Bears Lead Nation With Five Signed Players in 2026 Polynesian Bowl
Tied with USC, Texas A&M and Oregon with five players a piece named to the annual classic, future Bears QB Nainoa Lopes, TE Taimane Purcell, OG Kamo'i Huihui-White and Esaiah Wong and DT Nemyah Telona took the field in tonight's 2026 Polynesian Bowl All-American game in Honolulu, won by the Mauka squad, 14-3 in a low scoring affair.
Purcell started tonight for the Mauka squad with Huihui-White playing second team. Even though Purcell was arguably the top tight end in practice this week with his combination of speed, fluidity and sure hands, the Kamehameha TE didn’t see many balls come his way tonight. Huihui-White is a teammate of fellow St. Louis-Honolulu QB Lopes.
“He's great” the future Bear said of his future QB. “You know, he’s everything you look for in a QB.”
He’s gotten a bit of a chance to meet new head coach Tosh Lupoi and is also happy that the OL coach who recruited him has been retained by the Bears with the new staff.
“When I went on an unofficial visit to Cal, I got to meet Tosh,” Huihui-White said. “He's a good guy. And then there’s Coach Anae. I’m excited to play for him. It's a great coaching staff, and I'm excited to be there. I’ll just be working and making new friends.”
Describing the strength of his game, Huihui-White noted: “You’ve got to have that mindset of winning and trusting your technique.”
The Makai squad featured QB Lopes splitting reps with Texas A&M 4 star signee Helaman Casuga. The future Bear wasn’t given a lot of time to throw and when he did, many of the play calls were for short outlet passes. One of his linemen, OG Esaiah Wong, shared second team duties, getting practice blocking for his future QB.
Wong is also happy to have his OL coach back and is impressed so far with the new staff.
“Coach Tosh is a good coach, too,” Wong said. “He’s brought a lot of good people around.”
The future Bear’s enjoyed getting to know his future teammates better, getting a jump start on his transition as he, Huihui-White, Lopes and Purcell will all make the trip to Berkeley on Saturday and Sunday and enroll at Cal for classes starting next week.
“I have, mostly I got a little closer to some of the Cal signees and then a lot of the poly boys who aren't from Hawaii (like future teammate Telona),” Wong said of enjoying getting to know his future teammates.
De La Salle Spartan DT Telona started for the Makai squad and was consistently physical at the point of attack, with a low, strong base.
“It was great throughout the week,” Telona said. “We were getting active, less hitting, but it was great being able to get closer to the guys and just bonding over the week.
It was great going against good competition, going against guys that are bringing it to me. It's always a great challenge for me, I just took it on the chin. I was just glad to be there.”
Telona is excited about the opportunity to be playing under fellow De La Salle Spartan and Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi.
“He texted me a while back,” Telona said. “You know, it's really, really great to be able to be coached by him.”
His relationship with the Cal staff and OL coach Famika Anae has continued without a bump in the road.
“Nothing new,” Telona said. “They said they're gonna keep everything the same, you know, just hit the books, get active on my own time, just hit the weight room and make sure I stay in shape.
As for the incoming Cal DT’s strengths?
“As a defensive lineman, I’d say my run stop game,” Telona said. “I feel like I'm heavy-based and I get good extension, and I'm able to read off my keys.
For what he’s looking forward to at his arrival to Cal in the summer,
Telona said, “Just learning the game plan, getting active off and on the field, and just getting closer to the culture of California football.
Telona was also excited to hear about the Bears latest addition to the DL staff, former Cal and NFL great Lorenzo Alexander.
“He's great,” the future Bear said. “You know, being able to be coached by someone that's already made it there and that knows what they're doing. I'm really glad to be there.”
Related:
Bear Insider Video: Frosh Cal QB Nainoa Lopes
Bear Insider Video: Incoming Cal and Polynesian Bowl TE Taimane Purcell
