LAS VEGAS >> In pursuit of happiness, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro knew he had to leave.
Four days after the end of the University of Hawaii football team’s 2021 regular season, Cordeiro entered the NCAA transfer portal. It meant relinquishing a starting job, a two-year captain’s role and the team that became family.
“Obviously, it wasn’t because of my teammates,” Cordeiro said. “I love them. They’re my brothers for life. I love the fans. Everyone knows I didn’t want to leave the island. But everything happens for a reason. … You can ask my friends. They never thought I’d leave the island.”
Cordeiro, a Saint Louis School alumnus, admittedly had lost the joy of playing football during Todd Graham’s two-season tenure as UH head coach. Graham resigned in January. Cordeiro already had committed to San Jose State when his childhood idol — Timmy Chang — was named as Graham’s replacement.
“I wanted my teammates to be happy, and it felt like with all of us who left — me, Darius (Muasau), Nick (Mardner) Dae Dae (Hunter) — all the starters who left, it really opened everyone’s eyes to what was happening,” Cordeiro said of the atmosphere in 2021. “Now (the Warriors) are happy. The whole island is happy. It worked for both of us. They understand the real reason why I left. … Now they’ve got Coach Timmy. Now they’re happy. All my ex-teammates are happy. All my brothers are happy. I’m happy. It worked out for all of us.”
Cordeiro said he was familiar with San Jose State after four seasons of competing against the Mountain West rival. “I knew Coach (Brent) Brennan,” Cordeiro said. “He’s a fun coach, a player’s coach. Just the teammates, the culture, the family. That’s why I made the choice. That’s what made the transition so easy. That’s why I picked them.”
Cordeiro said several relatives live in Nevada. “They come down and spend some time,” he said. “My mom came down and helped me move in. In the beginning, it was hard. Of course, I missed home. But my roommates are fun to hang out with.”
The transfer portal comes with a 14-day grace period, beginning with the first organized workout with the new team, for a player to return to his previous school. But Cordeiro said he never considered returning to UH.
“From the very first day I was committed to San Jose State,” Cordeiro said. “I wasn’t going to change it, no matter what, no matter what Hawaii was going to offer me. Nothing was going to change the fact I was going to stick with San Jose. I bought in.”
Brennan said SJSU offers Cordeiro the blend of opportunity and challenge. Cordeiro agreed, saying, “I didn’t want to go to a team that I was handed a starting job without working for it. I wanted to battle. I think (quarterback Nick) Nash got me better. I got him better. Even the other quarterbacks in the room. I like the quarterback room. It’s one big family. We all love each other. We’re all getting better.”
Cordeiro said he spends a great deal of time at the Spartans’ football complex, where he participates in weight-training and studies football videos. He said he shops at Costco for white rice. He has adjusted to NorCal’s freeways. And, he said emphatically, “I’m having fun now. I found the love of the game again. … Everything has been good.”
