When a young Jackie Johnson III wasn't out fishing with his father, one could probably spot him in Pauoa with his best friend, Ka‘eo Akana, and his father, Kip.
Johnson was essentially an extended member of the Akana family, forging a bond with Ka‘eo when the two were middle school students at St. Francis. Kip, the varsity baseball and football coach at the school, noticed Johnson's competitive spirit as an intermediate baseball player and encouraged him to come out for football.
"I was a baseball player at first, so football took some getting used to," Johnson recently told Aloha State Daily.
Baseball was Johnson's first love, but football grew on him each time he stepped on the gridiron. Johnson played varsity ball for Akana at St. Francis, playing fullback and linebacker.
"Jack was always enthusiastic about working hard from a young age," Kip Akana said. "He was a kid that took great pleasure in doing hard things when it would come to training. It was clear to me that he was different."
That mentality carried Johnson through the adversity that would come his way. St. Francis closed as a school, leading to a transfer to Roosevelt. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, wiping away what would have been his senior season of high school football.
Although the HHSAA did not hold a football season in 2020, Johnson continued to hone his craft as a defensive lineman through the TrenchDawg Group, which at the time was a local football organization, specializing in offensive and defensive line play. It was created by former St. Francis offensive line coach Whitley Fehoko. Johnson earned valuable reps against future NFL offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea, current Oregon center Poncho Laloulu and others with college offers.
"TrenchDawgs gave me an opportunity to put the pads on and really develop, because the only way to get better is putting pads on. On top of the lifting and running, it was a great opportunity," Johnson said.
The tape Johnson put together in TrenchDawg games and practices was enough to garner interest from Division II and III schools. Lawrence Tech, an NAIA school in Southfield, Mich., was the only school to offer Johnson a football scholarship.
"It wasn't a full scholarship, but I just took it and ran with it," Johnson said.
Johnson had two strong years with the Blue Devils, establishing himself as one of their best players. He was happy there, but Akana couldn't shake the feeling that he was destined for more. Akana made calls to Hawai‘i head coach Timmy Chang and associate head coach Chris Brown in the 2023 offseason, vouching for Johnson and advocating for him to join as a walk-on. After reviewing his tape, Brown offered Johnson a spot on the team. With where things were in the calendar, Johnson had to leave Lawrence Tech almost immediately. One of Johnson's coaches at Lawrence Tech warned him that moves like the one he was about to make rarely work out.
Hawai‘i defensive ends coach Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson quickly realized that this TrenchDawg came from a different breed.
"We were having summer workouts, and we're doing some drills for about 10, 15 minutes, and he got into a big argument with Andrew Choi, who was a senior starter and leader at the time, and Andrew basically called him out and said, 'Jackie, relax. You're a walk-on,'" Pu‘u-Robinson recalled. "That moment, it told me that this kid didn't really care about making friends or being liked. He wanted to be the best. That just shows his competitive nature. And that's really who he is. He's extremely intentional, hard-working and hyper competitive every single day."
When asked about the incident following a recent practice, Johnson said "those guys were like my older brothers. We're close. But yeah, you can't get bullied."
Johnson played in four games in 2023, preserving a redshirt. He played in all 12 games for the Rainbow Warriors in 2024, leading the team with five sacks. He saved his best for last in 2025, earning All-Mountain West first-team honors with 7.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, cementing himself as one of the most feared edge rushers on the West Coast.
"Jackie is just a tough warrior. He's competitive, he's tough. He's hard-nosed. He gets after it," UH defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said of Johnson, who is listed at 6 feet and 245 pounds on the UH roster. "Need more like him, you know? I mean, he's not the tallest guy, he's not the fastest guy, but what he does, he brings it every single day. And when you have that and those types of players, you'll go to war with them every time."
Ka‘eo Akana, a junior defensive end for the Rainbow Warriors alongside Johnson, is doing his best to treasure the time he has left with his close friend as his teammate.
"There's no feeling like it. That's my brother for life. Jackie Johnson, my boy. It's just a hard thing to explain," he said following a brief pause. "I love my boy, and we'll send him out the right way."
With one game left in his college career, Johnson will explore his pro options following the 2025 Hawai‘i Bowl on Wednesday. For now, he refuses to look past Cal, which will serve as another opportunity for him to showcase his his skills.
"God willing on that situation, I have maybe a few avenues to what I'm gonna do after but right now, I'm just focusing on this game," Johnson said. "Quite frankly, I think this is the biggest game of the season. I think we should be attacking it like that. They're a good team, and I'm just extremely excited."
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
