Football prodigies Timmy Chang, Tyson Helton grow into rival coaches

Sep. 3—Saint Louis School head coach Ron Lee, who was UH's receivers coach at the time, said Helton and Chang are "carbon copies of each other."

It began with the "Bull " sessions in 2000.

Dan "Bull " Morrison, who was the University of Hawaii football team's quarterbacks coach at the time, held meetings with the passers and receivers. It was where then-freshman quarterback Timmy Chang and graduate assistant Tyson Helton, who worked with the receivers, spent time studying video, going through post-snap reads, and formulating strategies.

Now the two NCAA head coaches—Hawaii's Chang and Western Kentucky's Helton—face off in today's football game at the Ching Complex.

"He was with Bull and with Coach Ron (Lee ) around our offense, " Chang said of Helton. "Good guy. Very soft spoken. His tone never really changed. His demeanor never changed. And I like that about him."

Earlier this week, Helton recalled his time working with Chang.

"Timmy's just a great guy, a pure-hearted guy, " Helton said. "Just so excited for him that he gets to go back home and be the head coach of Hawaii and lead that team. He's the perfect guy to do that."

Saint Louis School head coach Ron Lee, who was UH's receivers coach at the time, said Helton and Chang are "carbon copies of each other."

As a freshman in 2000, Chang easily stepped into a starting role, having played a similarly styled, four-wide offense at Saint Louis. "Timmy's very smart, " Lee said.

Working with Helton, Lee recalled thinking, "Tyson was destined to be a coach. He was a G.A., young, but very enthusiastic. He spent a lot of time around the (full-time ) coaches."

Lee had coached Chang at Saint Louis. Helton's father, Kim Helton, used to take part in coaching clinics at Saint Louis. Kim Helton brought his young sons to those sessions.

"Timmy was easygoing, " Lee said. "He was relaxed and confident in what he was doing. Tyson was the same way, but more serious than Timmy back then. When Timmy was done (playing at UH following the 2004 season ), I knew he would be a good coach."

Helton spoke fondly of his four years at UH, the final three as special teams coordinator. His wife April was with the Steinberg Group that served as the marketing and promotional arm of UH athletics.

"Very special place, " Helton said of Hawaii. "We were there at a great time. We were winning. Timmy Chang was the quarterback. Nick Rolovich was the quarterback. There were some great names—Chad Owens, Travis LaBoy, Ashley Lelie, Pisa Tinoisamoa. These were all great players for Hawaii. It'll be special to go back there and be on campus."

The Hilltoppers opened the season with a 38-27 victory over Austin Peay. To adjust to the distance (4, 267 miles ) and five-hour time difference, the Hilltoppers turned Monday's recovery day into a practice session. They arrived on Thursday and practiced on Friday.

Helton has distant coaching ties to Bobby Petrino, who embraced the feed-the-studs approach. Helton's modified version is the get-it-to list. That means finding ways to target tight end Josh Simon, who did not have a catch last week.

The Warriors are seeking to rebound from last week's 63-10 loss to Vanderbilt, in which they found the end zone on the opening drive, then went without a touchdown the rest of the way.

"I want our guys to put four quarters together and eliminate mistakes and build growth, " Chang said. "And if you're going to make mistakes, make new ones, and play physical, and play together. Don't put it together for one quarter, two quarters, a half. You've got to play all four quarters."

Chang said the Warriors had productive practices this week. "I think these guys are in a good place, " Chang said. "They enjoy each other, I know that. That's part of it. The other part is understanding the scheme and what the other guys are going to do. And then going out there and doing their job and executing."

UH quarterback Brayden Schager said : "It's a long season, and there are a lot of games to be won. That one game doesn't define us. The way we come back and respond does."