Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich believes in the “Freshman 15” rule.
By qualifying for the SoFi Hawaii Bowl against Louisiana Tech, the Rainbow Warriors are allotted 15 practices ahead of the Dec. 22 game at Aloha Stadium.
“I love it,” said Rolovich, who is using the 15 practices to give meaningful reps to freshmen, redshirts and developing players. “I think the value, as you’re developing a program, is incredibly important. You don’t want to waste one opportunity to get better. If we take the foot off the gas pedal at any point in the development of this program, we’ll take a step back, like we did last year.”
The Warriors won the 2016 Hawaii Bowl to finish at 7-7, then went 3-9 in 2017.
Saturday’s 90-minute workout, the first of the 15 practices, was focused on the base schemes.
“We wanted to get a lot of the young guys reps,” Rolovich said. “It’s really like another spring practice, with an opponent (at the end), which is a cool added component of it.”
The Warriors were given a week off following the overtime victory over San Diego State in the Nov. 24 regular-season finale.
“It was kind of different,” quarterback Cole McDonald said of the rest period. “It wasn’t something we’re used to. Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the week and think, ‘Oh, I’m late for practice.’ ”
Slotback John Ursua said “There were mornings I felt, I’m missing something.”
Ursua said he spent the week catching up on school work — the Warriors took six road trips this year — and working out twice a day at the Warrior Recreation Center.
On Saturday, the Warriors had their first full practice in eight days.
“We had a week off — lifting, not touching a football, getting our minds right — and it was exciting to be out here again, being back with the boys,” rush end Kaimana Padello said of Saturday’s practice. “Going into bowl season, not a lot of teams have this opportunity. Everybody is feeling it. The sun is shining. It’s not cold, even though it’s December. It’s awesome.”
Running back Hekili Keli‘iliki, a second-year freshman, took reps with the regular offense. He does not have any carries this season, although he started against San Diego State when the Warriors opened in a wildcat formation. A penalty nullified the play, and Keli‘iliki headed to the sideline.
“The result (of the play) wasn’t what we wanted, but it was still nice to get out there and play the position,” said Keli‘iliki, who is expected to have an expanded role next season. Of Saturday’s practice, he said, “I was able to get more reps to get used to the scheme a little more and get ready for next year.”
Running back Dayton Furuta did not travel for the San Diego State game because of the recent birth of his daughter, Sky. He said he watched the telecast. “It was hard not to be jumping around with my baby in my arms,” Furuta said.
On Saturday, it appeared to be like old times.
“You definitely miss the guys (after) you spend countless hours, countless weeks watching film, having a good time on the field,” McDonald said. “It was awesome (to practice again). I missed it. It gives me my regular routine to my day. It’s always fun to be out with the guys and playing ball.”
