Like most successful puzzle solvers, the University of Hawai'i football team is starting with the corners.

The Warriors yesterday secured a commitment from Steven Christian, an athletic cornerback from Kennedy High School in Sacramento, Calif.

The Warriors' starting cornerbacks, Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry, complete their NCAA eligibility at the end of the Jan. 1 Sugar Bowl.

"Yes, I'm going to be a Warrior," said Christian, who is 6 feet 1 and 175 pounds.

Christian said he will put his commitment in writing Feb. 6, the first day high school prospects may sign binding national letters of intent.

Christian, who can run 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, made 91 tackles in 10 games during his senior season.

Christian was named to the Sacramento All-Metro first team.

He was an inadvertent UH recruit. During an unofficial recruiting visit to the University of Nevada last month, he attended the Warriors' 28-26 victory over the host Wolf Pack.

After the game, he approached UH defensive assistant Terry "Duff" Duffield and defensive coordinator Greg McMackin.

"It started from there," Christian said.

Both sides maintained contact, and then Christian accepted a recruiting visit to Hawai'i. He was on the UH sideline Dec. 1 when the Warriors defeated Washington to complete an unbeaten regular season.

"That was a great game," Christian said.

More importantly, Christian was impressed with the Warriors' camaraderie.

"I liked the whole feel of the team," Christian said. "It's such a great environment. It seems like they're a family."

He also said he enjoyed the aloha state's easy-going lifestyle.

"It was relaxing," he said. "Nobody was stressed out at all. It was a lot of fun."

Christian is an excellent student. His cumulative grade-point average is 3.8, and he scored 1,590 on the SAT.

Christian completed his core studies as a junior, and took AP classes as a senior.

He originally committed to Stanford, but was told his SAT was not high enough to gain admittance.

By choosing UH, he turned down offers from Vanderbilt, Villanova, Nevada and Cornell.

Christian aspires a career in the medical field, although he is not sure if he will declare as a pre-med major or first seek a liberal-arts degree.

His hobbies include airbrushing and making video productions.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.