After eight prospects pledged their allegiance to the University of Hawaii football team, head coach Nick Rolovich declared: “Phase 2 has begun.”

The Rainbow Warriors twice qualified for the Hawaii Bowl in Rolovich’s first three seasons as head coach. Rolovich views this recruiting class as part of the next stage in the program’s development. Rolovich said the Warriors addressed several areas during the signing periods in December and on Wednesday.

“We always want to create competition at positions,” Rolovich said. “I don’t think you can have enough D-linemen.”

The Warriors signed defensive end Mason Vega in December, and added Blinn College’s Djuan Matthews on Wednesday. Matthews can play all the front-line positions in the Warriors’ 4-2-5 scheme.

The Warriors also were able to land two players from Utah — quarterback Boone Abbott and two-way lineman Caden Hilborn. Offensive line coach Mark Weber was the point recruiter for Hilborn. Weber and quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann worked in tandem to secure a commitment from Abbott.

The Warriors have only three quarterbacks on their spring roster — Cole McDonald, Chevan Cordeiro and Justin Uahinui. “We needed guys who we feel can compete and make us better,” Rolovich said. “And with Cole and Chevan back — both played for us (in games last season) — you just can’t have two quarterbacks.”

In December, the Warriors signed quarterback Zach Daniel, a senior at the Kincaid School in Houston. Rolovich said he expects Daniel and Abbott to embrace the quarterback competition.

“We’ll never bring a quarterback to this university who’s afraid to compete,” Rolovich said.

Lincoln Victor also was a quarterback for Union High in Vancouver, Wash. But Victor is projected to compete at slotback in training camp. Victor has drawn comparisons to slotback John Ursua, who relinquished his senior season to apply for the NFL Draft. Ursua started a UH game last season as the wildcat quarterback. In last month’s Polynesian Bowl, Victor played receiver, catching five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.

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HERE’S ROLOVICH’S BRIEF TAKE ON THE NEW WARRIORS:

Boone Abbott, quarterback

6-2, 175, American Fork (Utah) High

Rolovich: “Boone is another quarterback, we feel, like Zach Daniel, who is athletic, competitive, accurate. You’re going to see some physical development the next couple of years from both of them that are going to make them pretty dangerous in the future. Boone is a guy we found kind of late in the process, especially in the quarterback world. … I kind of enjoy coaching the underdog, the guy who’s had to grind or maybe wait his junior year behind (another) guy, and then really shine his senior year after waiting for his chance. He stayed with his team. He’s not a transfer bunny. He’s playing for his school. I think those guys are pretty solid characters for your team, guys who love football and don’t need the limelight and don’t hop around the first sign of adversity.”

Tavion Allen, free safety

6-0, 170, Scottsdale (Ariz.) College

Rolovich: “Tavion is a guy we were on a couple years ago who ended up going to JC. You look at the films, as far as pound-for-pound physicality, he’s a guy who’s going to be exciting to watch. He has great ball skills. He can run. But back to his physicality. He’s not the biggest guy as far as girth, but he uses every bit of it to get people down. He plays the game very hard. I think he’s another man on a mission.”

Mekel Ealy, wideout

6-3, 180, Freedom High (Oakley, Calif.)

Rolovich: “He’s a tremendous young man. He really had a nice summer as far as making a lot of noise at every camp. We signed a bunch of receivers. We weren’t sure we were going to take another one. But we love his film as far as his length and his speed. But when you get him on the phone, you realize this is a young man who will not only make our program better, our university better, but make our state better because he’s got great values. I think he’s going to be a guy who’s going to grab onto the fact he’s going to be a role model, he’s going to be somebody who can inspire youth. And somebody who understands that and accepts that responsibility and combined with the aloha spirit, he can be somebody pretty special.”

Caden Hilborn, lineman

6-5, 285, Highland High (Salt Lake City, Utah)

Rolovich: “He’s got a blue-collar mentality combined with a big body that’s full of athleticism. He probably could help us on both sides of the ball. I really enjoyed getting to know his family. I think some of their values … they appreciated how genuine we were. We’re not a big show-off type deal. This is who we are. We want guys who wanted to be part of that. I think they respected it. They have a great relationship with (offensive line coach Mark Weber). Web’s been on him a long time. I think we got a pretty good steal there.”

Gabriel Iniguez, defensive lineman

6-2, 265, Pittsburgh (Calif.) High

Rolovich: “Gabe is a hard-playing, physical D-lineman. He won their tough-guy award by how hard he plays, by how physical he is. He was the team captain. I think he’s a guy who’s going to make a large impact on this program by the time he’s done. It’s the things he does. He’s well coached in high school. He plays hard to the whistle. He’s chasing stuff down. He seems like an unselfish, hard-playing D-lineman. If you look at Kaimana Padello on how hard he plays, how successful he is, there are some qualities to this game that when people assume them or embrace them, really make this game fun to play. I think he’s got some of that in him. Isamu Falevai, who’s from the North Shore and coaches at Pittsburg High School, was instrumental in putting (Iniguez) on our radar late.”

Travon Killins, cornerback

6-0, 175, Spruce Creek High (Port Orange, Fla.)

Rolovich: “A young DB we kind of got on late. He’s got a lot of athleticism. His brother plays for UCF. The investigative part on their side was talking through (Mililani High graduates and UCF quarterbacks) McKenzie Milton and Dillon Gabriel about our program, our staff, the culture. I think those guys were great ambassadors for our university in his mind. He watches film. He’s a willing tackler with a good understanding of the spacing and competence in the man-to-man game. If you watch film, he makes plays where his athletic ability is attractive. If you look deeply at his responsibility and the conflicts he puts quarterbacks in, and his ability to tackle, is a great combination.”

Djuan Matthews, defensive lineman

5-11, 280, Blinn College (Brenham, Texas)

Rolovich: “We’ve got four seniors (on the defensive line), but we play a lot of guys. If we know we’re going to lose those guys (at the end of) next year, we wanted to get an older guy. We think he’s going to make a contribution this year. He’s a disruptive young man on the field but a really good-hearted, happy-go-lucky person off the field who truly loves football. The theme of the class is guys who really love football. He’s kind of like a sponge. He and Tavion are the same way. They are very interested in the chalk-talk portion of the (recruiting) visit. They weren’t blinded by the visit. They came here for a reason. ‘Let’s talk ball. Let’s see what you guys do. Let’s see how we fit.’”

Lincoln Victor, slotback

5-10, 165, Union High (Vancouver, Wash.)

Rolovich: “Lincoln is a guy you’re happy about signing because of his leadership qualities and who he is as a person. He’s played quarterback. He has extreme quickness. But I think he’s a high-level competitor. We just lost a slot (John Ursua) who used to be a quarterback that we were able to do a bunch of stuff with. We think the slot position for him to call home without ruling out some creative opportunities in the future for him to put the ball in his hands. He gives us a lot creativity and versatility offensively.”