With two days remaining before the close of training camp, Hawaii head football coach Norm Chow has re-opened the competition for the No. 2 quarterback’s job.
Chow reaffirmed his commitment to Sean Schroeder, who was named the No. 1 quarterback nearly two weeks ago.
But after Thursday’s 65-play scrimmage, Chow said, "I’m not real pleased with the backup quarterbacks. They have to prove themselves."
At the end of spring training, David Graves and Jeremy Higgins were listed atop the depth chart. In June, Schroeder transferred to UH after earning a bachelor’s degree at Duke.
After the third practice of this training camp, Schroeder was named the starter, Higgins was deemed the primary backup and Graves moved to receiver.
But Higgins has had uneven performances. In Thursday’s scrimmage, he connected with wide receiver Chris Gant on passes of 20 and 16 yards. But on the next play, on a rollout to his left, Higgins was intercepted by safety Leroy Lutu on a crossing pass. Later, Higgins and Gant collaborated on a 21-yard scoring play.
After that, Schroeder and freshman Ikaika Woolsey shared the reps.
"I wanted to give (Woolsey) some work," Chow said. "He’s a very talented guy and he played very well."
Chow said the plan is for Higgins and Woolsey to split time with the second-unit offense. Next week, when the fall semester begins and practices will be limited to one a day, Graves will get individual work at quarterback, then compete as a receiver in team drills.
Cayman Shutter, who is suspended for the first month of the season, will continue to work with the scout-team offense.
Woolsey’s re-emergence can be traced to his comfort with the newly implemented pro-set offense. Woolsey was a part-time student at City College of San Francisco in 2011. He was allowed to practice with the Rams but not play in any games. The Rams eventually won the junior college national championship.
"There were a lot of good athletes on that team," Woolsey said. "I had to pick up the pace. Every day, I had to be ready to battle."
Woolsey enrolled at UH in January. He had a strong start in spring training, taking reps with the second team before struggling as more of the offense was added. This training camp, Woolsey has developed enough to draw praise from the coaches.
"Coach said the No. 2 spot is still open," Woolsey said. "It’s competitive, but that’s good for the team."