The Hawaii football team and its best returner have parted ways.

Head coach Nick Rolovich announced that Melquise Stovall, a fourth-year junior from Lancaster, Calif., is no longer a member of the Rainbow Warriors.

“There are certain expectations required of a football student-athlete here at the University of Hawaii,” Rolovich said in a statement. “We hold all our student-athletes to these standards and expect them to represent our football program to the highest degree. We wish Melquise the best as he moves forward.”

Stovall was one of the heralded members of UH’s 2019 recruiting class. Stovall joined the Warriors in January after two years at California and the 2018 season with Riverside City College. Stovall was a consensus four-star prospect at Paraclete High, where he accumulated 7,650 all-purpose yards and 88 touchdowns during his career.

Stovall played in five games this season, starting one at left slotback. He admittedly took a while to learn the intricacies of UH’s run-and-shoot offense, which shares many of the concepts of the Air Raid schemes used at California.

But after missing two games because of an ankle injury, Stovall excelled in six quarters against Boise State and Air Force, amassing 11 catches for 185 yards and four touchdowns. This season, he has caught 18 passes for 248 yards and four touchdowns, including two in Saturday’s loss to Air Force.

Stovall was most noted for his judgment and sure hands on punt returns and his bursts on kickoff returns. His kick-return average of 27.4 yards is third best among Mountain West players.

Stovall also has been used as a motion back.

Stovall was poised for another breakout performance with touchdowns of 51 yards on a go route and 5 yards on a slant against Air Force. But with 1:18 remaining in the first half, Stovall made a fair catch of Charlie Scott’s punt at the UH 26. Stovall then flipped the football toward an Air Force player, drawing a 13-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike behavior. Stovall did not play after that.

In the second half, right slotback Cedric Byrd was used on punt returns, and right wideout JoJo Ward returned kickoffs.

The Warriors have several options to fill Stovall’s roles. Freshman Lincoln Victor and junior James Phillips have played slot. But both have played in four games — the maximum allowable appearances to maintain a redshirt year.

Kumoku Noa, a fourth-year junior, has been cleared to play in Saturday’s road game against New Mexico. Noa did not play in the first seven games. Noa can play slotback and wideout, as well as return punts.