The University of Hawaii football team is set to upgrade its offense with Monday’s first of 15 spring practices.
Last year’s spring training, the first under head coach Timmy Chang, was intended to promote unity following a tumultuous end to the 2021 season. This year’s aim is to fully implement the run-and-shoot offense that was prolific for 13 UH seasons through 2011 and found revived success in 2018 and 2019. The Warriors used a mashup of schemes last season.
Chang and co-offensive coordinators Ian Shoemaker and Roman Sapolu will craft the game plan in meetings and practices each week during the season. But Chang, a record-setting, run-and-shoot quarterback at UH and Saint Louis School, will call the offensive plays during games.
During the offseason, Sapolu, who coaches the offensive line, met with former UH line coach Dennis McKnight in Texas to discuss the scheme’s blocking techniques. Next month, Chang will spend time with June Jones — his mentor and former UH coach — at the XFL training facility in Texas. Jones, a master of the run-and-shoot, is offensive coordinator for the XFL’s Seattle Sea Dragons.
Chang also will coach the UH quarterbacks, with quality control coach Cade Socha providing assistance in meetings, video sessions and game-planning.
Brayden Schager enters spring training as the No. 1 quarterback. When the Warriors began introducing elements of the run-and-shoot in last season’s fifth game, Schager “started making some great throws,” according to Chang. “He’s gotten better. Schager throws the ball hard. Schager knows the drops. He’s been good.”
Chang said Joey Yellen, who transferred from Pittsburgh last summer, “reminds me of (Nick) Rolovich 100%.” In 2020, Chang joined the Warriors as a freshman and Rolovich transferred from City College of San Francisco. From an initial nine-quarterback field, Rolovich won the starting job. But after two uneven games, Rolovich was replaced by Chang. The next season, following an injury to Chang, Rolovich had a record-setting season. Against Miami (Ohio) and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Rolovich threw for 500 yards and seven touchdowns.
Similar to Rolovich, according to Chang, Yellen has “that intelligence. The ball comes out on time.”
Chang said backup quarterback Jake Farrell is “another reliable guy.”
Former UH quarterbacks Bryant Moniz and Shawn Withy-Allen have attended unsupervised workouts. Moniz runs a training business. Withy-Allen is a pastor. Both have operated the run-and-shoot offense.
At its base, the run-and-shoot is a four-wide scheme in which routes are chosen depending on the defensive coverage. In many plays, this UH offense will use a tight end in place of one of the receivers. The hope is a tight end, similar to those employed in the NFL, will help the run game with in-the-box blocking or creating mismatches against nickel corners.
The Warriors have five tight ends on the spring roster: Devon Tauaefa, Landon Sims, Greyson Morgan, Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole and Kalani Kamakawiwo‘ole. Tauaefa is a converted wideout. Sims’ father, Travis, was a standout running back on the Warriors’ 1992 Holiday Bowl team. Morgan is recovering from an injury and will not participate in contact drills. The Kamakawiwo‘ole brothers are moving from linebacker. Their father, Kila, is a former UH defensive end.
SPRING BASICS
>> Beginning Monday, practices will be held four times a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The Monday, Tuesday and Thursday practices will be on the grass field. Friday’s practices probably will be at the Ching Complex.
>> Spring practices are free and open to the public.
>> Unlike last year’s Island Day, there are no plans to stage festivities and a spring game to cap spring training. But there will be intrasquad scrimmages.
>> Spring training was moved up because of scheduled renovations at the Ching Complex and neighboring grass fields.
