University of Hawaii quarterback Cole McDonald enjoys painting the town beige.
His favorite Saturday nights are spent with 105 of his best friends at Aloha Stadium. The last song is the UH Marching Band’s rendition of the alma mater.
“You’re going to have to make sacrifices,” McDonald said of his football-focused social life. “Sometimes I want to go out. Sometimes I want to do this stuff. But the bigger picture, the bigger view of things, you have to make sacrifices for certain things. That’s just life.”
On Monday, McDonald was named the Mountain West Conference’s offensive player of the week. McDonald became the first Rainbow Warrior to win the weekly award for offense. Since UH joined the Mountain West as a football affiliate in 2012 after 33 seasons in the Western Athletic Conference, eight Warriors have been honored — four for defense, four for special teams.
“It’s an honor,” McDonald said. “But I can’t take the credit. I’ve said that the whole time. It’s not me, it’s the guys around me. The position I’m in is one that brings the attention to me. But, really, it’s the O-line, it’s the receivers, it’s a lot of (running back) Fred (Holly). It’s more of a team award. It’s a testament to the offense.”
This past Saturday, McDonald was 30-for-41 for 428 yards and six touchdowns in a 59-41 victory over Navy. There were four drops. He has not been intercepted during his two-season UH career, a span of 87 passes. McDonald is the NCAA leader with 846 passing yards this season.
McDonald has adjusted to the run-and-shoot offense, which was re-installed this spring after a six-year hiatus from the UH playbook.
“I have an understanding of the offense, but I never thought, ‘This is it,’ ” McDonald said. “I talked with (coach Nick Rolovich) about just having a different mentality this year, of not having the mentality of, ‘We’ve arrived. We’ve done it.’ There’s always room for improvement. There’s always room to get better. It’s just the mind-set we’re having.”
McDonald said he understands the responsibility of being the starting quarterback for the state’s only Division I football program.
“You just have too many eyes on you,” McDonald said of his off-the-field duties. “The room for error is so small. If you mess up, it’s over. I’m more than happy staying at home and playing video games with my boys. I’ll go out and hang out with everyone, I’ll show face, but just smart decisions on and off the field. Stuff happens, and you don’t want to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
This season, he is happiest inside the lines.
“Winning is fun,” McDonald said of UH’s 2-0 start. “You can have fun at practice. But if you’re losing nine, 10 games, that’s not fun. When we’re out there on the field scoring and winning, it’s something I’m going to remember forever with these guys. These guys are special. It’s something I’m going to look back when I’m older and say, ‘That was a good time.’ ”
