has accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Game, Jan. 20 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
"I'm kind of nervous because I don't know what to expect," Esera said. "But I think there will be some other (UH players) there, too."
Esera's stock rose steadily during Hawaii's 10-3 regular season, in which he helped anchor the nation's statistically best offense. One scout said Esera was graded a potential free agent before the season started, but is now considered a likely third-round draft choice.
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UH offensive line assistant Dennis McKnight does.
"He's the best offensive tackle I've seen on film this year. He should be at the Senior Bowl," McKnight said. "The East-West Shrine Game is a helluva opportunity and he is very deserving."
Esera replaces Warriors teammate Samson Satele, who had a Shrine Game invitation, but opted for the Senior Bowl instead.
"Tala was next in line at tackle, so he had a good chance of making it anyway," Shrine Game board member John Murphy said.
Esera came to UH from Kahuku High School in 2002 as a defensive tackle, but was moved to offense before the start of the 2003 season. He has started 41 consecutive games and was named to the All-WAC first team earlier this week.
Esera also received UH's Most Inspirational Player award at Sunday's banquet.
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