At 2-8, Hawaii football team going through youth movement
Nov. 7—Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen once noted : "the future is now."
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen once noted : "the future is now."
It is a mantra the University of Hawaii football team appears to be embracing as it activates its youth movement.
There were few bright spots in the Rainbow Warriors' 55-13 loss to Fresno State the past Saturday at Valley Children's Stadium. But four UH freshmen were able to make their college debuts.
The Warriors have been open about trying to utilize an NCAA amendment that allows a player to appear in up to four games while being able to qualify for a redshirt season. The Fresno State game was the start of UH's final four games. Wideout Alex Perry, defensive linemen Dean Briski and Malachi Finau, and defensive back Kona Moore made their debuts and will be eligible to play the rest of the season while remaining as freshmen in 2023.
Wideout Steven Fiso joined the active roster last week and played 23 snaps against the Bulldogs. Fiso is using this as a redshirt season and will return in 2023 as a fifth-year senior. Freshman safety Matagi Thompson already has reached his four-game limit and is likely to sit out the final three games.
Riley Wilson, a second-year Warrior who is making the transition to linebacker, has played in two games this season.
Freshmen who are not redshirting also have made key contributions. Safety Peter Manuma, a 2021 commit who delayed enrolling at UH until January, is the breakout leader of the secondary. Manuma is the second-leading tackler with 48.
Running back Tylan Hines has averaged 8.7 yards a touch the last two games. "He brings a different type of juice and energy, " running backs coach Keiki Misipeka said.
Freshman wideouts Chuuky Hines and Nichola Cenacle also have worked their way into the rotation. Against Fresno State, Hines logged 20 snaps ; Cenacle was targeted five times in 26 plays.
Defensive end Ezra Evaimalo is a third-year Warrior who probably has three seasons remaining after this year. He redshirted in 2020 and he should be able to retroactively count his four games in 2021 as part of the COVID exemption. Evaimalo has been used as a rush end when the Warriors go with a three-man front.
Similar to Wilson, Nalu Emerson is making the move from safety to linebacker. Emerson, a fourth-year Warrior, logged four snaps against the Bulldogs as the Warriors attempt to build depth at linebacker.
The Warriors completed their longest trip of the season in which they departed Honolulu on noon Wednesday and returned Sunday night. Because of the 4-hour driving distance between major California airports and Fresno, the Warriors broke up the trip into segments. The Warriors still fell to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West Conference.
"I feel sorry for our seniors, " said quarterback Brayden Schager, a sophomore, of not producing a better sendoff. "They put a lot of time and effort this whole season. I love those guys a lot. I feel for those guys."
