With three straight wins — including a 52-35 nod over Middle Tennessee in the Hawaii Bowl on Saturday night — Hawaii’s football future is much brighter than it was two months ago.
Sophomore quarterback Dru Brown emerged as the biggest building block moving forward from a team that finished with its first non-losing season since 2010.
The sophomore transfer from College of San Mateo ended his debut season for the Rainbow Warriors with a supremely efficient 274 yards passing and four touchdowns against the Blue Raiders to give Hawaii its first three-game winning streak since 2010.
The 6-foot Brown closed 2016 with nine touchdowns and no picks in his last two outings and led Hawaii to its highest-scoring output over back-to-back games since the end of 2013.
He’s even got the leadership aspect of his position down already, crediting the big boys in front of him for the success while blaming himself for the failures.
“The offensive line played a solid role in (those) last two games,” said Brown, who finished the season with 19 touchdowns and seven picks. “Most of the time when the offense isn’t working it is my fault. I think I made some mistakes today and they weren’t magnified.”
The 2016 season finale was a showcase for many of UH’s top offensive players who will return next season.
Junior running back Diocemy Saint Juste tore up the Blue Raiders for 170 rushing yards, while freshman receiver John Urusa had a career-high 120 receiving yards on six receptions.
Junior tight end Metuisela ‘Unga had the second two-touchdown receiving performance of his career and sophomore Dylan Collie put the game away with a 4-yard touchdown reception with 6:33 left.
It all starts, however, behind center with Brown, who took over for returning starter Ikaika Woolsey to open Mountain West Conference play against Nevada.
UH won three of Brown’s first four starts, but the offense then sputtered in three straight losses, averaging just 10.2 points against New Mexico, San Diego State and Boise State.
With a bowl appearance on the line, the defense bailed out Brown against Fresno State before the quarterback did the rest, completing 70 percent (42-for-60) of his passes while averaging 49 points per game in the wins over UMass and MTSU.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Brown said of his late-season success. “I’m sure I’ll have some time for some self reflection on this five-hour flight I’m about to take.”
Brown will return home to California with a bowl victory in hand after leading UH to a win in its only game of the year without committing a turnover.
UH entered the bowl season 121st out of 128 teams in turnover margin (minus 11) and finished plus-three against Middle Tennessee with two interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense.
“It’s nice to end the year that way,” Brown said. “I think it’s something that I’ve struggled with all year. I think we’d probably have two more wins if we stopped turning the ball over in critical situations and that’s my responsibility.
“I think going into the offseason, just stressing that and also starting a little chemistry with the receivers and the rest of the team (is important).”
