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11-year-old offered a football scholarship

Posted at 8:42 PM, Jun 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-14 20:42:21-04

He just might be the youngest recruit in history for the University of Hawaii Football team. Titan Lacaden is an 11-year old wide receiver with the All-Blacks Crusaders in Kapolei.

"He's definitely a special kid," said Frank Lacaden, Titan's father and co-founder of the All-Blacks Crusaders Football Club.

Titan just finished 5th grade, and his family says he already has his first offer to play college football with the Rainbow Warriors.

"It was heavy, it felt like a whole block of cinderblocks came on my shoulders," said Titan.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa is one of his top three schools, and his mother's top choice.

"My mom is forcing me to go to UH, she doesn't want me to leave home," said Titan.

Titan's father said he knew football was his son's game when Titan picked up a football and threw it for the first time at 2-years-old, and as Titan got older, his talent only grew.

"I've been coaching for over 25 years, at St. Louis High School, and a few years here at Kapolei, and I've been here and I've seen a lot of kids and done a lot of camps, and at this age I have not seen somebody with the skills that he has," said Frank.

Frank said Coach Nick Rolovich talked to their family at football camp.

"Rolo pulled me on the side and asked me how I felt about a fifth grader, my son, being offered," said Frank.

They decided to go with it.

"I've been through the recruiting process many times, and it's a long, vigorous, narrow road, and many reach the door, but there's many times that the door just doesn't answer, and so when opportunity knocks you've got to enter, you've got to go, and so we went in," said Frank.

Titan has seven years before he gets to play college football. Until then, he's focused on his love of the game, a passion he'll continue to share with friends in the youth program who help make him a better player.