Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 2018 Football Preview

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: As Nick Rolovich himself stated, last year was a "dose of reality" for the Hawaii football program. The Warriors dropped from 7 wins to 3, when better things were expected, and this year does not look any easier. Extreme loss on both sides of the ball will lead to a philosophical change on offense to a Run and Shoot based offensive system. Defensively, Hawaii is on their 3rd DC in 3 years. If last season could be described as choppy, this season could be downright turbulent.

Breakdown Offense: Hawaii, simply put, struggled to score, especially after talented receiver John Ursua went down with a knee injury, Hawaii scored just 22.8 points per game, passed for 234 yards per game, and rushed for 168.17 yards per game. Many of those numbers were effected when Ursua went down, and the news is bleak as several key pieces have moved on.

Dru Brown, who passed for 2785 yards and 18 TDs last season, took a transfer to Oklahoma State after the season, and must be replaced. Cole McDonald, the backup who attempted just 9 passes last fall (completing 5 of them), is likely to win the job, but he has some competition in camp this fall from a transfer from Marshall in Kyle Gallup. Jeremy Moussa and Chevan Cordeiro are both freshman, and volleyball player Larry Tuileta are also in the mix, as is Sacramento State and SMU transfer Kolney Cassel.

Diocemy Saint-Juste will go down as one of the all-time great Hawaii RBs, but he has moved on, as has his primary backup in Ryan Tuiasoa. That is a huge blow, and a primary reason for the mental shift towards the Run and Shoot. Freddie Holley III is the most experienced back returning, and he carried just 9 times for 27 yards last fall. This is a huge red flag area.

Dylan Collie was supposed to provide some receiving depth as the H receiver, but he has transferred to BYU, leaving the Warriors with just one of their top 4 receivers returning, which would be Ursua, who is expected to be completely healthy by the fall. He caught 47 passes in just 6 games for 667 yards and 5 scores, while averaging 14.19 yards per catch and 111.2 yards per game. The staff and OC Brian Smith are looking for more from Kumoku Noa and Marcus Armstrong Brown out of the slot, but they have yet to see what they need. Devan Stubblefield is also an option in the passing game, but had a forgettable 2017 season. JC transfer Cedric Byrd could shove him aside, and there is also the presence of Drake Stallworth, or a pair of incoming freshmen in Michael Washington and Jonah Panoke. Kalakaua Timoteo is also looking for extended reps in the new offense.

Asotui Eli was projected originally to start at C, but now appears to be moving to a tackle spot, probably on the right side. In short, the line could be a patchwork of new faces, as several faces are changing spots, while some have moved on. Rolovich recruited heavily along the line, but the pieces are just coming together as we head into fall. Again, this is another major red flag unit.

Breakdown Defense: Corey Batoon, who was on staff at Arkansas State, Ole Miss, and FAU, is the new DC, the 3rd in three seasons. Batoon is a Hawaii native, and should be a draw from the local resources. He has quite a task at hand, as the Rainbows did not exactly get the job done defensively last season. They allowed 33.9 points per game, and allowed 248.6 yards passing per game. They were hammered on the ground to a tune of 210.17 yards per game rushing.

Hawaii loses their top 3 D linemen from a season ago, and that is not a good sign for a team now languishing for help in both ends of the trench. Tevarua Eldridge and Zeno Choi, both seniors, project as starters at DE. Eldridge played in just 9 games as a junior last fall, recording just one TFL, while Choi recorded 2.5 TFLs in 12 games. There will be major challenges in filling the DT spots, as both are wide open for battle in fall camp. There were 15 total defensive linemen in spring practice, so the hope is that someone from that group will step up from the shadows to get something done in the fall. Kaimana Padello will be in competition with Eldridge, which is a good thing. Look for Justus Tavai to get some good looks at DT, while Blessman Ta'Ala and Doug Russell join him in trying to form a deep rotation there. Zah Ritner is another young player that could see time at DE. Samiuela Akoteu is trying not to get lost in the mix in the middle as well.

There is some good news at LB, as team leader Jahlani Tavai is back at MLB. His loss with the others, would have been catastrophic. He is a senior, and will be the leader of the defense, and one of the team overall leaders as well. He recorded 124 tackles last season, and also led the team with 11 TFLs. He also led the team with 5.5 sacks, and recorded 5 QB hurries as well. Solomon Matautia is back as well after recording 84 tackles, and will start on the strong side. Dany Mulanga was slated to start at WLB, but will be playing in the secondary this season. Jeremiah Pritchard should start in his place. He recorded 31 tackles last season, and is a better overall option for the weak side spot anyway. Penei Pavihi is back as a sophomore, and is looking to work his way up. Malachi Mageo is another candidate for playing time, and incoming freshmen Paul Scott and Khoury Bethley could be good ones down the road.

The secondary was brutalized, as the top 3 safeties from last season are now gone. Eugene Ford and Rojesterman Farris II are slated to start at CB, but neither had much to give last fall. Ford was a freshman last fall, and provided all of 2 PBUs. Manu Hudson-Rasmussen finished with 4 PBUs and is in the mix as well. All in all, the staff needs some serious upgraded play out of this unit, as they got knocked around pretty good a year ago. Zach Wilson will also try to up his play from last fall.

Kalen Hicks will start a tone Safety spot, but the other spot needs filling in camp. Hicks is a new starter and will need to pick up the process in a hurry. Jay Dominique is in the mix, but Mykal Tolliver, Manase Time, Donovan Dalton will all be looking to win the job as well.

Breakdown Special Teams: The Warriors need to settle out their situation at PK, as two kickers struggled to lock down the job a year ago in Alex Trifonovitch and Ryan Meskell. They combined to hit just 4/9 FGs last fall. Michael Boyle, a RS freshman, could have a shot to be the answer.

Stan Gaudion brings some good news to the Punting game, as he averaged 42.07 yards per punt last fall.

Hawaii struggled on kick returns last fall, and will be looking for a new return man. Hudson-Rasmussen will be given the chance to win the job in the fall.

Ursua could return to PR duty in the fall, unless they want to protect him from further injury chances.

Final Analysis: It could be another rough go for the Rainbow Warriors in 2018, as with so many new faces, an offensive shift in philosophy, and a schedule that shows them as maybe being favorites in 3 games, it would be difficult to project this football team being much better this year than last. Nick Rolovich is a realist as head coach, and he will work hard to move the needle up, but baby steps must be gained before this team can get up and run. The staff has recruited well, and with some time and development, I would expect more improvement, but maybe in 2019.