Under double rainbows and rainfalls, the Hawaii football splish-splashed their way into the offseason with Sunday’s 15th — and final — practice of spring training at the Ching Complex.
Billed as “Warrior Pau Hana,” the 2-hour-plus event featured fan-participation games, food booths, a beer garden and an autograph session.
During the scrimmage-like sessions, there were noteworthy plays — wideout Jackson Harris’ sprawling catch of Micah Alejado’s deep throw, Cam Barfield’s 40-yard touchdown run, and nickelback Elijah Palmer’s two picks — head coach Timmy Chang’s emphasis was on the body of work.
“I thought the guys did really good,” Chang said of his fourth spring training as the Warriors’ head coach. “For the most part, they stayed healthy. We were very intentional in what we wanted to do.”
A focus was on reducing unforced mistakes. With officials attending the last several practices, the Warriors were able to monitor penalties. “We’ll go back and look at some things,” Chang said. “It’s good to have officials out here as they corrected us.”
This spring, newly promoted offensive coordinator Anthony Arceneaux and Chang, who doubles as the play-caller, were able to add wrinkles to the run-and-shoot offense. Starting quarterback Alejado and newcomers Jarret “JJ” Nielsen and Luke Weaver have made easy adjustments.
Harris, a transfer from Stanford, has boosted the Warriors’ vertical attack. Harris, a former 4-star prospect, has been timed at 23 mph in the “flying 10,” a formula that measures a player at full sprint.
“Jackson is so good,” Alejado said. “We got a steal out of the (transfer) portal. He’s a playmaker. He’s going to be so good in August. Everybody is going to be able to see it.”
Slotback Nick Cenacle and wideout Dekel Crowdus, both of whom entered — and then withdrew — from the portal, are comfortable back in the offense.
“It felt amazing being out here, scoring touchdowns,” Crowdus said. “It’s home. I can go in the office, put my feet up, everybody knows me. I show love. I come into the facility with a big smile, and bring the energy.”
Barfield also embraced the increased use of the running game. “We work so hard,” Barfield said of the backs. “We put in so much effort. The line puts in so much effort in the spring. We put in all that work, and we get to do it on days that matter. Today mattered in front of the fans.”
Dennis Thurman, in his second season as the Warriors’ defensive coordinator, was pleased with the spring work.
“It went a lot smoother,” Thurman said. “I knew what to anticipate. I believe we have a football team that’s hungry. They’re thirsting for knowledge. They’re listening. They’re taking to coaching. I just look forward to getting it going in the fall.”
Thurman noted that several defensive linemen and linebackers, particularly middle linebacker Jamih Otis, took on leadership roles.
“One of the keys about defense is your big guys — your defensive linemen, your linebackers — when you have a great defense, they’re going to be your leaders,” Thurman said. “When your big guys are doing it, it’s hard for the little guys not to do it. They have no excuses. The bigger guys are carrying around more weight. It’s harder for them to get in condition, and run to the ball, and all those things. So when our big guys are doing what they’re doing now, it’s going to make it that much better. They’re doing a great job. Linebackers are doing a great job. The secondary is still a work in progress. We’ve got work to do.”
Starting cornerback Caleb Brown has been used as a player-coach while recovering from an injury. “Now he’s got to do what?” Thurman said. “He has to take it to the field. It’s one thing standing over here saying it, it’s another thing saying, ‘oh, I get it now, Coach.’ Now he’s got to go out there and execute it. I’m looking forward to that.”
