Rolo’s Spring Fling brought excitement but no answers

At a larger-than-anticipated 2,500, the crowd was great. So were the food trucks, the kids running onto Ching Field with the players, and the alumni family gathering. Overall, great atmosphere and the University of Hawaii football program can count its Spring Fling as a win on the promotional front.

But how did the offense look?

First, disclaimers.

A) Yes, it’s easier for the quarterback when he knows he’s not going to get hit.

B) The defense was depleted, including indefinitely suspended senior lineman Kennedy Tulimasealii, its biggest star.

With those caveats in mind, UH’s hybrid offense looked good. It wasn’t perfect, but head coach Nick Rolovich and co-offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann liked much of what they saw.

The offense set the tone from the first play, a long scoring pass from Ikaika Woolsey to Dylan Collie.

“The ball got spread around pretty good,” Rolovich said. “I didn’t feel like we wasted 14 practices on the quarterback position. They tried to get better and it’s important to them.”

Woolsey looked like a different guy. … Well, actually the senior has looked like a different guy nearly every camp since his 2012 arrival. He’s had so many different coaches telling him what to do he’s back to the one who recruited him to Manoa, Rolovich.

He has the advantage as the only QB contender with game experience. The results weren’t the greatest, but Woolsey started 19 games the past three seasons; a spring scrimmage crowd isn’t going to faze him.

“He might like the lights,” Rolovich said. “I think Aaron (Zwahlen) made a couple good throws. Beau (Reilly) went to the right place with the ball.”

A Reilly pass resulted in the catch of the day. Makoa Camanse-Stevens jumped for a spectacular grab across the middle.

Slot John Ursua displayed moves on a catch-and-run TD that explain what the hype is about.

Running back Paul Harris looked as good as, if not better than, last season, when his 1,132 yards made him just the second UH rusher to go over a thousand since 1992.

Don’t expect a ridiculous claim of 75 touchdowns, as was made prior to last fall by the previous OC. But this group should manage more than the 27 end-zone visits of 2015 when UH went 3-10.

Maybe too low of a bar, but aren’t we all more for over-delivering than over-promising after five losing seasons in a row?

“We put together the base of an offense, and at least the players know what to expect now,” Stutzmann said.

It’s difficult to predict anything about the defense until several injured players return and Tulimasealii’s status is finalized. He was arrested twice in April, once for domestic abuse and other charges, then last week for alleged criminal property damage that reportedly was done to his ex-girlfriend’s car.

Another defensive lineman, Kaaumoana Gifford, is also suspended; he was charged with resisting arrest and harassment in conjunction with Tulimasealii’s first arrest.

“I think that’s really hard for me to say, because that’s out of our hands right now,” said Rolovich, when asked if they might rejoin the team eventually. “It’s very complicated.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quickreads