Joey Yellen to get another start at quarterback for Hawaii

Sep. 14—With the outcome decided and the backup properly warmed up, the expectation was Hawaii football coach Timmy Chang would make a change at quarterback entering the fourth quarter against Michigan.

With the outcome decided and the backup properly warmed up, the expectation was Hawaii football coach Timmy Chang would make a change at quarterback entering the fourth quarter against Michigan.

Instead, Chang decided to let it ride with Joey Yellen.

"The merry-go-round of giving a player confidence and letting him play through things, " Chang said of his decision to let Yellen finish what he started. "And he did that."

Michigan had its way in a 56-10 rout on Saturday, but the Rainbow Warriors had their moments. They outscored Michigan's reserves 3-0 in the third quarter, and finished with a 1-0 advantage in turnover margin. In the fourth quarter, Yellen was 3-for-7 for 52 yards and directed the Warriors' lone touchdown drive.

"I was very thankful for them to be able to keep me in there and get those reps, " Yellen said. "A lot of people overlook those things in a blowout.

When you're playing against really good players, it gives you a lot of confidence, and it helps to get those game reps. And make plays going down the line, and read things out. Quarterback's a lot about repetition and how much you can see things a certain way. I was thankful they let me finish out that game."

After Tuesday's practice, Chang confirmed Yellen would make his third consecutive start when the Warriors host Duquesne in Saturday's homecoming game at the Ching Complex. Chang acknowledged that Brayden Schager, who started the opener against Vanderbilt and played 58 snaps against Western Kentucky, is "banged up " but available to play if needed.

"But I think Joey played good enough to get the start, " Chang added. "We showed, as a team, some resilience in the second half (against Michigan ). He made some good throws. There were some throws he wished he could have back. I think he deserves to start this next coming game."

Yellen was a 4-star quarterback as a Mission Viejo (Calif.) High senior. As an Arizona State freshman in 2019, he was 28-for-44 for 292 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-26 victory over USC. He then transferred to Pittsburgh, where he was an understudy to Kenny Pickett for two seasons. Pickett was the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round pick this year.

"How often can you say you had a first-round guy in your (quarterbacks ) room ?" Yellen said. "I learned a lot off of Kenny. I thought we had a great quarterback room over there. I have no regrets about going over there. I'm thankful for all the opportunities and experiences I've had in college football."

After Pittsburgh's spring training ended in April, Yellen entered the transfer portal. Several schools showed interest, but after researching, Yellen was impressed with the backgrounds of Chang and offensive coordinator Ian Shoemaker. Chang had experience with the run-and-shoot, pistol, run-pass option and Air Raid. Shoemaker constructed a multiple-attack offense at Eastern Washington before joining the Warriors in January.

Yellen said UH's hybrid offense is similar to the schemes he experienced at ASU and Mission Viejo. "Coach Chang and Coach Shoemaker have been awesome, " Yellen said. "I'm getting back to that confidence level of playing more free and sticking to my reads and control what I can control. They're really awesome about coaching up my position and doing the right thing, and coaching up the other players to do their job."

Yellen is familiar with Duquesne, an FCS program whose campus is in downtown Pittsburgh. Two of Yellen's former Pitt teammates are now Dukes.

"I know enough to know these guys have a lot of pride, " Yellen said. "They're not going to roll over. This is a good team. We can't approach them lightly."