There are few certainties when it comes to prep football, but it's hard to dispute the size and talent that the Saint Louis Crusaders have on their roster this fall.

Saint Louis, which finished second to four-time league champion Punahou in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I race last year, will be bolstered by a plethora of transfers from near and far.

Among the crop of highly-touted newcomers are linebackers Jordan Iosefa, a USC commit, and Isaac Slade-Matautia, along with cornerback Luca Vartic and defensive end Tristan Nichols. Iosefa and Slade-Matautia sat out the 2014 season after transferring in from Waipahu and Kaiser, respectively. Vartic and Nichols made the move this summer from Konawaena and Maui, respectively.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Crusaders also benefit from brothers Tevita and Paula Emiliano Finau, both of whom transferred from Baldwin this summer.

No doubt that Saint Louis has a lot of new faces in 2015 and getting them to jell will be a top priority, but it's not a concern at this point for legendary coach Cal Lee, who enters his second season in his most recent go-around at Kalaepohaku.

"Everybody is all kids and they get to know each other, but it's what they do on the field that matters most and as long as they can produce on the field and know what they're doing, we should be OK," Lee said. "They all get along well and at the end of the day, kids are kids, so it's not a problem of getting them to jell. It's just a matter of making sure that they know what they're doing out there."

One prominent player who is returning from last year is junior quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

"I wouldn't say it's tough for us to mesh; I'd say it's just a matter of time," Tagovailoa said. "Right now everybody is still with their own group, but through practices, being able to get together with other guys and just communicating out there — especially with the defense and the offense — that's going to be the biggest thing. If we're able to communicate with each other, that'll build that jell with each other."

Two other Crusaders on offense — wide receiver Drew Kobayashi and guard Nate Herbig — are all too familiar with the transition having previously transferred to Saint Louis. Kobayashi, who has verbaled to Cal, moved from the Big Island in 2011, while Herbig, who has committed to Stanford, came over from Kauai in 2014.

"It's always hard switching schools, leaving all your friends and family and making that move to a school — like Luca and Tristan did — but once you get here, it's like a brotherhood," Herbig said. "Everyone gets along and they accept you into the brotherhood and you're a part of the team and it's comfortable; it's like family."

Kobayashi's comments were much the same about his experience.

"When I came in we all just became brothers from the first day and we all just grew together and it was kind of easy to get used to it with them," Kobayashi said. "It's such a big brotherhood over here and they're all welcoming; everyone is helping them out."

Things are slowly, but surely coming together, according to Kobayashi.

"It's going good," Kobayashi said. "I think we've still got a lot to work on with everybody, but we're just got to work hard and keep out heads down and learn what we have and just get with it."

The players understand that at Saint Louis — one of the state's premier prep football powerhouses — there is no room for growing pains.

"There's high expectations from the alumni; they were winning back in the day and we've been in a slump lately, so everybody has been working hard," said Herbig, the lone returning starter on the offensive line from a season ago. "On the O-line, we're a little bit inexperienced, but we have a lot of talent and we're ready for it. As a team we're loaded and we're working hard, but we've got to take it one step at a time."

It's not just the players that are feeling the pressure this fall. Longtime quarterbacks' coach Vince Passas echoed Herbig's sentiments.

"Every year, when your expectations and your goals are to win the state championship game, it's really a challenge," Passas said. "For us, if we get to the state tournament, then we've won the ILH and that's a big challenge. With Punahou, Kamehameha and Iolani, it's like a championship game every outing and for us, it's about getting back to where our tradition has been back in the 80's and 90's where we were really successful and with the Lee's back I think it's really helped our situation and I think we can't settle for anything less than that."

Senior defensive end Tanielu Evaimalo said the Crusaders are eager to make a splash this season.

"Just watch out because we're coming," Evaimalo said. "This team is very hungry, nobody quits, we all have a lot of heart and share a bond that's like no other."

- Kalani Takase