They were football teammates and best friends since second grade, then for four years at Saint Louis School, and then three seasons at the University of Hawaii.
But a few days after UH’s regular-season finale in 2021, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro decided to enter the transfer portal. Wideout Jonah Panoke opted to remain a Rainbow Warrior.
This Saturday, in what is fittingly part of UH’s homecoming week, Cordeiro, in his second season as San Jose State’s starting quarterback, will play his first game in Hawaii since his departure.
“I don’t know yet what’s going to happen or how I’m going to feel,” Cordeiro said. “I’ve talked to (SJSU) Coach (Brent) Brennan and he kind of harped on worrying about the coaching and focusing on the game plan. And let all the outside noise … just ignore it.”
But it was Cordeiro’s exit that reshaped the Rainbow Warriors’ culture. In July, Cordeiro told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, he had lost the joy of football during then-head coach Todd Graham’s demanding leadership. Cordeiro, a two-time UH captain, was the most prominent of the 19 players who left the program. Graham resigned on Jan. 14, 2022. Eight days later, former record-setting quarterback Timmy Chang was named the Warriors’ head coach.
“All the people who left had to leave for everything to change,” Cordeiro said on Wednesday. “We didn’t expect anyone to follow us. It was more of a ‘hopefully they make a coaching change and everyone who stays finds the love of the game again.’ Hopefully, that worked for the people who stayed.”
Panoke said he decided to remain for “family reasons.” Panoke and his fiancee are parents to 8-and 4-year-old sons and a 2-year-old daughter. “With me having my family here, it would have been hard to transfer at that time,” Panoke said.
During the search for Graham’s replacement, UH sports media relations director Derek Inouchi promoted the phrase “Braddahhood ” to celebrate the players who remained to rebuild the program.
“It was rough during that time,” Panoke said. “We had guys transferring. We didn’t have a coach at the time. With the ‘Braddahhood,W’ it was meant to stay together. We didn’t have a clear vision of our football future or who the coach would be or who would take Chev’s spot. It was mostly about unity and staying together.”