The Rainbow Warriors open the season vs. Vanderbilt on August 27
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Question mark at quarterback
Last winter, the University of Hawaii football program experienced a mass exodus. Following allegations of former head coach Todd Graham’s verbal abuse and subsequent resignation, nearly 20 student-athletes from Hawaii’s program transferred off the island. Among them: Chevan Cordeiro, Hawaii’s 2021 starting quarterback, who left for San Jose State.
Hawaii’s fall camp opened on July 27, here’s what head coach Timmy Chang had to say about the ongoing quarterback situation:
“As far as quarterback and even the other positions, we recruited all the way until July and so getting these guys in and letting them be able to compete as far as quarterback and some of these other positions—we are not set in stone until we watch these guys compete for about two weeks and we’ll flip into our Vanderbilt game plan,” Chang said to KHON2. “But they got to go out there and compete. There’s six on the roster and all of them can throw. They all do things a little bit different but at the end of the day it’s the guy that distributes the ball and makes the best decisions. That’s the guy that’s going to get the nod.”
With Chang at the helm and Ian Shoemaker, former offensive coordinator at Eastern Washington, guiding the offense, the Rainbow Warriors are expected to return to their “run ‘n’ shoot” style offensive roots which means that solid quarterback play will be at a premium if Hawaii wants to exceed their preseason projections in the West Division. Here’s a rundown of Chang’s options to replace Corderio under center:
The returning guy
Brayden Schager —The Texas native is the only guy on the roster who has played a down at quarterback for Hawaii. The second-year Schager was primarily Corderio’s backup most of last year but did see action in six games, including three starts. Schager’s most memorable moment from 2021 has to be when he lead Hawaii to a fourth quarter comeback over nationally-ranked Fresno State. He finished the season with a 2-1 record as a starter, throwing for 615 yards and two touchdowns while completing 60.1% of his passes.
At Mountain West Media Day, Schager was the first name out of Chang’s mouth when asked about who will fill Corderio’s shoes. While Chang has repeatedly said that the fall camp will see an open quarterback competition, Schager surely has to…