Stephen Tsai: Quarterback transfers nothing new for University of Hawaii football program

Dec. 14—The University of Hawaii quarterback had aloha for the aloha state and his football teammates.

But there were several factors, including not feeling he was a fit for the run-based offense, that led the quarterback to transfer to a school on the West Coast.

And that is how June Jones ended up at Portland State, his third school in his NCAA career.

"I probably was one of the first (UH ) guys who ever made (transferring ) work, " said Jones, who set several passing records at Portland State before embarking on a pro career as a quarterback, assistant coach and then head coach. Later, Jones became the most successful head coach in the Rainbow Warriors' football history.

While UH fans lament Chevan Cordeiro's decision to transfer from UH, where he was a co-captain the past two seasons, to San Jose State, a departing Warrior quarterback is not unprecedented.

Mike Harrison, who had hopes of succeeding Dan Robinson as starting quarterback, departed after finding himself behind Nick Rolovich and Timmy Chang on the 2000 depth chart. After the 2004 season, four quarterbacks left UH, including Jack Rolovich, Nick Rolovich's younger brother. In 2008, Steele Jantz had "Tebow " on the back of his scout team's jersey—he was portraying Florida quarterback Tim Tebow in UH practices ahead of the opener against the Gators—and the next year, Jantz had transferred to Iowa State. Three quarterbacks left UH following the 2016 season, and then starting quarterback Dru Brown transferred to Oklahoma State in 2018.

Jones said quarterbacks transfer for several reasons, such as playing time and scheme compatibility. Jones left Oregon in 1972 when new coach Dick Enright installed a veer offense. "Hey, I ain't gonna run, " Jones said.

He left UH in 1974 after the implementation of the Hula-T, a power-run offense employing two tight ends and a fullback. "Alex Kaloi could do both (run and pass ), " Jones said. "I wasn't going to get on the field."

Jones said he found a home at Portland State under Mouse Davis, co-author of the run-and-shoot. "I knew he was going to throw the ball, " Jones said, "and he did. It worked out for me."

Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not, and then there is former UH quarterback Beau Reilly's full-circle relationship with football.

In 2011, Reilly committed to Colorado State, then went on a two-year church mission to Brazil. Three months into the mission, CSU fired head coach Steve Fairchild. "I didn't have a school to go back to, " Reilly recalled.

After completing his mission, Reilly asked his best friend to call a coach they knew at Mesa College. Instead of calling Mesa in San Diego, the friend called Mesa Community College in Arizona. In need of quarterbacks, MCC offered a spot to Reilly. In the three weeks he attended MCC, Reilly met the woman who would become his wife. Then UH called.

In between road games in 2013, the Warriors trained at the University of Utah, where then-UH head coach Norm Chow had coached in 2011. Utah linebacker Trevor Reilly visited a weight-training session, and told the UH coaches about his younger brother, Beau Reilly. The Warriors had an opening because their top quarterback prospect, Larry Tuileta, rescinded an oral commitment to join USC as a walk-on.

Reilly redshirted at UH in 2014, and was a member of the scout team in 2015, Chow's last season as head coach. After not appearing in any games in 2016, Nick Rolovich's first year as head coach, Reilly decided to transfer. "(Rolovich ) and I were kind of on the same page that, hey, they were going in another direction in the offense—and not something I necessarily disagreed with, " Reilly said. "It was pretty clear they wanted to really roll with Dru (Brown ) and quarterbacks they brought in, like Cole McDonald. Hey, that's what coaches do with a new program."

Reilly said it was a difficult choice because he and his wife enjoyed living in Hawaii. "I built a lot of friendships and connections on the island I didn't want to leave, " he said. A month after Reilly's departure, Tuileta joined UH's volleyball team. Five months after that, Cordeiro made an oral commitment to play for the Warriors in 2018.

Reilly transferred to Texas A &M-Kingsville. But after seeing limited action, he decided to retire from football after the 2017 season. "I did the one year there, and life happens—wife, kids, everything—and I kind of had to move on."

The Reillys moved to Arizona, where his wife was born and reared. Reilly is now a project manager /supervisor for an asphalt company. The position allows him to serve as quarterbacks coach at Highland High, which won Arizona's 6A championship at Sun Devil Stadium this past Saturday. Quarterback Gage Dayley was 13-for-14 for 220 yards and four touchdowns.

Reilly said Highland's offensive coordinator came from Saddleback College, where former UH quarterback Colt Brennan played before transferring to UH in 2005. Reilly said Highland's hybrid offense includes concepts culled from schemes Chow and Rolovich ran at UH.

"The way it ended up at this high school, all the things I learned at Hawaii, I'm glad it worked out this way, " Reilly said. "Life's fun, man."—For more Hawaii football, visit the.