{"id":249971,"date":"2025-07-31T06:30:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T06:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249971\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T06:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T06:30:14","slug":"trech-kekahuna-explains-decision-to-return-to-wisconsin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/249971\/","title":{"rendered":"Trech Kekahuna Explains Decision to Return to Wisconsin"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. \u2014 Trech Kekahuna<\/a> sent his belongings back home to Hawaii. His flight was booked. Having entered his name in the transfer portal, the sophomore wide receiver was ready to leave Wisconsin behind for good. <\/p>\n

Then, in came a call from offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes<\/a>, literally as Kekahuna was on his way to the Milwaukee airport, where he would then jet to an official visit at another school. Little did Kekahuna know, that call would completely alter his future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ready to go to whatever school I was going to,\u201d Kekahuna told Badger Blitz. \u201cHe gave me a call and said he\u2019d love to meet me and just talk ball. He wanted to show what his offense is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kekahuna knew next to nothing about Grimes, who had just signed on with the Badgers after coming over from Kansas in December. But Grimes knew a ton about Kekahuna. A former offensive coordinator at BYU, Grimes had competed against Kekahuna\u2019s uncles, who played at Hawaii. Upon taking the job with the Badgers, Grimes had also become enamored with Kekahuna during his film study of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was talking to coach \u2018Fick\u2019 (Luke Fickell<\/a>) about the job, before I had officially even taken it, I had saw his name and he was getting in the portal,\u201d Grimes explained. \u201cDidn\u2019t really know who he was at the time. I get here and he\u2019s in the portal. I talked with KG (Kenny Guiton<\/a>) about him, I watched some film, and I\u2019m like, \u2018Am I missing something here, because I think we really want this guy on our team.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe brought him in, sat him down, and talked with him for a little while about his skillset and things I\u2019ve been able to do with players like him in the past. I think him just recognizing that I understood who he was, saw him as a player and a person, said, \u2018Yeah, I want to be a part of that.’\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Kekahuna, who picked up numerous power-four scholarship offers while in the transfer portal, estimated he was about 10 hours from committing to another program prior to Grimes\u2019 phone call. After speaking with Grimes briefly, Kekahuna told his chauffeur to turn the car around and head back to campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was leaning towards one school,\u201d Kekahuna explained. \u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m going to take my visit and I\u2019m going there.\u2019 I had a lot of connections there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a lot of respect for these guys. That\u2019s why I pulled us over, turned around, and \u2018Take me back to the facility.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a crazy day for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kekahuna said he decided to return to Wisconsin immediately after his talk with Grimes, but didn\u2019t officially announce his return until a few days later.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves to get his playmakers the ball and he sees me as that,\u201d Kekahuna said. \u201cHe put my film up and he said, \u2018You\u2019re going to be making more of these.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Breakout Season Incoming<\/p>\n

As a redshirt freshman, Kekahuna caught 25 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns\u2026but he wanted more. Playing in the slot behind Will Pauling<\/a>, now at Notre Dame and the team\u2019s leading receiver in both 2023 and 2024, it was difficult for Kekahuna to make the impact he desired and was fully capable of. With Pauling banged up against Purdue in October, Kekahuna had his best game as a Badger, going off for 134 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWill is a great player. I have a lot of respect for him,\u201d said Kekahuna. \u201cIt was kind of hard, when I make a play, to go off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

That won\u2019t be the case this fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cLightning in a bottle right there,\u201d said first-year wide receivers coach Jordan Reid<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s the fun thing about a kid like that, different ways you can utilize that. The play speed that kid plays with, there\u2019s no hesitation. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe does not flinch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to meeting with Grimes, Kekahuna didn\u2019t anticipate he\u2019d be getting more opportunities than the air-raid offense Wisconsin abandoned under former offensive coordinator Phil Longo in November. Heck, Grimes\u2019 system is built on a physical, violent run game. However, through the first few months, Grimes has been committed to getting the receivers involved in various ways, especially in the run. One of UW\u2019s fastest players, Kekahuna gets a chance to do what he does best: get the ball in his hands early and go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like he can have a great year,\u201d said senior wide receiver Vinny Anthony<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s so many ways that he (Grimes) gets people the ball. It makes a defense always on their toes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Kekahuna, he\u2019s had to wait until now to get acclimated to Grimes\u2019 offense. Missing all but one practice in the spring due to a leg injury, Kekahuna returned to action at the start of fall camp on Tuesday \u2014 And It took everything in the staff\u2019s power to keep Kekahuna away over the last five months.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrech is a guy you\u2019ve gotta save from Trech,\u201d Fickell said at Big Ten media days. \u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong, I\u2019d rather have those guys than the guys we have to try and prop along. When you give Trech an inch, he\u2019s going to go a mile. As soon as you give him the chance to go full-go, he doesn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

An early riser, Kekahuna is often beating the staff to the facility in the morning and can\u2019t wait to get going.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou talk about somebody who embodies loving this game,\u201d said Reid. \u201cEvery day he\u2019s hungry, every day he\u2019s asking questions, he\u2019s looking to do more. I\u2019m up at whatever time in the morning. I walk out to breakfast, and he\u2019s right there. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really who he is. It\u2019s not a facade. It\u2019s not fake. That\u2019s who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

History Repeats Itself<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time Kekahuna and Wisconsin have had a falling out of sorts. A Rivals four-star recruit in the class of 2022, Kekahuna originally committed to the Badgers under former head coach Paul Chryst<\/a>. Once Fickell and his staff were hired, Kekahuna lost touch with the new regime and de-committed. Eventually, Kekahuna gave his pledge to Arizona. However, on national signing day, Kekahuna stunned the nation once it was revealed he was headed back to UW. There was no ceremony. Not even an announcement from Kekahuna on social media. Just the Badgers posting the addition on the official website after receiving Kekahuna\u2019s national letter of intent. <\/p>\n

Kekahuna recalls following in the footsteps of former Wisconsin linebacker Nick Herbig<\/a>, also a Hawaii native and St. Louis High School alum, who played three seasons in Madison before being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. As an unknown recruit, Kekahuna was urged by Herbig to pay his own way to UW for a June camp to try and earn a scholarship offer, which he eventually did. <\/p>\n

Between his high school recruitment and the first two seasons with the Badgers, there have been some bumps in the road, but Kekahuna just can\u2019t seem to walk away. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just love Wisconsin,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PLATTEVILLE, Wis. \u2014 Trech Kekahuna sent his belongings back home to Hawaii. His flight was booked. Having entered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,49792,2785],"class_list":{"0":"post-249971","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-trech-kekahuna-23-bishop-gorman","10":"tag-wisconsin-badgers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114946443650878933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}