Nearly 5,000 miles separate Eastern freshman linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill from his homeland of Hawaii.

Grugier-Hill left his friends and family more than halfway across the country, but he found a sense of familiarity in first-year head coach Dino Babers, as Babers himself also was born, played and coached collegiate football in Hawaii.

“Coach Babers played at Hawaii, so a lot of people in Hawaii know him and he knows the background,” Grugier-Hill said. “I was just told great things about him, and when he came down to talk to me he made me feel really comfortable about the school and the life because he was a coach at Eastern before. He made me feel like I was going to be a part of a family up here.”

Grugier-Hill also credited Babers for giving him the opportunity to play college football after struggling academically in high school.

“I had grade problems in high school, so I didn’t have a lot of other schools looking at me,” Grugier-Hill said. “Coach Babers actually helped me get through my SATs. He kind of motivated me to get my SATs up, and he gave me an offer and I took it.”

Grugier-Hill has adjusted well to life in Charleston on and off the football field, as he is one of a select group of freshmen seeing consistent playing time this season.

“I think his production on the football field this year has been great,” Babers said. “I think he gets better and better every time he goes out on the field, and I think he is a valuable part of our team.”

Through seven games, Grugier-Hill has totaled 18 tackles, broken up four passes, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. His interception came in Eastern’s Homecoming win over Jacksonville State.

“The coverage we were in was the perfect play at the time,” Grugier-Hill said. “At first, I was just spotting the quarterback and I didn’t realize that anyone was right next to me. I broke on it and I felt the wide receiver run into me, and it fell right in to his basket, but my hands were in perfect position and I just tore it out and went with it. It was a big one for me.”

Grugier-Hill said that the interception was the biggest play he had made at any of level of football in his career.

As for adjusting to life in Charleston, Grugier-Hill said he enjoys it and that he hasn’t had many troubles adapting to life in Illinois.

“It’s just a different atmosphere,” he said. “The people here are really nice, they are really welcoming and they ask a lot of questions about Hawaii. I’ve made a lot of friends and I like it here.

Although Grugier-Hill has enjoyed his time at Eastern, he is not fond of the cold weather and the lack of food selection around Charleston.

“It’s kind of different,” he said. “Hawaii is the melting pot of all the cultures so it’s very diverse. We have a bunch of different foods, but over here it’s all chicken. Also, the coldness is starting to get to me. That’s probably the toughest part. ”

Despite the lack of food selection and warm weather, Grugier-Hill is adjusting well to life in Charleston and is focused on improving as a football player in the upcoming years.

“I want to add a lot of weight,” he said. “I need to keep working hard in the weight room, and I just want to work towards getting more playing time.

Kamu Grugier-Hill and the Panthers will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 27 when it will travel to Richmond, Ky., to take on Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.