In his keiki days, Dean Connors would watch VHS tapes of his father, Brian, compete as a running back for the University of the Pacific. One of the games in rotation was the Tigers taking on the University of Hawai‘i at Aloha Stadium. Watching those replays convinced Connors that playing collegiate football one day was the ultimate goal.
Born in Bend, Ore., Connors moved to the Big Island as an elementary schooler, playing youth football under his dad for the Waimea Cowboys and the Honoka‘a Dragons.
During high school, Connors dormed at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy, one of the state's most prestigious and expensive schools. Clinging to his dream of playing collegiate football, Connors relocated to California midway through high school, staying with his mother and grandmother, to play for Murietta Valley High School.
"My dad played high school football in Southern California and he understood kind of what it took to get recruited, so he gave me that advice," Connors recalled to Aloha State Daily. "He stayed in Hawai‘i and got to enjoy the amazingness of the Big Island while I went to California. But I don't blame him. I would have done the same thing.
"Leaving Hawai‘i in general, every time you leave, you get a little sick to your stomach that you're leaving paradise."
A solid freshman season at Riverside Community College in which he ran for 516 yards and seven touchdowns was enough to get Connors on the radar of Division I coaches. Citing his desire to play for an academically prestigious school, he chose Rice University, where he bonded with the likes of other teammates from the Islands in kicker Tim Horn (Punahou), wide receiver Matt Skyes (Saint Louis), and punter Conor Hunt (HPA).
In his three seasons at Rice, Connors ran for 1,679 yards and 16 touchdowns, as well as 912 receiving yards and an additional six touchdowns. After head coach Mike Bloomgren was fired in 2024, Connors was seeking a fresh start.
With one season of collegiate eligibility remaining heading into 2025, Connors decided to enter the NCAA Transfer portal. He chose Houston of the Big 12 Conference, which was coming off consecutive 4-8 seasons.
"It was just really wanting to play Power Four football," Connors recalled. "I always had the goal of doing that. Although Rice gave me amazing opportunities and amazing academics, a big part of [departing] was our coach getting fired. But, just seeing that opportunity that I would have had to play P4 football, I couldn't let that pass me up, because it has always been a goal since I was a little kid, and I'm doing it."
Through 10 games in 2025, the Cougars are 8-2, the No. 23 team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and one of the biggest turnaround stories in the sport under head coach Willie Fritz. Connors has contributed 725 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 158 carries, as well as two receiving touchdowns on 173 yards.
"I tell everyone all the time that if you doubt coach Fritz, you don't know what you're watching, because that dude knows how to rebuild a program, and he's been around for a while, so everyone in the locker room trusts him and just follows his lead," Connors said. "He's got a great plan to win, and we just keep doing that. The rest of the season should be successful."
Connors' collegiate track record should be enough to get some looks on the pro circuit once the season is over, but he says he has not looked that far into the future yet.
"I've seen people make the mistake of just looking ahead too much and not be the present," Connors said. "I want to win these two games, go to our bowl game, and once that's done, I'll see what happens."
In each of Connors' collegiate stops, he has continued to list Hawai‘i as his home state.
"I remember my my first neighbor was this old Filipino man, and he made amazing food, and he'd bring it over," Connors recalled. "It was just really awesome to experience a culture like that, of people caring about each other, and being friendly enough to just walk over and knock on someone's door and offer food. And then going to middle school, I would walk to school with some of my friends. That was another great dynamic. It's so safe there. That's not really something you hear about. ... The Big Island, it's so community oriented. I think that's where I saw the biggest differences."
Wherever Connors' football journey takes him next, he hopes to one day be in a position to help other kids from the Big Island reach the levels of college football that he has.
"I loved it in Hawai‘i, and there's some good players that I think go unnoticed, just because maybe they don't get the exposure they deserve," Connors said of Island youth. "I would tell them to reach out to me and I would help them out as much as I could. That's something I want to do moving forward. Number one is you have to be academically eligible. Number two is put out great film.
"The truth is, if you're able to play at a high level and Division I or even Division II or III, the coaches will find you. There's great networks for that. Social media and the internet has helped out with that a lot, giving exposure to athletes, and there's some great coaches, mentors in the state of Hawai‘i who are also helping out with that. So, keep your head down, keep working and when the timing's right, you'll get noticed."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
