On the first day of the University of Hawaii football team’s offseason:
>> The Rainbow Warriors secured commitments from two tall and speedy cornerbacks — Zavier “Zay” Fairley of Pearl River Community College in Mississippi and TJ Jones of Blinn College in Texas. Both said they have accepted scholarship offers from the Warriors. They are expected to sign on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA’s signing period for football prospects, and enroll at UH in January.
“I like the culture (in Hawaii),” Fairley said. “Everybody helps everybody.”
Fairley said earlier in the year he told people he dreamed of going to Hawaii. The next week, a UH coach called Fairley, initiating the recruiting process. “It was crazy,” Fairley said of the out-of-nowhere call. “It was kind of like it was meant to be.”
Fairley is 6 feet 3, 180 pounds and capable of running 40 yards in 4.47 seconds.
Jones, who is 6-2 and 190 pounds, said he based his decision on “the culture” and “mainly the love of the coaches. I know they’re going to make me a better man in the process.”
Starting cornerbacks Cam Stone and Caleb “C-Bo” Brown completed their eligibility at the end of the Warriors’ 38-30 victory over New Mexico on Saturday night. Stone will play in the Jan. 11 Hula Bowl Classic in Orlando.
>> Defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman said he will remain with the Warriors. During an extensive coaching career — he was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills — Thurman joined head coach Timmy Chang’s staff this year, turning the Warriors into one of the Mountain West’s top defenders against the run. Thurman had come to UH at the urging of quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison, who is retiring Dec. 17 after a 52-year coaching career.
“DT’s excited about the defense next year,” Chang said. “He’s coming back. Love to have him back. … We’ll be all right.”
>> With analysts and graduate assistants allowed to coach, Chang is looking to “elevate” several staff members to expanded roles.
>> Micah Alejado, who set several UH passing records for a freshman in his first career start, on Saturday, will enter spring training as the presumptive starter.
Quarterback and co-captain Brayden Schager, whose streak of 33 consecutive starts ended because of a sprained left knee, appears to have exhausted his NCAA eligibility. Schager has accepted an invitation to play in the Jan. 19 Tropical Bowl in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Jarrett Nielsen of Jordan High (Long Beach, Calif.) will sign with UH as a dual-sport athlete. Nielsen will compete at quarterback and as an infielder/outfielder with the UH baseball team. Nielsen is set to graduate this month, then join the baseball ’Bows in January.
UH also is seeking to bring in another quarterback.
>> Chang said he is bracing for some Warriors, including two contributors on offense, to enter the transfer portal when it opens on Dec. 9. Chang said the Warriors will be equally active in trying to retain players and recruit transfers.
With name, image and likeness deals factoring greatly in retention and recruiting, Chang is seeking donations to the program. “I’m calling on the community to help — the fan base, everybody,” Chang said. “This is the time to invest in the future. That’s the message.”
>> The day after, Chang marveled at Alejado’s debut: 37-for-57 for 469 yards and five touchdowns. His completions, attempts, passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offense (523 yards) were the most by a UH quarterback in his first start. He also had the single-game high for passing yards by an FBS freshman this season.
Morrison said Alejado, who took the first-team reps all week, worked on his release (snap-to-throw goal of 2.2 seconds or quicker), and identifying routes and coverages faster.
“It was an unbelievable performance by a young freshman,” Chang said of Alejado.
Chang praised Schager, who threw for 2,591 yards and 19 touchdowns. Chang said the plan was to slowly work Alejado into the system while preserving his redshirt status. A player may use his one-time redshirt if he does not play in more than four games in a season. Alejado played in two of the first 10 games. Without fear of exceeding the limit with two games left, Alejado completed 11 of 12 passes against Utah State as an injury replacement for Schager two weeks ago.
“I wanted to make sure he was ready,” Chang said of the easing-in tactic. “As good as you think they are and as good as they think they are, you want to make sure psychologically they’re ready to handle this thing. I got two good weeks out of him. And more importantly, he got a redshirt year. He’s got four more years. It all works out.”
HAWAII FOOTBALL AWARDS
>> Alec Waterhouse MVP: Cam Stone
>> Ben Yee Most Inspirational: Logan Taylor
>> Offensive MVP: Ka‘ena Decambra
>> Defensive MVP: Elijah Robinson
>> Special Teams MVP: Lucas Borrow
>> Jenny Matsuda Scholar Athlete: Ben Falck
>> Top Offensive Scout: Tryton Keli‘ikipi
>> Top Defensive Scout: Josh Sagapolutele
