This is rare air, and Iosefo is a rare player. That’s why Hegman began bugging Eric Taber to watch the kid play.

Taber, now an assistant marketing director at UM, had connections through his earlier work with USA Rugby. When he saw Iosefo, he knew he had to get him seen by others.

So he called and got the coach of the Chicago Lions rugby club to take a chance. A summer spent in the Windy City led to Iosefo’s selection to the MCAA squad, and off to Colorado he went.

“It was a pretty fun tournament,” said Iosefo, who can be seen wearing No. 2 in highlights posted to USARugby.org. “I learned a lot from those guys. Most of them were in their second or third years as a college All-American. I was in my first, and they helped me a lot.

“I made a lot of friends. It was a great bunch of guys, and the coaches were very welcoming. That made the whole process easier.”

Iosefo should be used to this. He came to UM as a football walk-on and was every bit as much an unknown to Hegman.

“Obviously if you’re Polynesian, everybody takes a look because rugby is their sport,” Hegman said. “But he’s very humble. It was hard to get all of his skills out for a while. Then it was, ‘Oh my God, this kid’s a talent.’ ”