PHOTO: This photo/graphic illustrates how Michigan State abandoned Duffy Daugherty’s foothold in Hawaii. Wisconsin and other Big Ten schools pursued players the Spartans ignored.

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By TOM SHANAHAN

Charlie “Kale” Ane and his fellow Duffy Daugherty Hawaiian Pipeline veterans gained another reprieve from Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith. They don’t have to spend another fall wondering why the Spartans don’t recruit the paradise Duffy gifted them.

Duffy was to college football in Hawaii what Jack Lord was to Hawaii TV police dramas.

The Spartans’ second-year coach has re-tapped Daugherty’s Hawaiian Pipeline for a second straight year. The Pipeliners can pass the torch after six decades.

“We’re excited to have Hawaii kids go to Michigan State and have the opportunity to enjoy the same experience we had at a great school,” said Ane, a center for the Spartans (1972-74), six-year NFL veteran and retired coach at his alma mater, Honolulu Punahou.

One of Michigan State’s identities under Daugherty was Hawaii adopted the Spartans. Daugherty recruited Hawaii like no other school – not even the West Coast campuses — with the edge provided by his friend, Hawaii football legend Tommy Kaulukukui Sr. He landed 10 Hawaiian recruits from 1954 to 1972.

Ane was among three Hawaiian Spartans to play in the NFL and seven who were drafted. Five earned All-Big Ten honors. Bob Apisa of Honolulu Farrington was the first Samoan All-American on the Spartans’ 1965 and 1966 national title teams.

The week of the 1966 Rose Bowl, Look Magazine featured Daugherty’s three Hawaiian players, Apisa, Dick Kenney and Charley Wedemeyer. The 1966 Game of the Century matching Notre Dame at Michigan State marked the first time a football game was broadcast live to Hawaii.

Tradition and history are treasures for programs to communicate to their fanbase — not to carelessly let slip through their fingers like sand on Waikiki Beach.

But when Daugherty retired after the 1972 season, his successors abandoned the foothold on an island with a growing talent base. The exception was Muddy Waters (1980-82), who recruited Carter Kamana from Honolulu Kamehameha, in 1980.

Smith arrived at Michigan State intent on continuing to recruit Hawaii as he had during his time as Oregon State’s head coach. Last year, offensive lineman Rustin Young (Honolulu St. Louis) and Kekai Burnett (Honolulu Punahou) signed with the Spartans after they originally committed to Smith at Oregon State. They saw some playing time last fall but retained their redshirt eligibility.

But the question was whether the Pipeline continue to flow?

Well, Leonard Ah You, a linebacker from Kahuku High on Hawaii’s North Shore, has committed to Michigan State’s 2025 recruiting class and is expected to arrive in the summer. Similarly, he originally committed to Smith at Oregon State, but he spent the past two years on a Mormon Mission

Another Hawaii addition to the Spartans’ 2025 roster has been through the transfer portal. Analu Lafaele of Farrington, Apisa’s alma mater, has transferred from Wisconsin to the Spartans. Surely the Spartans can compete with Wisconsin as a destination.

Hawaii’s talent base has been growing since the 1990s and now produces Heisman Trophy winners and finalists. Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariotta (St. Louis) won in 2014, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (Punahou) was a finalist in 2012 and Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (St. Louis) a finalist in 2018. Te’o also won the Maxwell Award, a feat especially notable for a defensive player.

Ane and Kamana – another Michigan State alum who lives in Hawaii eager to help his alma mater – could have recommended players at no expense to the recruiting budget. The list of ignored talent includes two former Punahou players Ane coached, Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o and Michigan’s Roman Wilson.

Te’o led the Irish to a 20-3 victory in 2012 with 12 tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery. In the same game, Robby Toma of Punahou led Notre Dame with five catches for 58 yards. He wasn’t a top recruit or prospect with an NFL future, but Notre Dame took him.

Wilson earned All-Big Ten wide receiver honors and plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2023, Wilson caught a touchdown pass in Michigan’s 49-0 romp at Spartan Stadium.

“We were happy for all of them to see them go on and have success,” Ane said. “They’re good kids. We’d like to see players like them represent all of us at Michigan State, but they didn’t have a choice to make (that included the Spartans).”

The timing of Smith re-tapping Hawaii talent dovetails nicely with Jim Nicholson as the third Duffy Daugherty Hawaiian Pipeline player to enter the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. He will join Apisa (2018) and Wedemeyer on January 17 at the enshrinement in Hawaii.

Another Polynesian player Smith landed for the 2025 roster through the transfer portal is BYU linebacker Aisea Moa. He’s not from Hawaii, but he’ll fit with his Polynesian teammates from Hawaii similar to Duffy’s Hawaii players bonding together.

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Tom Shanahan is an award-winning sportswriter and frequent contributor to Spartanamag.com. His new book on Michigan State leading college football integration is, “THE RIGHT THING TO DO, The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s.” His first book was “RAYE OF LIGHT, Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the Integration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans.”

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @shanny4055

Below are links to click on to purchase my books focused.

My books tell the true story of college football integration in the 1960s and address the myths and fiction that allowed a false narrative surrounding the 1970 USC-Alabama game to usurp the credit from the true pioneers. As I said when I spoke at the National Sports Media Association book festival, no two books provide an accurate portrayal more than RAYE OF LIGHT and THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

I’ll put my facts up against anybody, anytime, anywhere. Watch here.

Click here for my story on the 1962 Rose Bowl and Segregation awarded first place by the Football Writers Association of America. I tell untold stories on Michigan State’s leading role and the true pioneers of college football integration. Click here to read the summary as a first-place story.

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Click here to purchase The Right Thing To Do

THE RIGHT THING TO DO

The True Pioneers of College Football Integration in the 1960s

Foreword by Ruffin McNeill

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Click here to purchase Raye of Light.

RAYE OF LIGHT

Jimmy Raye, Duffy Daugherty, the 1ntegration of College Football and the 1965-66 Michigan State Spartans

Foreword by Tony Dungy

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Click here to purchase my children’s book, Bubba’s Dad, Duffy and College Football’s Underground Railroad

The book for now is only a Kindle version on Amazon. Print and audio platforms available soon.