BYU football: Hafoka happy to be back on football field

PROVO — The sudden onset of winter-like weather around the state last week brought back unpleasant memories, and served as a warning, too, for BYU wide receiver Spencer Hafoka.

As Hafoka, a sophomore who hails from the tropical paradise of Hawaii, started to leave the indoor practice facility after a workout last week, the bitter-cold wind and snow flurries blasted him in the face.

"It was a reminder, a flashback of what had happened," Hafoka said. "The first thing that popped in my mind was remembering when I was sick."

Last January, Hafoka contracted a cold, which turned into the flu (not the H1N1 variety), then pneumonia. To make matters worse, he suffers from asthma. His condition got so bad that he had to see a variety of doctors and specialists, and he had to withdraw from school and sit out of spring drills. It wasn't until April that he started to feel good again, only to go through a relapse for a couple of weeks in May.

"I have a pretty bad history with pneumonia," said the Kahuku High product. "Being up here in the cold is different from being where it's humid and warm. Coming up here, my body wasn't able to take it."

After recovering and working hard during the summer, Hafoka returned for fall camp, though he was unsure that he was ready for the rigors of the season. He wondered if he would have to redshirt. Despite the setbacks, Hafoka has held up well this season, having caught 11 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown for the Cougars.

Mostly, he's happy to be healthy again.

"Looking at the other way it could have gone, I could have been elsewhere — not on the team, not in school this year," he said. "I could be in the hospital. Who knows? I'm just grateful to overcome the sickness and just be alive."

Hafoka's contributions this season have been a pleasant surprise for coach Bronco Mendenhall.

"I had written him off in my mind, with his illness," he said. "The guy has just battled and battled and battled, and it's fun to see him finally be able hit the field and have some success. He's kind of started to break out and be reliable and productive."

During BYU's victory over Colorado State in September, Hafoka was rewarded for his efforts, catching a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Max Hall.

"It was amazing. It didn't really hit me until I got to the sidelines that it was the first touchdown of my college career," Hafoka said. "It had been a while since I had felt that kind of feeling."

Having Hafoka in the receiving rotation has helped the offense, Hall said, especially with McKay Jacobson sidelined the past month with a hamstring injury.