Dealt with a setback earlier this year – the demise of Aloha Stadium – junior receiver Nick Mardner took heart that the field transformation was quick.
“It’s going to be sweet, it was actually nice to see how nice the turnaround was,” Mardner said Thursday of the newly retrofitted Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex. “We started offseason conditioning, it seemed like they went right to work. Everything is looking nice.”
Dealt another setback last week– a 44-10 blowout loss at the hands at UCLA – Hawaii hopes the on-the-field transformation is just as quick. The Rainbow Warriors play their first game on campus Saturday night against what figures to be an amped up Portland State team that is returning from an opt-out season.
Perhaps looking forward to an actual all-inclusive week of practice, Hawaii didn’t leave the Rose Bowl lacking for confidence.
“We’re not losing after this,” defensive end Jonah Laulu told Tribune News Service in a pathway outside the visitors’ locker room on Saturday. “We’re going to bounce back next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, and the rest of the season.”
Because of COVID-19 contact-tracing protocol, eight top-tier defensive linemen and a starting linebacker were limited to only two full practices during the two weeks leading to the season-opening, coach Todd Graham confirmed on earlier this week.
“When you don’t practice, you’re not going to play well, especially in a game like that,” Graham told Tribune News Service.
Graham confirmed the nine players were isolated for 10 days “as a precaution.” They resumed practicing last week Tuesday. On game week, the Rainbow Warriors conduct heavily padded practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. They wear only light upper-body padding and helmets for protection for minimal-contact practices on Thursday and Friday.
But UH expects a complete active roster for Saturday’s game.
The Warriors had difficulty repelling UCLA’s early pass rush; establishing a running attack and slowing the Bruins’ ground game, and finding all-purpose Calvin Turner. Turner had five official touches — five receptions on eight targets. Turner did not return UCLA’s eight kickoffs and five punts. He also was affected by the dry heat.
“We started really slow offensively,” Turner told Tribune News Service. “Next time, we’ve got to come out a little more on fire, and start off better.”
But there were some promising aspects. Wideout Aaron Cephus, who transferred from Rice a year ago, caught a 49-yard pass from Chevan Cordeiro. Linebacker Darius Muasau made 10 tackles, and safety Chima Azunna, who transferred from Iowa State, added seven tackles, including five solo stops. Cornerback Cameron Lockridge relinquished one catch. And Stanford transfer Caleb Phillips caught a 1-yard scoring pass in his debut at tight end, a position he had not played since high school.
Graham said missed tackles and assignments contributed more to the Warriors’ problems against UCLA. The Bruins used a four-wide scheme to thin the tackle box, the imaginary rectangle near the line the of scrimmage. The Warriors countered with single coverage on each of the receivers, enabling the Warriors to move six defenders into the tackle box. But too often, according to Graham, the Warriors were not in their proper at-the-snap stance.
“We were not getting lined up, for whatever reason, ” Graham said.
Nothing lined up well for Portland State of the FCS in 2020, when their season was postponed and then all but canceled. Because of restrictive COVID-19 protocols in Oregon, the Vikings were the last Division I team to be cleared to play. The Vikings opted out of the Big Sky’s 2020 season that was pushed to the spring. The exception was agreeing to play Montana in a spring exhibition April 17.
“We kind of looked at it as our spring game,” quarterback Davis Alexander said. “Instead of playing against each other, we got to play another team. It’s always fun to hit a team with a different-colored jersey other than yourself every day.”
Coach Bruce Barnum acknowledged the Vikings, who had not had a team practice from March 2000 through February 2021, would be at a disadvantage against Montana. But playing the game meant receiving an additional 10 practices. “That’s why we did it, ” Barnum said.
Montana dominated, 48-7, but the Vikings received game experience and much-needed training. “Everything about spring football was a positive except the score of that game,” Barnum said.
Barnum said the Vikings regained their wind and rhythm when he gave the team a two-week break to reconnect with their families ahead of training camp. But during the break, a player developed symptoms consistent with a coronavirus infection. That player and 23 teammates who had been around him were placed in isolation for 10 days. After that period, the players were tested and then cleared to practice.
“It’s good to be back on the practice field, ” Barnum said. “The kids are excited. The program’s excited. We’re looking forward to getting this thing going.”
Barnum noted Alexander embodies the no-huddle offense’s rugged personality. Alexander played the entire 2019 season with a subluxed left (non-throwing) shoulder. Alexander estimated the shoulder popped out of joint at least 20 times that season. “There were a couple times he came up to me on the sideline and said, ‘hey, Coach, can you pop this in really quick ?’” recalled Barnum, who replied, “I’m not popping your shoulder. Go see a trainer.”
Alexander said: “They usually left it up to me or the trainers to get it back in.”
PSU is an FCS program whose scholarships are capped at 67. The NCAA allowed last year’s seniors to return for a “super senior ” year, which would have allowed teams to exceed the scholarship cap. But Barnum said the program did not have the financial means to award more than 67 scholarships. UH, as an FBS member, has 85 scholarship players.
Barnum said this is one of two games against FBS opponents in which the Vikings will be heavy underdogs. But in a speech this week, Barnum implored his team to remain focused and confident.
“The key for us for games like this,” Barnum told his players, “is make sure Hawaii doesn’t beat us before we get there. I can’t have you going into this, ‘oh, geez, look how good they are. Look at 55 (nose tackle Blessman Taala), how he’s blowing up everybody he plays against, or 53 (linebacker Darius Muasau), or 5 (safety Khoury Bethley).’ They’ve got some dudes. It doesn’t matter. You’ve still got to play the game. Anything can happen.”
Barnum added: “That’s how we approach a game like this.”
Graham expects a resilienst approach from his team: Graham said he is “extremely confident ” the Warriors will play better Saturday. “These guys are amazing young men, they really are,” he said
