RENO, NEV. » Hawaii quarterback Sean Schroeder has an IOU list.
"I’m always going to keep battling and playing my butt off," Schroeder said in the aftermath of Nevada’s 31-9 victory Saturday at Mackay Stadium. "I owe it to my teammates. I owe it to this school. I owe it to the fan base. I owe it to the state. I owe them all for the opportunities they’ve given me."
After earning a bachelor’s degree at Duke, Schroeder transferred to UH in June 2012. He started 11 games last year.
But he was hit more than 120 times, suffering at least two concussions and a back injury that required surgery in April.
Taylor Graham was named the No. 1 quarterback entering spring training, a position the Ohio State transfer has not relinquished.
"I don’t worry about outside factors," Schroeder said. "I have confidence in myself as a player. I’m always going to. Nobody is going to tell me otherwise."
When Graham left late in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, Schroeder took over the offense.
Schroeder was 9-for-14 for 74 yards. He collaborated with Chris Gant on a 21-yard scoring pass. But Schroeder was intercepted twice. On the first, he tried to throw to Vasquez Haynes in the right flat. But defensive tackle Rykeem Yates deflected the pass. It ricocheted to rush end Brock Hekking for an interception.
"Somehow the D-lineman was back there (for the interception)," Schroeder said.
On the second, Schroeder said, "It was another unfortunate one. I had (tight end) Clark Evans open and deep. We had the right coverage we wanted. I thought it was going to be 6. As soon as I let it go, somebody hit my arm, and I wasn’t able to get it there."
Schroeder added: "Every time we tried to move the ball in the second half, we’d shoot ourselves in the foot with the penalties or a sack or stuff like that."
Schroeder said he feels the fans’ pain.
"We poured so much blood, sweat and tears into this thing," Schroeder said. "We’re not going to quit. There’s so much fight in us. I want to stress to the fans we appreciate their support and we’re giving everything we can. We’re pouring everything into this. We’re going to figure this out. Just be patient. We’re working on it. We still have some young guys. We need to cut down on some of these mistakes and put some points on the board. I know that’s what the fans want to see us do."
