As the request for a joint FaceTime call lit up his phone screen, Jonah La’ulu was surprised by the unknown second number.
Hours earlier, the former Hawaii defensive lineman had exchanged phone numbers with Brent Venables. Oklahoma’s incoming head coach had agreed to call later that evening after he finished watching OU throttle Oregon in the Alamo Bowl and he’d reviewed La’ulu’s film.
The eventual video chat connected to reveal Venables sitting in a San Antonio hotel room, doing dumbbell curls. Soon after, Sooners defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis, owner of the additional unidentified number, asked his first question: “What do you know about the cross chop?”
After testing the prospective transfer’s knowledge of d-line pass rush moves, Chavis flipped the camera around to display a television rolling La’ulu’s Hawaii highlights. The goofy yet enamoring first encounter ended with an offer, which La’ulu accepted on Jan. 6, joining the Sooners after two years starting for the Rainbow Warriors.
“They had a good synergy, and just how they were like talking to me, it was like they were freakin’ playing basketball, alley-ooping to each other talking to me, like passing dimes,” La’ulu said of the meeting with Venables and Chavis.
“I was like, ‘dang,’ them guys are dropping facts and dimes, and I was like ‘dang.’ Just talking to them and building that connection with them, that relationship with Coach Chavis and Coach Venables, that’s what really got me.”
Across 39 games spanning four seasons in Honolulu, La’ulu amassed 70 tackles — 19 for loss — eight sacks, two pass breakups and forced fumble. After Hawaii concluded its 2021 season, he was first hesitant to enter the transfer portal, knowing other players had left their previous homes and never found another.
The former two-star prospect from Las Vegas described his re-recruitment as a wild ordeal, but his OU decision was validated by the unexpected influence of Chavis.
In approximately four months, the former Clemson development assistant turned first time position coach endeared himself to La’ulu, who first wondered, “Who is this guy?” when he was hired on Dec. 17. Just Monday, Chavis was quizzing his defensive ends on their plays and rewarding them with donuts for correct answers.
“That definitely was something I wanted,” La’ulu said. “A coach with high energy that’s going to come to work everyday, excited, happy, getting me pumped up, because I’m gonna feed off of them every day. He keeps it the same every day. It's never a bad day with him, he's always happy, always excited to be here.”
La’ulu also thinks Chavis doesn’t get enough credit for his recruiting prowess and deserves a raise for his persuasiveness. Chavis can take most of the credit, though, for landing La’ulu, who at a hulking 6-foot-5, 260 pounds brings an imposing presence to the Sooners’ front.
“He's a big guy that can really move,” Chavis said. “I think some people were surprised (at) that. … Watch him run, watch him move, he's a big dancing bear out there, and he’s smooth. When I watched the tape and recruited him and evaluated him when he was at Hawaii … I was like ‘This guy’s unbelievable.’ I knew he could move. I didn't know how big he was because of how fluid his hips are, the plays he’s made.
“There's a silver lining to everything, and he's fit in perfectly. He's exactly where he's supposed to be and it’s been God's kindness from the very beginning where it was a perfect fit, and he fits into who we are and we fit him.”
Since arriving in Oklahoma, La’ulu has slowly become accustomed to his new surroundings, especially the state’s unpredictable weather. In January, La’ulu experienced his first ever snow, immediately heading outside to make a snow angel. The frozen mixture was too powdery for crafting a snowman, but he enjoyed the hand-freezing outing nonetheless.
While he misses the fresh fish he grew used to eating at his previous stop, La’ulu got a taste of the island when he shared a meal with quarterback Dillon Gabriel and softball star Jocelyn Alo as the trio bonded over their Hawaiian connection. Of late, La’ulu has mostly eaten from fellow defensive end Marcus Stripling’s table and says his senior position mate can “throw down” in the kitchen.
Junior Reggie Grimes and sophomore Ethan Downs are other leaders at defensive end who have welcomed La’ulu into the fold. Without a car, La’ulu has relied on his feet, or “Lamborfeeties,” and rides from teammates to get around.
“Just seeing his skill level and coming to OU, it’s just been amazing,” Stripling said of La’ulu. “Like he’s really been physical and his pass rush has been amazing. He surprises me every day.
“Immediately we’ve seen his physicality in the run game, and he can play the pass and he can play the play action plays too, so he’s very versatile, a very great player. He seems like he’s gonna find a great home here.”
La’ulu and his roommate Jeffery Johnson, a Tulane transfer, should help replenish lost depth on OU’s defensive line after 2021 starters Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey declared for the NFL draft. In fact, La’ulu’s experience has helped him surpass some teammates in learning the playbook and maneuvering through spring practice.
After Monday’s workouts, he smiled and laughed as he recalled the funny FaceTime call with Venables and Chavis that convinced him to make Oklahoma his new home.
“Instantly I just fell in love with Coach Venables and Coach Chavis, and I trusted those guys,” La’ulu said. “They kept it real with me. In recruiting, a lot of times people get kind of like smoke blown up and they kept it real with me. They were like, ‘We want you to come here, and obviously you have stuff you need to work on, but you're an experienced player and we'd like to have you come.’
“Building that relationship with them, I trusted them, and shoot, I'm glad I came.”
