Hawaii football team adds 3 more to coaching staff
COURTESY WILLIAM & MARY ATHLETICS
Brennan Marion
The coordinator of prolific college-football offenses is among three coaches joining the University of Hawaii football team’s staff.
Brennan Marion, who was William & Mary’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past season, will be an offensive assistant for the Rainbow Warriors.
Prior to that post, Marion held similar roles at Howard, helping to develop quarterback Hollis Mathis, fullback Tyler Crist and offensive lineman Mark Williamson. In 2017, Howard upset UNLV and went on finish 15th in the FCS in total offense (470,8).
Marion has ties to new UH head coach Todd Graham. Marion was a receiver for two years at Tulsa, when Graham was the Golden Hurricane’s head coach. As a junior, Marion set the NCAA record with 31.9 yards per catch. He also was Graham’s quality control at Arizona State in 2015.
“Coach Marion brings great knowledge, experience, a dynamic innovative coaching mind to our program,” Graham wrote in a news release. “Having been an innovator as a wide receiver coach and offensive coordinator, Coach Marion was also an explosive playmaker and at wide receiver in our (Tulsa) program and holds the NCAA record for most yards per catch in NCAA history. He has an amazing story of overcoming adversity to achieve great success.”
Brandon Graham, Todd Graham’s son, is joining the Warriors as an assistant coach on offense, and Laiu Moeakiola is being hired as a coach on defense.
The younger Graham has coached at Rice, Pittsburgh and Arizona State under his father. He worked in private business before and after serving as quality control coach at Louisiana in 2018.
“Coach Brandon Graham has a wealth of experience and knowledge in our championship football culture,” the elder Graham wrote. “He has worked alongside some of the best offensive minds in the nation. He has teamed up with Coach (Gus) Malzahn, Coach (Mike) Norvell, Coach (Chip) Long and Coach (Billy) Napier assisting them with the design of our offense and with game planning. He also has developed some great running backs to go on to the NFL such as DJ Foster, Marion Grice, Charles Clay, Kallen Ballage, Demario Richard.”
Moeakiola is a graduate of Trinity High in Euless, Texas. Euless has a large Polynesian population. Trinity earned national attention for its football team’s performance of the haka before games.
Moeakiola was a standout linebacker and safety at Arizona State. He has served as a graduate assistant at TCU and Georgia.
“We are so excited to welcome Coach Moeakiola to our Hawaii football family,” Todd Graham said in a new release. “He has great knowledge of our program values having been a four-year starter for us (at ASU) and on staff in our program. He has experience working in two premier defensive programs in the country in TCU and Georgia.”
