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Ole Miss got a big lift to its secondary depth for the 2025 season, as Washington State transfer defensive back Kapena Gushiken committed to the Rebels on Tuesday.
The 6-foot, 184-pound Gushiken not only arrives in Oxford from faraway Pullman, Washington, where he starred for the Cougars’ secondary during the past 2 seasons. Gushiken was born in Pukalani, Hawaii, so when he gets settled at Ole Miss and in the SEC for 2025, he’ll really be in foreign territory.
On Tuesday, Gushiken took to social media to announce his imminent arrival in Oxford, posting a message with the headline: “Committed to the SIP.” The message also had a HottyToddy hashtag, which shows that the Hawaiian has done his homework when it comes to Ole Miss history. The social media post also showed Gushiken wearing a Rebels jersey, which he will be for real later this year.
Gushiken piled up 88 total tackles, 5 tackles-for-loss and 3 interceptions during his 2 years with Washington State.
The senior from the Maui area has had an interesting football journey, which began at Kamehameha High School before he went to Saddleback Junior College in Southern California. Then Gushiken transferred to Washington State for the past 2 seasons, and now he’s heading to Oxford and the SEC to finish the winding road.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.