BOULDER — One of the best success stories coming out of the Colorado football program in 2007 won’t have another chapter.
Kai Maiava, who went from being the last recruit offered a scholarship to earning freshman All-America mention at offensive guard 10 months later, said Wednesday he will leave CU following the end of the current semester.
A native Hawaiian, Maiava said his decision was based mostly on “family issues” but also had “a little bit to do” with the coaching staff moving him from guard to fullback prior to spring drills.
Maiava, 6-feet and having shed 20 pounds to 275 pounds for his new position, saw action on only one play in the spring game. He said he will seek a transfer to another major-college program on the West Coast, probably somewhere in California.
“I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do; I’ve been thinking about this for about a week,” Maiava said Wednesday. “If I’m closer to my family, I can help them out.”
Maiava and blue-chip offensive tackle Ryan Miller were the only true freshmen to earn full-time starting jobs last fall. Both earned freshman all-Big 12 Conference honors. Maiava received CU’s Lee Willard Award, which goes to the team’s top freshman as selected by the coaching staff.
Though he is undersized for an offensive lineman at the top college level, Maiava said he will look for a program where he can return to the trenches.
“His decision was based on personal reasons, really a combination of a lot of things and situations he has going on,” CU coach Dan Hawkins said in a statement.
CU coaches thought Maiava’s body type fit better at fullback, and they remained optimistic Maiava could become a dominant blocker in the backfield. Maiava’s development as a fullback was delayed, how-ever, when he was kept out of spring drills for a week as punishment for being cited for underage drinking in January.
“I wasn’t bitter about playing fullback, and I was doing my best to learn it,” Maiava said. “But I missed the brotherhood of the O-line. And it didn’t look like I was going to get as much playing time (at fullback).”
Maiava said he consulted his brother, University of Southern California linebacker Kaluka Maiava, before submitting his transfer request Monday.
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
