For Saturday’s third scrimmage of training camp, the Hawaii football team brought in a full Mountain West officiating crew from the mainland, took over its new sideline, tested the coach-to-player communication system, and resurrected a deep-passing attack.

“There was a lot of great work,” head coach Timmy Chang said of the nearly 4-hour event at the Ching complex on the Manoa campus.

The Rainbow Warriors moved forward on a plan to move their game-day sideline to the makai side (across from the Ching structure and media booths). After being hired as head coach in 2022, Chang set up on the mauka sideline so that opposing teams would not have a direct view of the Warriors signaling plays.

An NCAA rule now allows a coach to communicate plays from his headset to a designated player’s helmet.

“Now it’s going to be harder for teams to steal signals, because that’s what defensive coaches do. They steal signals,” Chang said of discontinuing the use of signals. “We don’t have to worry about that now. We’ll take the side where we feel more confident.”

While there are expected to be complaints from season-ticket holders who prefer to sit behind the Warriors’ bench, Chang said the makai sideline is a better fit for his team. Chang noted the mauka side is congested because of the walkway and the food trucks. The setting sun also shines directly toward the mauka side in the late afternoon.

“There’s a lot more room for us (on the makai side),” Chang said. “When there’s room, we can do a lot more.”

For Saturday’s scrimmage, a sideline station was set up where the Warriors could review video of two views of every play on tablets. The program, adopted by every FBS conference except the SEC, is similar to the one used by the NFL. And, also similar to the pros, the NCAA allows speakers in a designated player’s helmet.

Except for a few glitches with the volume — sometimes it was too loud, sometimes too soft — “it worked well,” said quarterback Brayden Schager, who communicated with Chang. “It was awesome to have him in my ear, just telling me stuff before the play, and giving me the play. His little reminders were good. Anytime I can listen to him is good.”

Schager also was in sync with his receivers during the scrimmage, which followed the formula of two 15-minute quarters in the first half, and about 70 untimed situational drills after the intermissions. Two of last year’s top wideouts — Steven McBride and Chuuky Hines — are not on the active roster this camp. But the Warriors have developed three-deep depth at the four receiver positions.

Schager was 5-for-10 (two were dropped) for 170 yards. His first scoring pass was an 11-yarder to 6-foot-5 wideout Alex Perry, who leaped in the left corner of the end zone.

“It was a great catch by AP,” Schager said. “Just catching those passes is something special he can do for us.”

Later, Schager and Kentucky transfer Dekel Crowdus collaborated on an 88-yard, catch-and-sprint play for a touchdown. It was another “Schager Bomb,” the nickname for a deep pass launched by the quarterback from Highland Park, Texas.

“Dekel’s been great,” Schager said. “He’s one of the fastest guys on the team. He’s been really coming along the last two weeks of camp.”

Crowdus said: “Schager told me to run deep, and I ran, and he threw me that ‘Schager Bomb.’ It’s amazing to see a Schager Bomb coming. It’s a perfect spiral up in the air and into the hands. It’s easy to catch. We have a lot of fast (receivers) on the team. We’re making Schager Bombs look like layups.”

Backup quarterbacks John-Keawe Sagapolutele and Micah Alejado received extensive work in the first half. Jake Farrell took most of the snaps in the second half’s situational drills.

In the first half, linebackers Logan Taylor and safety Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen each made interceptions. Both are coming off last year’s season-ending injuries. Both have been practicing with the No. 1 defense.

Mendiola-Jensen ascended to the top of the depth chart while safety Meki Pei recovers from an injury. “He’s tough,” Chang said of Mendiola-Jensen. “Athletically, they’re all talented. But his mindset separates him from others. He plays smart and he plays at a high level.”

When Chang was an assistant coach at Nevada, he recruited Mendiola-Jensen. But five minutes before Nevada made an official offer, Mendiola-Jensen committed to UNLV. Feeling UNLV was not the “right fit” after two years, Mendiola-Jensen entered the portal and eventually agreed to join the Warriors.