These days, good things occur in twos for the Hawaii football team.
On Saturday, cornerback Caleb “C-Bo” Brown confirmed he will use an NCAA waiver to play for the Rainbow Warriors in 2025. Earlier in the day, the Warriors received a signed commitment from former Kentucky wide receiver Brandon White.
The announcements came a day after slotback Nick Cenacle withdrew from the transfer portal to remain with the Warriors, and junior college All-America quarterback Luke Weaver signed a scholarship agreement with UH.
All four will enroll in UH’s 2025 spring semester, which begins on Jan. 13, and participate in the Warriors’ conditioning program and spring training.
“I’m coming back,” said Brown, who was honored on senior night following the Warriors’ 2024 season finale last month. “We’re going to run it back in Hawaii one more time.”
Last week, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to select former junior college transfers. According to the published memo, the waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to student-athletes who previously “competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years” and otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility following the 2024-25 academic year.
Brown was at Butler Community College for two seasons, redshirting in 2021 and making five interceptions in 2022. He then transferred to UH.
“Me and my family felt we left some unfinished business on the table,” Brown said. “My thought process going into the (NFL) draft, if there was any chance I had another year (at UH), I was going to take it. And, really, talking to (head coach Timmy) Chang, they really wanted me back. … I’m betting on myself and believing in the braddahhood. It’s going to be fun. It’ll be fun to make some more memories with those guys and make more plays.”
White brings another speedy receiver into the run-and-shoot offense. Last week, UH signed Stanford transfer Jackson Harris, a 6-3, 205-pound wideout who has been timed at 23 mph in the flying-10 sprint.
“Hawaii is the perfect fit for me,” said White, who has two NCAA seasons of eligibility remaining. “I want to showcase my abilities. The biggest thing for me is to get the opportunity to do that. Hawaii is the best place for me.”
As a senior at Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, White ran the 100-meter dash in 10.30 seconds at the 2022 Ohio state district outdoor track championships. At a combine at Iowa State, he completed the 40-yard dash in a laser-timed 4.28 seconds. He ran the 40 in 4.30 seconds at the Kentucky combine.
He said he chose Kentucky because of its SEC membership. But White, who is 5 feet 9 and 170 pounds, redshirted as a freshman in 2022 and played in six games the next two seasons. At the end of the 2024 regular season, he entered the NCAA portal.
It was a former Kentucky teammate who recommended White to the UH coaches. After transferring from Kentucky to UH in August, wideout Dekel Crowdus averaged 25.1 yards and scored four touchdowns on 16 receptions for the Warriors in 2024. Despite also entering the portal this month, Crowdus felt White would benefit playing in the Warriors’ run-and-shoot offense.
“I wanted to get him over to Hawaii and get some good stats on the island,” said Crowdus, adding, “I love Hawaii. I loved my time over there.”
White’s mother, Jeanita Cummings, and brother, Bryson White, also supported his choice. “My brother is one of the best trainers in Cincinnati,” Brandon White said of Bryson, who owns 220 (“second to none”) Athletes. “He knows me the best. He knows what’s best for me. He knows what fits the best.”
UH receivers coach Jared Ursua praised White’s character and talent.
“He’s an excellent young man,” Ursua said. “He has a strong moral compass. He has a sense of focus and direction. A lot of that comes from great parenting.”
White, who played on the AAU circuit, can dunk a basketball. He also is capable of squat-lifting 405 pounds. Most of all, Ursua marveled at White’s “football speed” and skill.
”You go back and watch his high school tapes, the last time he was able to be featured in a game,” Ursua said. “He just makes plays you cannot teach. The ball gets in his hands, and he hits the corner quickly, and he hits the edge, and he’s gone. That’s what we’re so excited about.”
