David Graves was rocked, but now he is ready to roll as Hawaii’s starting quarterback for Saturday’s regular-season football finale against Brigham Young.
“I’m good to go,” said Graves, who was lifted in the third quarter of a 35-23 victory over Tulane this past weekend. He will be held out of today’s practice, but will resume work with the first-team offense on Wednesday.
On a free play created when a Tulane defender jumped offside, Graves scampered out of the pocket and was struck on the helmet while releasing a pass.
“I got rocked,” Graves said.
After that, Graves said it was blurry in his left eye, as if he were looking through a water drop. He misfired on his next four passes before being approached by offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich.
“I wasn’t making any sense with my words,” said Graves, who was then replaced by Shane Austin.
He said the blurriness cleared later that night, and that he was “cleared” following a medical examination on Sunday.
Austin said he was told by family members who are in the medical field that he might have experienced an electrolyte imbalance because of a virus he suffered the previous week.
“My whole system might not have been all ready, and that might be the reason for the blurry vision,” Graves said.
Graves was 21-for-38 for 260 yards in his first NCAA start. He threw two scoring passes to freshman wideout Trevor Davis, and scored on a 15-yard draw. He was intercepted twice.
“Definitely, there were some throws I wish I could take back,” Graves said. “There’s always room for improvement. That’s the game of football.”
The first lesson, Graves said, is not to absorb as many hits. He said the big hit was avoidable.
“Live and learn,” Graves said. “Next time, I’m not going to make that same mistake.”
Head coach Greg McMackin praised Graves, noting his elusiveness makes him a dual threat.
McMackin reaffirmed that Graves is the Warriors’ No. 1 quarterback.