Warriors will get back to work after dead period ends

FREMONT, CALIF. >> After putting the 2022 season to bed, the University of Hawaii football coaches began dreaming about next year.

The Rainbow Warriors’ 3-10 season — the first under head coach Timmy Chang, who was hired in January — ended with Saturday’s road loss to San Jose State. Because the NCAA’s dead period for recruiting began on Sunday, the coaches returned to Honolulu that afternoon. The position coaches will conduct exit interviews through Wednesday, with most returning to the mainland on Thursday to recruit.

To fill vacated roster spots, UH relied heavily on the transfer portal to fill the 2022 recruiting class. For the 2023 class, the Warriors are going to expand junior-college recruiting to build competition and depth. They already renewed ties across the country, particularly in Texas and California, and have scouted several junior-college teams during road trips. Last week, the Warriors secured a commitment from safety Justin Sinclair of College of San Mateo.

The Warriors are seeking defensive linemen. Nose tackle Blessman Ta‘ala, who did not miss a game during his UH career, and 3-tech tackle John Tuitupou completed their college eligibility. The wish list prioritizes pass rushers, cornerbacks, and offensive tackles. UH is following a past formula that team speed can be increased if a cornerback moves to safety, a safety to linebacker, and linebacker to rush end.

Quarterback Brayden Schager is set to return for his junior season. The hope is Joey Yellen, who started three games, will further develop after watching from the sidelines during games and taking the No. 2 snaps in practices.

A generation ago, quarterback Nick Rolovich started the first two UH games of the 2000 season, took mental reps the rest of the year, and became a record setter the following season.

Tylan Hines, who had a breakout freshman season, will lead next season’s running attack. The offensive line’s interior is set with Eliki Tanuvasa, Sergio Muasau, Mo Ta‘ala, and Arasi Mose earning playing time. Solo Vaipulu, a super senior who redshirted this year after playing in only four games, can play center and both guard spots.

On defense, Isaiah Tufaga, who missed the second half of the season because of a leg injury, is expected to move from will linebacker to middle ‘backer. That would allow Logan Taylor to stay put at the will. The Warriors expect redshirts Riley Wilson and Jalen Smith to have big roles at linebacker.

Chang acknowledged the Warriors’ missed opportunities often overshadowed their effort.

“The boys played hard as usual,” Chang said after Saturday’s game, “but we have to have a big, big, big offseason and make sure we correct all these things — all these little things — that may turn up in games.”

The Warriors will have three weeks of strength and conditioning training in January. They will begin spring training in February. The early start is threefold: 1) expansion of the Ching Complex begins on Jan. 4; 2) it builds off the momentum of the recently completed season, and 3) it will allow more healing time for spring injuries.

“We still have a lot of momentum going into spring ball,” wideout Jonah Panoke said. “We’ll have some weeks off to recover (from ailments), and get back it. We’ll get the plays down and keep improving.”

While some of the workouts will be voluntary, safety Peter Manuma said, “I’m going to go to those and make them mandatory for myself.”

Schager said the Warriors benefited from game experience. “We were an inexperienced team last year,” Schager said, “and we’re going to come back next year with experience.”