For nearly all of the first two days of the 2024 NFL Draft, hopefuls with Hawaii ties waited as name after name came off the board.
But within a matter of minutes of each other late Friday, two former Oahu prep football standouts, wide receiver Roman Wilson of Saint Louis School and linebacker Marist Liufau of Punahou, heard their names called.
Wilson, a native of Maui who excelled at Michigan, was selected with the 20th pick of the third round, 84th overall, by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Three picks later, Liufau, a Notre Dame standout from Kalihi, was taken at 87th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.
Spotrac rates the value of the 84th pick at $5.73 million and the 87th at $5.69 million, with signing bonuses of $991,000 and $959,000, respectively.
Wilson, a native of Maui, is listed at 5 feet 11 and 185 pounds. He was timed at 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Draft Combine.
Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said of Wilson, who ended his career as a major contributor for the national champion Wolverines, “The competitiveness. You could see his instincts on tape. He stepped up in the big moments. He had a great energy, too, when I met him in person.”
Wilson had 107 catches for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns in 46 games in his Michigan career that included a run to last season’s College Football Playoff championship. He had 48 grabs for 789 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023 and was named to the All-Big Ten second team.
"The reason they took me is they expect me to come in and play and help this team win games," Wilson told Steelers.com. "That is exactly what I am going to come in and do."
Wilson said seeing many other receivers go ahead of him added to his natural edge.
"(I’m) someone that is hungry and looking to make the most out of every opportunity,” he said. "Someone that's been doubted on and wants to prove everybody wrong. Just watching this draft, I feel like I am doubted on. I felt like I was a top-10 receiver. Just watching a lot of receivers go in front of me, I feel like a lot of people doubted me."
The 6-foot-2, 234-pound Liufau registered 118 tackles, four sacks and an interception in his college career. The Cowboys described him as a “long, rangy linebacker who can cover a lot of space quickly” on their website.
He ran a 4.64 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, placing him in the 70th percentile of linebackers.
According to Cowboys.com, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer “put his stamp on this selection.”
Liufau is the cousin of last season’s Los Angeles Rams’ breakout rookie star Puka Nacua.
Washington Huskies defensive tackle Zion Tupuola-Fetui, a Pearl City High alumnus, is among the players with local ties still on the board for the final day of the draft Saturday for Rounds 4 through 7.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.