Wittek officially joins Warriors

Former USC quarterback Max Wittek has officially joined the University of Hawaii football team.

What’s more, wideout Ryan Pasoquen and cornerback Gaetano DeMattei have been awarded scholarships.

Wittek arrived in town on Saturday and will go through the orientation session this morning. Today is the first day of UH’s fall semester.

In the spring, Wittek confirmed he would not return to USC for his fourth year. He took recruiting visits to Texas and Hawaii, and was in contact with Louisville.

One of the attractions was Wittek was projected to earn a bachelor’s degree this past May, after six semesters at USC, allowing him to transfer and play at his next school without redshirting.

But Wittek had not accumulated enough credits to graduate. That meant he would have to redshirt after transferring, leaving him with the 2015 season as his only remaining year of eligibility.

Wittek had other options, but agreed to pay his own way to Hawaii with the opportunity to compete for playing time in 2015 and, possibly, earn a scholarship.

"He wants a chance to play," UH coach Norm Chow said. "He thinks he can do it here."

Ikaika Woolsey, a third-year sophomore, is the No. 1 quarterback. Taylor Graham and Jeremy Higgins are fifth-year seniors. Beau Reilly and Eric Prater are freshmen.

Pasoquen and DeMattei are the latest walk-ons to be awarded scholarships.

Two years ago, Pasoquen was projected as the No. 1 nickelback before suffering an injury in training camp. He was a backup safety and special-teams member last year. This past spring, he was moved to wideout.

In training camp, Pasoquen and Damien Packer have been splitting time as the No. 2 Z receiver behind Quinton Pedroza. Packer, like Pasoquen, is a former safety. Pasoquen, like Packer, is now on scholarship.

"He grew up," Chow said of Pasoquen. "And he can help us with the receivers."

DeMattei was invited to the past spring training after acing the walk-on tryouts in February. He did well enough to be added to the training-camp roster.

DeMattei is used as a nickel-corner and dime back in specialized defensive schemes.

"He’s a product of the walk-on tryouts," Chow said, noting the defensive coaches "recognize his talents."