It’s quite unlikely that Chevan Cordeiro will ever wear a University of Hawaii football uniform again. But the popular locally born-and-raised quarterback will still be visible in the islands for at least the remainder of his college career, wherever the transfer portal might take him.
That’s because Central Pacific Bank intends to continue its partnership with Cordeiro. Last summer he became the first UH competitor to sign an agreement under the NCAA’s new rules allowing student-athletes to get paid in deals where their names, images and likenesses are used to promote commercial ventures.
As the rules are now, the colleges have little involvement in NIL agreements. They are between the student-athletes and the third parties.
In addition to appearing at public events, Cordeiro represented CPB in a promotional campaign this fall on Instagram videos as leader of the “Shaka Crew.”
“We have a one-year agreement with Chevan to be a social media ambassador for us, and it extends into the summer of 2022,” CPB Senior Vice President and Marketing Director Brandt Farias said. “We are very happy with the partnership. Chevan’s a fine young man, and he represents us with distinction.”
He did the same for Hawaii football for four seasons, the last two as the starting quarterback.
But last week, after an injury-beset season, the co-captain who also led Saint Louis School to a state championship officially made his intention to transfer known.
The low-key Cordeiro never voiced displeasure about the UH program, at least publicly. But his announcement sparked conversation on Twitter that included many complaints — mostly anonymous — from current players about second-year head coach Todd Graham.
There had been brewing discontent during the season among fans, especially about play-calling, but the player complaints added up to a rare look into an unhappy locker room. Local media reports were expanded upon this week by some national outlets.
A total of 10 UH football players are now in the transfer portal, including two other starters, cornerback Cameron Lockridge and running back Dae Dae Hunter.
On Monday, UH athletic director David Matlin met with the football players (with no coaches present) to hear them out. We’ve been told the AD is also taking additional steps behind the scenes to address morale issues.
It’s clearly the right thing to do.
While everyone knows competitive sports teams are not democracies, the days when coaches ruled without question are long past. With most of the complaints being anonymous, it’s now Matlin’s job to sort out fact from fiction and exaggeration — in a true “safe space.” If the players didn’t know it before, there is no such thing as a safe space in cyberspace.
It seems like a lot of drama for a team that went 6-7, including two big wins to close the regular season.
And now the Rainbow Warriors must prepare for a Dec. 24 EasyPost Hawaii Bowl game against Memphis. Freshman Brayden Schager, who played when Cordeiro was injured and quarterbacked UH to an upset win over then-No. 18 Fresno State, is now the presumptive starter behind center.
Meanwhile, speculation abounds that Cordeiro could end up at San Jose State. Spartans coach Brent Brennan is a former UH assistant coach and a cousin of the greatest player in UH history, the late Colt Brennan.
San Jose State’s starting quarterback, Nick Starkel, completed his eligibility this season.
Also, the relative proximity of San Jose to Hawaii compared to other schools on the continent might be attractive to Cordeiro. The laulau and raw fish there aren’t quite as good as what you get here, but it’s better than what you can find pretty much anywhere else (UNLV might disagree, but the Rebels have a young starting quarterback who’s from Hawaii, Cameron Friel of Kailua.)
CPB doesn’t have imminent plans to open branches on the continent, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bank on Cordeiro’s continued popularity, Farias said.
“While we like to see him as a Warrior, it doesn’t dissuade us from working with him in the future,” Farias said, when asked if CPB’s contract with Cordeiro might be extended. “Absolutely. Frankly, at this point that would be our intention.”
Although he wouldn’t be as available to make live appearances in Hawaii if he’s at another school, Cordeiro can still represent the bank on Instagram and other social media platforms, Farias said.
“He’s definitely an influencer,” Farias said.