High School
Maiava attended Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Hawaii on the island of Maui. His junior year, he had 157 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 8 sacks. Before his senior season, Maiava nearly transferred to Kahuku High School on the island of Oahu, where his uncle was an assistant coach, to get more attention at a program known for its NFL alumni; however, his strong performance in football camps on the mainland influenced him to remain at Baldwin. His senior year, he had 147 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 5 blocked kicks, as well as a punt return for a TD. As a student, he achieved a 3.6 grade point average and an SAT score of 1010 (old scoring system). He modeled himself after Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Considered the top recruit coming out of Hawaii and one of the top prospects at the linebacker position, Maiava was heavily recruited. A number of major programs offered him scholarships, including UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Utah, BYU, Wisconsin, Colorado, Arizona and UTEP; however, he was not strongly recruited by the University of Hawaii, then under June Jones. His final three choices were USC, UCLA and Colorado. In the summer before his senior year, while attending camps on the mainland, he was invited to make an official visit to UCLA. Impressed by their facilities and coaching staff, he made a soft verbal commitment to UCLA in July 2004. However, Maiava decided to visit other programs and eventually drawn to USC, where he was attracted to the energy of the players and coaches, the program's popularity and the Hollywood atmosphere. He committed to USC on October 11, 2004; he joined the same class as fellow Trojans linebacker Brian Cushing. He is the first player from Maui to play for USC.
In February 2005, the Council of the County of Maui honored him with a resolution congratulating him for all of his high school football achievements.
Read more about this topic: Kaluka Maiava
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