New QB commit says UH feels like home

Quarterback Aaron Zwahlen’s recent vacation site will be his vocation destination.

Zwahlen, who is entering his senior year at Thomas Downey High in Modesto, Calif., said he has accepted a football-scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii. He will sign on Feb. 6, 2013, the first day of the signing period for high school seniors.

Zwahlen attended two UH spring practices during a family vacation in April.

"It made me feel like it was home," Zwahlen said.

His father, Dr. Lynn Zwahlen, said, "He wanted (Hawaii) from the very beginning. Right from the get-go, he said, ‘This is where I feel I belong.’ "

Zwahlen said he is 6 feet 3 and 195 pounds. As a junior in 2011, he passed for more than 2,900 yards, along with 29 scoring passes.

He placed No. 153 on ESPN’s list of the top 300 high school prospects. ESPN gave Zwahlen a 4-star rating, and ranked him No. 1 among California’s prep drop-back quarterbacks.

An ESPN analyst wrote: "Zwahlen, in our opinion, has been the most under-valued and overlooked quarterback prospect in the 2013 class. This is potentially an elite passer down the road with the measurables, arm strength and accuracy to blossom into a BCS starter with a high level of production."

Zwahlen has participated in six camps the past month, including the Oakland Elite 11. He was named the top senior quarterback at the Brigham Young camp this past weekend.

BYU, Washington State, Texas Tech, Duke and Northwestern had been recruiting Zwahlen.

Zwahlen has expressed an interest in serving a church mission after his freshman year of college. BYU and Washington State made grayshirt offers in which Zwahlen would sit out a year, go on the two-year mission beginning in 2014, and enroll in 2016.

Zwahlen said he was told he could compete for playing time as a UH freshman in 2013.

"At Hawaii, I’d have the best chance," Zwahlen said. "That’s what tipped the scales for me."

UH head coach Norm Chow coached Dr. Zwahlen at BYU — in 1973 as a graduate assistant, and 1976 and 1977 as the receivers coach. Dr. Zwahlen went on a church mission in 1974 and 1975. UH running backs coach Keith Uperesa and Dr. Zwahlen were BYU teammates in 1976 and 1977.

"I really like (Chow)," Dr. Zwahlen said. "The players all really liked him. He was always very respectful. He treated all of the players fairly. That’s the main thing I remember about him."

Dr. Zwahlen has been a volunteer coach in Modesto since 1984.

"I’ve gone to some of the coaching clinics where (Chow has) been a speaker," Dr. Zwahlen said. "I’ve picked his brain about quarterback stuff. It’s nice that my son will be playing for him."