Pressure?
Timmy Chang appears to be calm and focused entering the University of Hawaii football team’s season opener against Vanderbilt at the Ching Complex. Chang was hired at his alma mater in January.
“I get the same excitement as when I was a player,” said Chang, who was a record-setting quarterback for the Rainbow Warriors in the early 2000s. “The pressure to make a throw and do those things as an 18- to 22-year-old is a lot different than making these decisions as a 40-year-old. I keep calm, and control what I can control. And try to put these guys in the best position possible.”
June Jones, who coached Chang at UH, recalled when the former Saint Louis School standout made his college football debut in 2000. “He had that composure from the beginning,” Jones said of Chang’s 313-yard performance in his first start.
Jones added: “He played in big games in high school. He had been through it as a (UH) player. He’s been coaching for a number of years. He has confidence in what he’s doing. He’s more composed than ever.”
The Warriors have acknowledged the challenge of facing an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. And while Vanderbilt is in the second season of rebuilding under Clark Lea — the Commodores were 2-10 last year, including 0-8 in the SEC — there are advantages to being members of an elite league.
“No matter who it is in in the SEC, it’s going to be a tough school,” UH linebackers coach Chris Brown said. “You’re talking about big, fast and physical guys, the elite of the elite, the best conference out there, I believe.”
UH defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro acknowledged Vanderbilt quarterback Mike Wright is “an elite athlete. They have a good O-line. They have talented running backs. And they have some receivers who can make plays. Their tight ends are good. … They do a great job of planning and finding ways to exploit defenses in regards to numbers and matchups.”
During preseason training, the Warriors spoke of embracing the challenge. The Commodores are listed as as much as 7.5-point favorites.
“It doesn’t matter who we play,” left tackle Ilm Manning said. “We’re going to bring the islands every game.”
Center Eliki Tanuvasa, who transferred to UH in 2019, recalled his first college game.
“It was against an SEC team (in 2018),” Tanuvasa said of the 55-20 loss to Arkansas. “It’s like a full-circle moment. For a lot of guys we have, this will be their first college football game. It’s a great opportunity to show what we can do on the island. (The Commodores) wear the same pads as we do. They put on their pants and their helmets the same way. It’ll be great to show the world what we can do.”
UH running back Dedrick Parson remembers being a walk-on freshman for Howard University in 2017. As 45-point underdogs, the Bison beat UNLV in the biggest point-spread upset in NCAA football history.
“Campus was crazy,” Parson said. “That was a big win for us. … We had a 99% chance of losing that game, and we won. Anything can happen when a team is put together. If you believe, anything can happen. … I always believe we can win. I never go into a game thinking we’re going to lose. If we were playing Alabama on Saturday, I’d never think we were going to lose.”
This week, Chang has stressed preparation and rest. After intense practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Warriors has a walk-through session on Thursday, in which the final period featured stretching on plastic rollers and listening to a pep talk from former UH receiver/returner Chad Owens. On Friday, the Warriors had an abbreviated practice, followed by meetings and a scheduled viewing of “Top Gun: Maverick,” a movie about the best of the best.
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Vanderbilt at Hawaii
>> 4:30 p.m. today
>> Ching Complex
>> CBS Sports Network
>> 1420-AM/92.7-FM
