The beat writer breakdown is a series that runs weekly during the season where we pose five questions to somebody who covers Detroit’s opponent. But there’s so little known about new Lions second-round pick Jahlani Tavai, because he played his college ball on an island in the Pacific (Hawaii) and suffered an injury that held him out of the Senior Bowl and combine (shoulder), that we decided to bring it back to find out a little more about him. Hawaii beat writer Stephen Tsai of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser was our victim, and gave us an excellent inside look at Tavai. You can find Stephen’s work here and find him on Twitter here.

MLive: Hi Stephen, thanks for taking time from sipping umbrella drinks to do this. I guess first things first: What kind of player are the Lions getting in Jahlani Tavai, on and off the field? We don’t exactly get that many Hawaii football games out here, and his selection in the second round was a surprise to many.

Tsai: Tavai is a player who’s extremely passionate about the sport. He also comes from a football family, so he relied on his brothers to guide him through the process. As I understand it, he initially was spotted by Norm Chow’s middle son, who was coaching basketball at Mira Costa High (in Manhattan Beat, Calif.). That gave Norm Chow extensive knowledge of Tavai, and led to the scholarship offer to UH. Tavai is a good guy off the field, a great teammate (according to teammates) and a workaholic. Although he did not grow up in Hawaii, he cares deeply about his Polynesian roots and culture. He really wants to represent his community.

MLive: The Lions have emphasized versatility in their defense, and Tavai said by phone after the pick that he had been used in a variety of ways. How exactly was he deployed in the Hawaii defense?

Tsai: Tavai was a thin nose tackle and tight end at Mira Costa. He used his redshirt year at UH to gain weight. As a freshman, he was used as a hybrid end. With his rugby background, he was even asked to punt in the regular-season finale because Rigo Sanchez, now with the Colts, missed the game because of a family emergency.

As a sophomore, he moved to MIKE linebacker. The move was made to take advantage of Tavai’s leadership (he signaled the defensive and directed the on-field adjustments), toughness and lateral quickness. As a junior, about 80 percent of his run stops were in the tackle box (within 5 yards from the line of scrimmage). Last year, the Warriors employed a 4-2-5 scheme. Tavai aligned in the middle, on the outside, as a defensive end and -- and when the alignment was spread wide, as a stand-up nose. Against option teams, like Navy and Army, he would align as defensive end and use a triangle technique of angling into the backfield or angling into the middle to stop dives.

He did not drop into deep coverage, but he would run stride-for-stride with an inside receiver, sometimes 25 yards deep. I know there was concerns about his pass breakups, but that wasn’t his role in the defensive scheme.

MLive: We’ve heard a lot about his big hitting and physicality. Is this something that jumped out to you?

Tsai: He has made numerous big hits, but what’s more impressive is his technique in breaking down and making sure open-field tackles. Few people will get past him in the open field.

MLive: What are some of his more memorable plays or games to you?

Tsai: His best game came against Army, when he recorded 15 tackles and blocked a punt. Army’s difficult to defend, especially for edge defenders, because of their cut blocks. Tavai was able to fight off blocks to make plays on the edge and middle. His block was impressive because of Army’s disciplined protection. Also, it’s something for a defensive starter who is on the field a lot against a clock-dominant opponent to be on special teams. But Tavai volunteered to be on those units.

MLive: Among Detroit’s nine picks, this one has probably drawn the most criticism because of where he was expected by analysts to go (almost nobody had him projected earlier than the fourth round) and where he went. Some are calling it a reach, although GM Bob Quinn says he thought Tavai would go in the next 15 picks. Your thoughts? Based on seeing this guy play, is a second-round pick a reach? Or did you see that kind of potential?

Tsai: He definitely has the skill and potential to be deserving of a high pick. What I think hurts Tavai is the comparison to another former second-round pick from Hawaii, Ikaika Alama-Francis. The difference is Alama-Francis was a basketball-volleyball player who switched over to football while in college. Tavai grew up playing rugby and football. He has older brothers who played at Power Five schools. He also has said he aspires to be like Junior Seau, in terms of playing ability and off-the-field contributions. Detroit fans are going to like him as a player and even more as a person.