Warriors whittle QB rotation to 4
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
UH quarterbacks Dru Brown, left, Cole McDonald and Aaron Zwahlen join Ikaika Woolsey as the final four in the Rainbow Warriors’ quarterback rotation.
And then there were four.
The University of Hawaii football team whittled its quarterback rotation to senior Ikaika Woolsey, second-year freshman Aaron Zwahlen, and sophomore transfers Dru Brown and Cole Brownholtz. Head coach Nick Rolovich is expected to name a starting quarterback following Saturday’s scrimmage at Aloha Stadium.
True freshman Cole McDonald, who will get some work in team drills, is a candidate to redshirt this season — a move that would create class spacing among the quarterbacks.
“I think Cole McDonald will benefit from sitting back and watching at this point,” Rolovich said. “I don’t want him to stop competing. I want him to get used to college.”
Rolovich also said third-year sophomore Beau Reilly will remain with the rotation quarterbacks during drills and not be assigned to the scout team.
“I think Beau right now really understands (the offense) really well, but it’s about getting things done on the field and production,” Rolovich said. “He’s in a tough spot. I have no doubt he’ll handle it in the right way, and we’ll move forward as a team. He’ll try to make us better.”
The UH coaches likened Reilly to Shawn Withy-Allen, a former UH quarterback who ascended from No. 5 to leading a comeback victory over UTEP. Withy-Allen now serves as the Rainbow Warriors’ character coach.
“Beau’s that type of guy,” said Craig Stutzmann, quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. “He’s going to stay plugged in. He cares about football and he cares about this team.”
Kyle Gallup, who transferred from Marshall, will redshirt this year. Hunter Hughes, who was on the spring roster, rejoins the Warriors on Aug. 22, the first day of UH’s fall semester.
Rolovich said the number of quarterbacks is “a great problem. It’s really good for our future because you’ve got a lot of young guys getting quality reps. … I like our quarterback situation for years to come.”
Woolsey, who has had seven offensive coordinators since joining UH in January 2012, said this hybrid offense — which
pools run-and-shoot, read-option and run-pass-option concepts — is suited for his skills.
“I feel this is the most comfortable I’ve been than with the six offenses in the past,” Woolsey said. “It kind of works into how I play.”
Stutzmann said Woolsey is benefiting from a fresh slate following the Warriors’ struggles the previous four years.
“Ikaika has been great,” Stutzmann said. “He’s taken a lot of criticism in the past, but it’s not affecting him. If anything, it’s fuel for him to do better, and that’s a good thing. He’s taken something negative into a positive.”
Rolovich said football is “very important to (Woolsey). The little things are important to him. You see him doing the little things on the field that most people might not see. That’s making us a better football team.”
Rolovich said Zwahlen has “really developed” from spring training to training camp. Zwahlen redshirted last season after returning from a two-year church mission. “He’s not making the same mistakes he did in the spring,” Rolovich said. “That’s growth. He’s really taken care of the ball in camp.”
Rolovich described Brown as a “football junkie. … All he wants to do is go to school and play football. That’s what he came here for.”
Rolovich is not concerned that Brownholtz sometimes will fling a pass with a side-arm motion. Rolovich said accuracy and quick release are more important.
“He pressed a little bit in the first week,” Rolovich said of Brownholtz. “I wanted to give him a chance to settle down and get with the offense. He has an innate ability to make plays outside of the pocket.”
17 responses to “Warriors whittle QB rotation to 4”
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Shawn Withy-Allen a “character coach”? What is a “character coach”? I never heard that term before. I think Shawn Withy-Allen is the guy who thinks he is Jesus.
They will need more than character coaching…and he gets paid for this?
Woolsley, really? After how many games before he sits on the bench again?
I think he’s to provide detox from the mind numbing teachings and beliefs from the previous regime.
I think both of your opinions are accurate to your intellect and neither of you should go to or watch any games.
Everything that I’ve read about Rolovich and his staff so far is so different from the Norm Chow days. It sounds better, it feels better. It feels like this team is finally coming together under competent coaching. I’m looking forward to a better season than the last three. Go Warriors!
From the BS they’re spouting about Reilly (a third year guy only good enough to be on the scout team) and the other QBs, there seem to be no difference between the BS Chow used to spout about his QBs. I’m fairly sure the play calling will be better but still no evidence that our QB play will be any better.
well that’s what everyone thought when chow first got up on stage and said they were chasing last place, I mean chasing championships
I think both of your opinions are accurate to your intellect and neither of you should go to or watch any games…again.
Unlike you, at least you acknowledge we have some intellect.
For what it’s worth, I believe that’s Zwahlen (at right) in the photo not Brownholtz.
yup the looks and jersey number say it all
So, they change the ID to Zwahlen, but leave the fact that Cole McDonald is among the final four QBs. Tick, tick, tick … how long before the SA realizes the caption is still in error. Just think, folks, someone actually gets paid to do this.
The problem is they don’t get paid very well. The papers around the country have been in a death spiral for a while now and it’s not going to get better but worse. Don’t know many young people who read papers these days. Look at how SA loads the online edition with ads and pseudo articles that are little more than product/business ad placements.
Young talent all around. Good problem to have indeed. Nobody should expect miracles at this extremely early stage of the rebuild. It’s going to most likely be awhile before we get a balance of Ws to Ls but movement in the right direction is key. That’s what I’m seeing so far. With that said, those who focus only on the short term and/or the past are bound to find fault with any process improvements.
hmmm, I see it in a different light not having a qb head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. I hate it when the call goes to a qb because he has more experience than his peers, that doesn’t cut it for me. But maybe it was Chow’s game that made them look bad at times
I generally agree with you but it is what it is. None of the QBs have any proven experience beyond Woolsey. What I am basically saying is that it will be an on-the-job training/audition for all QBs this season, including Woolsey, in this new hybrid system. I am all for finding the right guy for the job which will unfortunately be played out in the games this year as opposed to practice. We’ve seen too many “practice guys” who show up well during the week but fall flat under the night lights on game day. I am excited to see this process unfold as I am really not expecting anything for this year…at least. And yes, a lot of this rebuild is moving away from Chow and the last few dead years of non-improvement/going backwards.
Sad case if Woolsey is the starting qb. Another tough year for the football team.