Melquise Stovall, a dynamic receiver/returner, is on track to being fully reinstated to the Hawaii football team.
“He’s doing everything I’ve asked him to do at this point,” head coach Todd Graham said. “And as long as he does that, he’ll be with us. I’ve been very proud of his progress so far. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, either.”
Stovall had productive back-to-back games — two touchdowns catches against Boise State and two against Air Force — when he was dismissed from the team on Oct. 21.
“There are certain expectations required of a football student-athlete here at the University of Hawaii,” then UH coach Nick Rolovich said in an Oct. 21 news release announcing the dismissal. “We hold all of 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 continued to attend classes the remainder of the semester.
After Graham was hired to succeed Rolovich, who resigned in January to accept the head coaching job at Washington State, several players lobbied for Stovall’s reinstatement.
“They said, ‘he messed up. He made a mistake,’ ” Graham recalled. “(Stovall) came in and said, ‘I was dead wrong. I want a second chance. And Coach, you will not regret it.’ I think everyone deserves that.”
After evaluating the matter, Graham allowed Stovall to participate in team-related offseason activities.
“In my life, I’m thankful people gave me a second chance,” Graham said. “I tell the players I’m all about second chances. I’m not into third or fourth or fifth or sixth (chances).”
Graham added: “When I came in, I said (to the players), ‘the slate’s clean. You have an opportunity to put your best foot forward, and be who you were put on this Earth to be.’ I’ve been pleased with all the guys who have done that.”
Stovall was a consensus 4-star prospect at Paraclete High in Lancaster, Calif. He caught 42 passes for 415 yards and three touchdowns (including one score against UH) as a freshman for California in 2016. He redshirted in 2017, then transferred to Riverside Community College. He transferred to UH last year. In five UH games, he caught 18 passes for 248 yards and five touchdowns, with per-return averages of 27.4 yards on kickoffs and 4.7 on punts.
