Quarterback Sean Schroeder’s first entry into the University of Hawaii football record book came for passing accuracy.
But that’s only because there isn’t yet a category among its pages for tenacity.
Schroeder completed a remarkable 29 of 33 passes last week against Navy for three touchdowns. His .879 completion percentage moved him past Colt Brennan’s .850 set in 2007.
Completing that many passes against air is impressive enough, but as Schroeder nears the end of a two-year career at UH, the mark only hints at what the Duke transfer has been about as a Rainbow Warrior.
That he will still be out there flinging passes against San Diego State Saturday night at Aloha Stadium is testament to his tale of toughness and perseverance.
From his five-sack UH debut against USC in 2012, and even before, from his bench-riding days at Duke, the one constant is the ability to keep picking himself up, dusting himself off and giving it his all.
Whether he’s been buried in the turf by opposing defenders, laid low by back surgery or doubted in a string of losses, Schroeder managed to bounce back time and again.
It is a trait he has shared, in his own way, with some of the toughest quarterbacks in UH history: Michael Carter, Dan Robinson and Brennan among them.
Perhaps only Robinson, who persevered through the 0-12 campaign of 1998 and came back to help lead the 1999 turnaround, has been sacked as many times in one season as Schroeder.
Thirty-five times Schroeder was taken down in 2012. Enough so that nobody was surprised when he had offseason back surgery. The wonder was that he was still walking and that he came back at all.
But there he was in the spring with a notepad at every session, standing behind the quarterbacks, intently immersed in gaining a better understanding of the offense, offering encouragement.
Never mind that a lot of people expected him to cede his starting job to Taylor Graham if not fall behind Ikaika Woolsey — the new and future quarterbacks.
Schroeder didn’t play in this year’s season opener and saw just mop-up duty in the second game. But through it all, as his senior season started counting down, he plugged away, determined to make the most of a shot should one come his way. No woe-is-me, no finger pointing or grousing, just resilience.
He has sought to seize the opportunity he never got at Duke where he appeared for only three plays, all handoffs.
And when it came at Halawa, he jumped off the bench with a sense of urgency and composure, nearly rallying the ’Bows past nationally ranked Fresno State. In the past six games, he has completed 60 percent of his passes and thrown for 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
Yet Schroeder will tell you that for all the stats, his resurgence is a work in progress. What would make it complete is to end the losing streak.
In that, maybe he is just what UH needs — the quarterback you can’t keep out of the huddle.
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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
