University of Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich recently went through boxes of items he accumulated when he was Nevada’s offensive coordinator for four football seasons.

He found a list of players from Nevada’s 2014 camp for high school players. Dru Brown’s name was circled.

Destiny? A pick-any-number magic trick?

“It was kind of funny,” Rolovich said of his early high regard for the player who would become his starting quarterback at UH.

Brown played at College of San Mateo last year after not receiving any Division I football offers as a Los Gatos (Calif.) High School senior. Rolovich, who was hired as UH head coach in November 2015, had secured a commitment from Sonora High quarterback Cole McDonald, but decided not to offer a scholarship to Brown before the Feb. 3 start of the signing period for 2016 recruits. Instead, the plan was to evaluate holdover quarterbacks Ikaika Woolsey, Beau Reilly and Aaron Zwahlen during spring training.

“I wanted to go through spring and see where we were,” Rolovich said. “I always knew (Brown) was sitting there” as a potential recruit.

After spring training, Rolovich told Woolsey, Reilly, Zwahlen and McDonald he might add another quarterback. Rolovich had saved an initial scholarship.

“We were looking at what kind of D-lineman we can bring in, who else we can bring in,” Rolovich said before deciding to offer the scholarship to Brown.

Brown said he was told the competition would be fair and open during training camp. “They kept their promise,” said Brown, who entered the season as the top backup to Woolsey.

“It’s easier to recruit when you don’t have to lie,” Rolovich said. “Kids are smart. They have good people skills. They have good judgment of character at an earlier age because of all the access to everything. They know when it’s B.S. and they know when it’s genuine. That’s one thing our staff has going for us. We don’t need to lie to people to get them here or to succeed in this program.”

Rolovich said he knew Brown, who has a reserved personality, would blend with his new teammates.

“I think he’s quiet, observant, respectful,” Rolovich said. “I think that’s a good way to come into this culture … to take a back seat for a minute and see how it works. We tell that to all our guys coming from the mainland.”

The first show of acceptance was when Brown received the nickname “Sunshine,” because of his resemblance to the quarterback in the movie, “Remember the Titans.” Told that Brown’s feistiness resembles his head coach’s during his playing days, Rolovich laughed, and said: “I was fatter.”

In his first NCAA start, Brown was 15 of 18 for 222 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-17 victory over Nevada. The Warriors scored five touchdowns and a field goal on 10 full drives. The Warriors will travel to San Jose this week without a quarterback controversy.