The University of Hawaii football team retained its leading receiver from this past season and secured a commitment from a junior college All-America quarterback.

Nick Cenacle, who topped the Rainbow Warriors with 63 receptions for 721 yards in 2024, withdrew from the NCAA transfer portal today. Cenacle, who had entered the portal on Dec. 18, will return for his senior season in 2025.

“I’m coming back 100%,” Cenacle told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a telephone interview from his family home in Montreal. “It’s because of all those guys (at UH). It’s a whole family. They built me. It didn’t feel right leaving these guys. I want to build this whole team up together.”

After entering the portal, Cenacle received offers from four power-four schools. He said he was set to visit Louisville and Kansas after spending Christmas with his family in Montreal. He recalled his mother asking: “You sure about this? (The UH coaches) are guys who gave you your first shot. They believed in you when nobody else did. They developed you.”

Cenacle said: “I got to thinking. They were so right. It was an eye-opening moment. I owe an apology to Hawaii to even (enter the portal). Coming back is definitely the best decision.”

Cenacle acknowledged he is turning down name, image, and likeness paychecks to remain with the Warriors. “I never played football to make money at the amateur level,” Cenacle said. “I always played it for the love of it. … There’s money on the table, for sure. There’s money to be made in the portal. But the ultimate goal, for me, is the NFL, where the real money is. I left money on the table, but I felt I made the best decision to get to my ultimate goal.”

Luke Weaver, a dual-skilled quarterback from Modesto (Calif.) Junior College, said he has accepted a UH scholarship. Weaver will enroll at UH next week, and participate in the Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring training. Weaver is one of three scholarship quarterbacks on the spring-semester roster. Micah Alejado, who threw for 469 yards and five touchdowns in the season-finale against New Mexico, and incoming freshman Jarret Nielsen, who also will play for the UH baseball team, are the other quarterbacks.

Weaver threw for 3,294 yards and 27 TDs (against five interceptions) to be named to the California Community College Athletic Association’s 2024 All-America first team. A CCCAA first-team selection is regarded as being an All-American.

Of choosing the Warriors, Weaver told the Star-Advertiser: “the main thing was the vibe of the players and coaches. It was the family atmosphere.”

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