On an SPF-50 football Saturday in Manoa, the University of Hawaii quarterback competition continued in a dead heat.
“They’re not there yet, but they’re trying,” head coach Nick Rolovich said following the sixth of 15 practices this spring training. “Sorry about the double negative, but nobody has earned nothing with us yet.”
Rolovich and Craig Stutzmann, who serves as the quarterbacks coach and passing-game coordinator, have divided the reps equally among sixth-year senior Ikaika Woolsey, third-year sophomore Beau Reilly and second-year freshman Aaron Zwahlen. Saturday’s quarterback rotation was this: Zwahlen, Woolsey and Reilly.
“They’re trying to do the right things,” Rolovich said, emphasizing there is no depth chart at quarterback. “There’s a lot to learn. There are a lot of little details we can get to. It’s going to be a long process.”
During Saturday’s 34-play scrimmage, Zwahlen completed each of his four passes in his opening series, collaborating with left wideout Keelan Ewaliko on a 29-yard score. It came on a free play after center John Wa‘a, who calls the pre-snap cadences, induced a defensive lineman to jump offsides.
“I threw it up in the air,” Zwahlen said. “If it’s picked off, you get the ball back and 5 yards. If it’s a touchdown, you decline the penalty.”
Ewaliko, who has recovered from a meniscus injury that forced him to miss the final three games of the 2015 season, sprinted open on an improvised go route.
“I was able to do what I do: run straight and run fast,” Ewaliko said.
Reilly led the Rainbow Warriors to the 1 on his series, with the key completion a 6-yarder to slotback Dylan Collie on third-and-4. Then with two wideouts slanting to the post, Collie curled to the left corner of the end zone to secure Reilly’s 1-yard scoring pass.
“They went man (coverage) on the goal line, and we had the perfect play set up for it,” Reilly said.
Reilly has improved dramatically since the end of the 2015 season. After returning from a two-year church mission, he redshirted in 2014 and then held the clipboard the entire 2015 season. He has made three key gains — 10 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame, confidence in abilities, and extra rest now that 7-month-old son Jax is sleeping through the night. “My wife does a really good job with him,” Reilly said.
Zwahlen said he has gained 20 pounds since returning from a church mission last May, including 12 pounds since the end of the 2015 season. He has impressed with deep throws during passing drills.
Woolsey is adjusting to yet another new offense. There have been seven offensive coordinators in the 51 months since Woolsey joined the Warriors in January 2012 after grayshirting the previous fall. This spring, Woolsey has been intercepted once — on a deflection — in about 240 game-situation throws.
“I’m taking care of the ball better,” said Woolsey, who is willing to throw away passes, even in 7-on-7 drills.
“That’s part of the deal,” Rolovich said. “When things aren’t open, don’t make a bad situation worse.”
This spring, the Warriors have increased each quarterback’s pitch counts to about 80 per practice, with half occurring during game-like situations. Because they practice three times each week, with no back-to-back workouts, the quarterbacks’ arms have not been stressed. Stutzmann said an equal emphasis has been placed on footwork, enabling quarterbacks to throw accurately even while on the move.
“Getting their feet and their eyes right is paramount to us right now,” Stutzmann said.
