Warriors' starting quarterback competition has grown to 3

Aug. 31—Upon further review, the University of Hawaii's quarterback competition has expanded to three.

Upon further review, the University of Hawaii's quarterback competition has expanded to three.

Head coach Timmy Chang indicated Brayden Schager, Joey Yellen and Cammon Cooper will share the top-rotation reps in practices ahead of Saturday's game against Western Kentucky at the Ching Complex.

"We're evaluating them as we go, " Chang said. "We've got to keep putting them in a great position and make sure they understand what we're trying to do. And the guy who's the most consistent will be the guy."

A week ago, Schager was awarded the No. 1 job for the opener against Vanderbilt. In the 63-10 loss, Schager played the entire first half, then returned with 9 :56 to play, taking snaps for the Rainbow Warriors' final two series. Schager, a second-year Warrior from Dallas, finished 18-for-35 for 161 yards. He was not intercepted, but also did not throw a scoring pass.

Yellen started the second half, completing 10 of his first 11 passes, but then failed to connect on his next nine throws.

"It's kind of tough as you get more and more behind, " said Yellen, referencing Vanderbilt's 35-0 third quarter, "because you want to push the ball down the field a little bit more, and they weren't easing up, which is no fault to them. They were still bringing pressure and all that, and we didn't execute in my last two drives as we did, maybe, in the first two."

Yellen was 10-for-20 for 89 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. The Commodores sent a blitzer on 65 % of Yellen's 22 pass plays. He was sacked twice.

"It was good to get some game tape in, " said Yellen, who transferred from Pittsburgh in May. "It was the first time I played in meaningful minutes in two years. It was the first time I had some real game tape to work off of. I thought there were some positives there. I thought I could be a bit more consistent on some of the throws, some of the pocket movement.... Just getting a feel again for playing in a real live game where you can be hit ... I feel like it's helped out moving into these practices a lot."

Cooper, a former 4-star quarterback, enrolled at UH in January after four seasons at Washington State. Although he often is viewed as a running quarterback, Cooper actually was a heralded drop-back passer as a Lehi (Utah ) High senior in 2017. That year, he threw for 4, 085 yards and 38 touchdowns. He rarely exited the pocket because the only backup was a freshman.

"We didn't give Cam a shot (in the Vanderbilt game ), but Cam has capabilities, as well, " Chang said. "We'll keep repping those three guys."

Chang indicated it will be up to the quarterbacks to determine the length of the competition.

"When you see it and somebody's able to take the reins and put the ball in the end zone consistently and do the job consistently, then that's when it probably will end, " Chang said.