Higgins snaps up honor, but QB battle continues

It took three months to make a snap decision.

The suspense ended on Thursday when Jeremy Higgins — one of three competing for the Hawaii starting quarterback’s job — received the first rotation turn of training camp.

"Somebody had to take the first snap," said Norm Chow, UH’s first-year head coach.

Higgins, a Saint Louis School graduate who redshirted in 2011 after transferring from Utah State, and David Graves, who started two games last year, exited spring training tied atop the depth chart at quarterback. The field expanded when Sean Schroeder, who recently earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke, enrolled at UH.

Chow said Higgins was awarded the first snap because "he ended up the spring the best."

But each of the three candidates received a relatively equal amount of reps with the first and second units during passing and team drills on Thursday.

There were many other considerations for Chow. Cornerbacks Ronald Fields and Justin Turner were not cleared to practice. Fields is awaiting transcripts from College of San Mateo. Turner returned to the mainland to complete coursework.

With punter Alex Dunnachie scheduled to answer to a DUI accusation in District Court this morning, the Warriors postponed working on special teams.

Such matters were side stories to the Warriors’ most pressing question: Who will be the starting quarterback?

Chow acknowledged there will be a timetable, but "I don’t know when that is. We have to pick someone. We’re going to do it when we’re ready."

Chow said the first step will be reviewing videos of Thursday’s 2-hour practice.

"I don’t coach out there," Chow said, smiling, "I scream. We’ll coach in the film room."

Higgins said he did not know he would take the first snap until he was summoned for the first passing drill.

"I didn’t really think about it," Higgins said. "I was going to go in whenever (Chow) told me."

Chow has praised Higgins for his knowledge of the pro-set offense and his accuracy. The knock is that Higgins’ passes tend to float.

"Coach Chow wanted me to work on my feet and the torque of my passes," Higgins said. "He wanted me to get my passes in there faster."

The project began at the base. Higgins has worked on getting his feet set before he throws.

"That really helps with my passes," Higgins said.

Higgins also spent hours in the weight room. He said he gained 5 pounds, and now weighs 215, and added oomph to his passes.

Graves will be entering his fourth UH season, but only the first in this offense, which requires him to take snaps from under center and be aware of checkdowns (underneath routes by running backs and tight ends).

"Since I was in high school, I ran spread/shotgun," Graves said. "This is a new system for me. In the shotgun, we never had checkdowns before."

Graves is a skilled scrambler. But in this scheme, which often utilizes a fullback and tight end, Graves is being asked to remain in the pocket. Graves said he went on a strength-building program to develop the sturdiness to stay put longer. Graves weighed 206 pounds on Thursday, 14 more than what he weighed at the end of the 2011 season.

Schroeder earned his bachelor’s degree in June, then was accepted into UH’s graduate school last month. Because he has a degree, he was allowed to transfer without having to redshirt this season.

Schroeder said Duke and UH share many of the same offensive concepts.

"And I’ve been studying (UH’s offense) every day since I’ve been here," said Schroeder, who moved to Hawaii four weeks ago. "I have one goal, and that’s to come in here and help Hawaii win football games. Hawaii is a great place, and I’m embracing the culture, but this isn’t a vacation for me. It’s a business."

Schroeder spent a month this summer training under Bob Johnson, a quarterback specialist who founded the Elite 11 Camp. That tutoring, in addition to three years at Duke, has helped Schroeder in the transition.

"I’m not a typical freshman coming into his first practice," Schroeder said. "I feel kind of like a veteran, so to speak."

Schroeder acknowledged it was a gamble to transfer to UH. He was on scholarship at Duke; at UH, he is a walk-on.

But his leap of faith was reaffirmed after listening to an orientation speech on Wednesday night. Manoa chancellor Tom Apple implored the players to be willing to take chances.

"If you do that," Schroeder recalled, "there can be big rewards."