This election season, Hawaii football coach Timmy Chang has fully endorsed quarterback Brayden Schager.
“He’s the guy,” Chang said of Schager, a second-year Rainbow Warrior who has started five games in a row.
Schager has had to learn on the go. His return to the starting lineup following his recovery from a shoulder injury coincided with the installation of run-and-shoot concepts to the offense. Although the Warriors are 1-4 in those games, their three Mountain West losses were by an average margin of 4.3 points.
In UH’s first four games, the Warriors did not complete a touchdown pass. In the last five, Schager has a touchdown-to-interception ratio of six-to-two. During that stretch, his average targeted throw is 10.5 yards (up from UH’s 5.7 in the first four games). Factoring 13 drops, Schager’s adjusted accuracy is 63%.
“I really believe our quarterback can help us win some games,” Chang said of Schager. “When he’s humming and he’s having those 300-plus games with multiple touchdown passes, I know it’ll help.”
Schager had an uneven performance in Saturday’s 27-20 loss to Wyoming. Schager was 8-for-17 for 84 yards in the first quarter, 3-for-10 for 30 yards in the second quarter and 12-for-19 for 91 yards after the intermission. He appeared to have difficulty with his grip — and aim — during the evening’s periodic downpour.
“We’ve got to help him,” Chang said. “As a staff, the first thing we’re going to try to do is see where we could have helped him. … There are going to be some throws he wishes he could have back, some reads he wishes he could have back. But he does a really good job.”
UH’s offense received a boost with running back Tylan Hines’ breakout performance. In the first eight games, Hines, a freshman from Plano, Texas, averaged 5.3 touches. Against Wyoming, he had 11 rushes for 103 yards and caught a 5-yard pass.
“Tylan was a bright spot,” Chang said of the backup to co-captain Dedrick Parson. “We’ve got a bright future. There’s a foundation that’s being built.”
The Warriors are hopeful center Eliki Tanuvasa, who has missed the last two games, will be cleared to play against Fresno State on Saturday. Sergio Muasau and Maurice “Mo” Ta‘ala played center against Wyoming.
Receiver Steven Fiso is expected to be medically cleared this week. Wideout Jonah Panoke, who his recovering from a clavicle injury, is on track to play against Utah State on Nov. 12.
The Warriors will have to make decisions on offensive guard Solo Vaipulu and slotback Koali Nishigaya entering the final four games of the regular season. The NCAA allows a player to appear in up to four games in a season and still retain redshirt status. Vaipulu and Nishigaya have each played in two games this year.
The Warriors’ trip to Fresno will be the most challenging of their road games. Because large planes cannot land in Fresno, the Warriors are departing Honolulu on Wednesday. That means a walk-through session today, and an abbreviated workout on Wednesday. After Saturday’s game, they will remain in Central California overnight. They will have conditioning drills on Sunday, then make the bus ride to LAX. The Warriors will return Sunday night.
