The defense is stabilized under the leadership of safety Peter Manuma, who resisted lucrative name, image and likeness opportunities to remain with the Hawaii football team for his senior season.
Anthony Arceneaux, who was promoted to offensive coordinator, has added tweaks to head coach Timmy Chang’s run-and-shoot offense.
And No. 1 quarterback Micah Alejado has displayed an attitude of gratitude treating the receivers to dinner at Tiki’s Grill and the O-linemen to meals at Side Street Inn.
Chang has praised the developments and work during spring training, which concludes today with the Pau Hana event at the Ching Complex. The event will be similar to the previous 14 spring practices, although there might be a full-contact scrimmage between the reserves.
Here are three storylines from spring training:
>> With the NCAA mandating a 105-player limit for the 2025 season, several Warriors have used spring training as an audition. There are 112 players on the spring roster. The Warriors also will have to make room for the incoming recruits this summer and the opening of the transfer portal in April.
Bronson Baylies, a 6-foot-4 wideout, is hoping to stick. Last fall, Baylies was an intern athletic trainer for the football and Rainbow Wahine basketball teams. His primary duties included taping and providing hydration.
“I like helping people,” Baylies of his work with the training staff. “What they do is beneficial.”
Baylies was a standout receiver at Laguna Beach (Calif.) High when he suffered a series of injuries to his left leg as a junior: torn quadriceps, partial tears to his MCL, LCL and ACL, and cracked meniscus. During his recovery, he developed an interest in training. During his two seasons at Orange Coast College, he earned a certificate in personal training. He attended a UH football tryout in August, did not make the roster, but was encouraged to try again this spring semester. He worked as a personal trainer and volunteered at UH last fall. Of this year’s tryout, he said, “I guess I made a good impression because now I’m here. … Might as well leave it all on the field, and what happens, happens.”
>> With several starters held out of spring drills while recovering from injuries, the Warriors have experimented at several positions. Christian Perry and Micah Mariteragi have practiced as the first-team offensive guards in place of starters Kuao Peihopa and Zhen Sotelo.
Perry, who also has practiced at tackle, is facing defenders directly in front, as well as some of the different calls. At 6 feet 7, Perry also has to adjust to a lower three-point stance. In UH’s offense, the tackles are in a stand-up posture.
“Spreading my base out more helps me get a little lower,” Perry said.
Mariteragi, who redshirted as a freshman at Virginia, initially moved to guard during the Warriors’ spring training in 2023. Instead of blocking speed rushers, Mariteragi mixes it up against heftier interior linemen. Showcasing his talents comes naturally to Mariteragi. His parents met while working at Disney World’s Polynesian Show. Mariteragi also has performed as a drummer in the “Ha: Breath of Life” show at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
>> For the past two years, linebacker Logan Taylor has served as the Warriors’ vocal and spiritual leader. But Taylor, who has petitioned the NCAA for an extra season to play in 2025, has mentored middle linebacker Jamih Otis to be the new lead voice of the Warriors’ defense.
“Logan is embracing his new role (as mentor),” said associate head coach Chris Brown, who coaches the linebackers. “He has time to heal up his body. He has a new baby daughter. He’s mentoring the other guys, too.”
Of receiving the baton from Taylor, Otis said: “It’s been big. From last year him being a leader to giving me the tools. Learning from him how to lead guys on and off the field and, more importantly, how to lead guys to Christ. It’s my role now keeping the spiritual environment heavy in the locker room.”
At the end of the 2024 season, Otis told Brown that while he was honored to wear No. 54 — Brown’s jersey number as a UH linebacker — he wanted to switch to No. 11. “A lot of greats wore 54; it’s special to me,” Otis said. “Taking on a new role, it’s time to start a new (number).”
Last season, Taylor and Otis shared the green dot, the marker on a helmet that indicated direct communication with defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman. Otis now will be the primary green-dot wearer.
“You become the coach on the field, you become the play caller,” Brown said of wearing the green dot. “He has the ability to change plays. He’s the one who gets the call from the sideline. If he sees something he doesn’t like, he can change it.”
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RAINBOW WARRIORS FOOTBALL
At Ching Complex, UH Manoa campus
>> What: Warrior Pau Hana — final practice of UH football spring training
>> When: Today between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
>> Activities: Food trucks, beer garden, post-practice autograph session, season-ticket renewals
