As part of the offense’s renovation, the Hawaii football team has hired a former receiver who is listed in the NCAA record book.
Brennan Marion, who was William &Mary’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach last season, is among the three latest coaches joining the Rainbow Warriors’ staff. UH also hired Brandon Graham and Laiu Moeakiola. Marion and Graham will be assistants on offense, and Moeakiola will coach on defense. Specific job titles have not been announced.
As a junior at Tulsa — where he played under Todd Graham, now UH’s head coach — Marion set the FBS record with 31.9 yards per catch in 2007. Two years later, Marion was a free agent with the Miami Dolphins. But it was as a coach where his offensive innovations gained notice.
After serving as Graham’s quality-control coach at Arizona State in 2015, Marion went on to direct Howard’s offense for two seasons. Marion’s go-go offense turned quarterback Hollis Mathis, fullback Tyler Crist and offensive lineman Mark Williamson into stars. In 2017, Howard upset UNLV and went on to finish 15th offensively (470.8 yards per game) among FCS schools.
“Coach Marion brings great knowledge, experience, (and) a dynamic innovative coaching mind to our program,” Graham wrote in a news release. “Having been an innovator as a wide receiver coach and offensive coordinator, Coach Marion was also an explosive playmaker at wide receiver in our (Tulsa) program, and holds the NCAA record for most yards per catch in NCAA history. He has an amazing story of overcoming adversity to achieve great success.”
Brandon Graham, Todd Graham’s son, has coached at Rice, Pittsburgh, Arizona State and Louisiana. Before the 2015 season, he resigned as running backs coach at ASU after acknowledging he was in a consensual relationship with a former student-athlete who had completed her college career. The department has a policy against such relationships, even though his girlfriend was 21 at the time and no longer competing. The couple is now engaged. UH officials vetted the situation before approving the hiring.
“Coach Brandon Graham has a wealth of experience and knowledge in our championship football culture,” the elder Graham wrote. “He has worked alongside some of the best offensive minds in the nation. He has teamed up with Coach (Gus) Malzahn, Coach (Mike) Norvell, Coach (Chip) Long and Coach (Billy) Napier assisting them with the design of our offense and with game planning. He also has developed some great running backs to go on to the NFL such as DJ Foster, Marion Grice, Charles Clay, Kallen Ballage, Demario Richard.”
Moeakiola is a graduate of Trinity High in Euless, Texas. Euless has a large Polynesian population. Trinity earned national attention for its football team’s performance of the haka before games.
Moeakiola was a standout linebacker and safety at Arizona State. He has served as a graduate assistant at TCU and Georgia.
“We are so excited to welcome Coach Moeakiola to our Hawaii football family,” Todd Graham wrote. “He has great knowledge of our program values having been a four-year starter for us (at ASU) and on staff in our program. He has experience working in two premier defensive programs in the country in TCU and Georgia.”