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Soon after catching a pass against Nevada this past Saturday, Hawaii receiver Melquise Stovall ran into a streetcar named Austin Arnold.
The hit to the chinstrap sent Stovall sprawling to the Aloha Stadium turf. Stovall immediately stood.
“Coach (Todd) Graham talks about the ‘TTH,’” said Stovall, referencing the Warriors’ tougher-than-hell motto. “Whenever you go down, you got to fight to get back up as hard as you can. Nothing’s broken on me, so I’m going to get back up. Whenever someone is on the ground, you want to get up as fast as possible to show no weakness.”
Stovall — and his football career — also bounced back following last year’s decision to remove him from the Warriors’ active roster. At the time, then UH coach Nick Rolovich indicated Stovall did not meet “certain expectations required of a football student-athlete here at the University of Hawaii.”
“Whenever something is taken away that you love, it’s hard to come to … terms when it’s taken away,” Stovall told reporters on Wednesday. “When it was taken away, I did a lot of reflecting to see what I could do better, things I could improve on.”
He did not allow the decision to interrupt his academic schedule.
“First and foremost, I think my family really pushed me,” Stovall said. “I have a family back home (in Lancaster, Calif.) that’s depending on me. Just waking up every day, just thinking about them, and all the wrong that I’ve done to them. (I tried) to better myself every day just by doing the little things, like going to class, doing my homework, being a better person out in public, saying hello to people I don’t know. … I think that was the biggest thing.”
After Graham was hired as UH head coach in January, Stovall approached and asked for another chance. After evaluating the matter, Graham allowed Stovall to participate in off-season activities. Eventually, Stovall fulfilled his promises and was reinstated to the active roster. In May, Graham said of Stovall’s situation, “in my life, I’m thankful people gave me a second chance. I tell the players I’m all about second chances.”
Now Stovall is being given multiple opportunities. He has been used as a receiver, jet-sweep runner, running back, punt returner and kickoff returner. He also has two tackles. Against Nevada, he moved from slotback to make his first start at right wideout. Each of his five third-down catches resulted in first downs.
“I just go out there and do what the team needs me for,” Stovall said. “If I had to go out there and play center, I’ll play center.”
Stovall showed his athleticism in a second-quarter play on Saturday. On a route to the right flat, Chevan Cordeiro’s pass was slightly under thrown. Stovall reached back to make the one-handed grab without breaking stride.
“(Receivers) Coach (Brennan) Marion always harps, ‘eyes to the ball,’ ” Stovall said. “All I did there. Great placement, nice touch. It was pretty simple.”
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