One expectation University of Hawaii football fans can almost surely count on this year from the Rainbow Warriors is discipline and determination.
That’s the feeling you get when you hear first-year head coach Todd Graham talk. If the players execute what he’s thinking, then UH — wins and losses aside — will be as tough as nails.
As a matter of fact, the team has an acronym for that particular kind of grinding — TTH, which stands for tougher than hell, according to junior linebacker turned defensive end Penei Pavihi.
Graham, Pavihi and senior running back Calvin Turner met with members of media organizations, including Bedrock Sports Hawaii, via Zoom on Tuesday morning. They gave their take on the team’s preparedness (or lack thereof in these uncertain COVID-19 times) for Saturday’s season opener at Fresno State in Bulldog Stadium, where no fans will be allowed because of the pandemic.
(Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii athletics)
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- HAWAII (0-0) at Fresno State (0-0)
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 1:30 p.m. Hawaii time
- TV: Spectrum Sports PPV (Ch. 255/HD 1255) and Hawaiian Telcom Ch. 969)
- Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM and 92.7-FM).
- Live Stats: HawaiiAthletics.com
- Series Information: 53rd meeting, Fresno State leads, 29-22-1
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All three feel fortunate that the game is happening at all after the difficulties of putting this abbreviated season together with social distancing rules in place because of the health crisis.
To Graham, the wait has been like a kid experiencing Christmas after it being canceled for two straight years.
“There was a time when we were thinking that there was no way the season was going to happen,” Graham said. “I didn’t think we would even be playing in the spring. … So I’m grateful for the opportunity, and I’m not grateful to just show up, I’m grateful for the chance to go out and compete — and compete to be champions. … I’m very proud of the players and the staff. As far as the coaching end of it, this is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done The team has done a good job and if they continue doing a good job, they’ll be competing for a championship.”
Graham, who went 46-32 combined as a head coach at Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Tulsa and Rice, was quite clear of what he wants to see Saturday against Fresno State. In a sense, what he said was a bit of coach-speak, but it also made solid sense.
“We’re a veteran team,” he said. “The strength is the offensive line and we have some quality players who can run at receiver and we have a strong backfield,” Graham said about the offense. “I feel really good about (sophomore starting quarterback) Chevan (Cordeiro) taking care of things. Probably the biggest danger is in execution. We don’t want to try to do too much and beat ourselves. We don’t want to turn the ball over and shoot ourselves in the foot. We want to get takeaways (on defense). And special teams should really be a strength for us.”
Eventually, Graham is hoping for a high-flying offense, one that has a quick pace.
(Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii athletics).
“I’m a no-huddle, tempo guy,” he added. “But how fast can you go (now) with limited amount of practice time? Whatever the miles an hour is, 90 or 95 … of if it’s 15 or 17 … we’re going to do what we can execute.”
Graham: Defense ‘Can’t Be Giving Up 36 or 37 points’
As the season builds, part of Graham’s winning formula is to get the team to the point where they’re running 90 to 95 plays on offense and to get the amount of plays on defense down to 65 to 70. He knows that if there is a quick-scoring offense, the defense will have more pressure on their shoulders. And he also made it crystal clear that the defense can’t be giving up “36 or 37 points per game” if the Rainbow Warriors expect to be a winner.
Pavihi, who had a standout campaign with 87 tackles two years ago, missed last season with a knee injury and can’t wait to get rolling at his new position of defensive end.
“TTH, tougher than hell,” he said. “It’s about giving it your all until your last breath and giving that much more. Coach Graham is the entity behind the war-dog defense (with speed and explosive power at the forefront) and that mentality is what I bring to the position.”
Turner, who played quarterback at Jacksonville University in Florida before transferring when that program disbanded in December, is an interesting addition on offense. He expects to be sharing reps with starting running back Miles Reed.
“I consider myself an athlete,” said Turner about the position change. “Playing running back will allow me to show my skill-set. We bring a different dynamic. I feel like I’m more of a shiftier runner and Miles is more downhill. We complement each other well.”
Turner could be a star in the making. In two seasons on offense at Jacksonville University (he also played defensive back in his three years there), he accounted for 1,171 passing yards, 2,811 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns.
Reed rushed for 908 yards with UH in 2019.
Among the position groups, Graham said that the linebackers, offensive line and receivers are the deepest on the team. He also thinks the Rainbow Warriors have top-level depth at running back, and that the thinnest areas depth-wise are quarterback, defensive backs and pass rushers.
“The name of the game (on defense) is to get to the quarterback, so you can never have enough of those pass-rusher types,” he said.
Two Fresno State weapons UH will need to slow down are quarterback Jake Haener (a transfer from the University of Washington) and running back Ronnie Rivers (2,122 yards rushing combined from 2017 to ’19).
the two schools. (Photo courtesy of University of Hawaii athletics).
A year ago, the Bulldogs beat the Rainbow Warriors 41-38 in front of 22,058 fans at Aloha Stadium. That came during UH’s 10-5 campaign under Nick Rolovich (now the head coach at Washington State) that concluded with a 38-34 victory over BYU at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve. Fresno State went 4-8 in 2019.
13 Former Hawaii High School Players Are On UH’s 2-Deep Chart
Six former Hawaii high school players are listed as starters for the game against Fresno State:
>> QB: Chevan Cordeiro, So. (Saint Louis)
>> C: Taaga Tuulima, Sr. (‘Iolani)
>> DE: Darius Muasau, So. (Mililani)
>> LB: Jeremiah Pritchard, Jr. (Farrington)
>> S: Kai Kaneshiro, So. (Saint Louis)
>> P: Adam Stack, Jr. (Kamehameha)
Seven more former Hawaii high school players are listed on the two-deep chart:
>> C: Eliki Tanuvasa, So. (Saint Louis)
>> LG: Michael Eletise, Sr. (Kaiser)
>> LB: Isaiah Tufaga, So. (Saint Louis)
>> LB: Kalamaka Kuewa, So. (Kamehameha)
>> LB: Noa Kamana, Jr. (Punahou)
>> S: Tiger Peterson, Fr. (Kamehameha)
>> LS: Kamuela Borden, So. (‘Iolani)
In addition, freshman right guard Bubba Wa’a, who was born on Oahu and lived in Hauula until age 8, is also listed on the two-deep chart.
Hawaii starters vs. Fresno, Saturday
Offense
>> LT: Ilm Manning, 6-4, 280, Jr. (Glendale, Ariz.)
>> LG: Kohl Levao, 6-6, 350, Sr. (Aberdeen, Wash.)
>> C: Taaga Tuulima, 6-2, 310, Sr. (Ewa Beach)
>> RG: Solo Vaipulu, 6-2, 300, Sr. (Riverside, Calif.)
>> RT: Gene Pryor, 6-3, 310, Sr. (Visalia, Calif.)
>> WR: Rico Bussey, 6-2, 190, Sr. (Lawton, Okla.)
>> WR: Lincoln Victor, 5-10, 165, Fr. (West Camas, Wash.)
>> WR: Zion Bowens, 6-1, 200, Jr. (Long Beach, Calif.)
>> WR: Jared Smart, 6-0, 190, Sr. (Dublin, Calif.)
>> RB: Miles Reed, 5-8, 190, Jr. (Corona, Calif.)
>> QB: Chevan Cordeiro, 6-1, 190, So. (Honolulu)
Defense
>> DE: Penei Pavihi, 6-3, 245, Jr. (Pago Pago, American Samoa)
>> NT: Blessman Ta’ala, 6-1, 300, Jr. (Inglewood, Calif.)
>> DT: Jonah Laulu, 6-6, 280, So. (Las Vegas)
>> DE: Darius Muasau, 6-1, 230, So. (Ewa Beach)
>> LB: Jeremiah Pritchard, 6-0, 230, Jr. (Leone, American Samoa)
>> LB: Khoury Bethley, 5-10, 200, Jr. (Chino, Calif.)
>> LB: Quentin Frazier, 6-1, 195, Sr. (San Diego)
>> CB: Cortez Davis, 5-11, 180, Sr. (Decatur, Ga.)
>> S: Eugene Ford, 6-2, 210, Sr. (Venice, Calif.)
>> S: Kai Kaneshiro, 6-2, 180, So. (Honolulu)
>> CB: Cameron Lockridge, 6-0, 180, So. (Tampa, Fla.)
Special teams
>> PK/KO: Matthew Shipley, 6-1, 175, Fr. (Liberty Hill, Texas)
>> P: Adam Stack, 6-2, 180, Jr. (Kailua)
>> LS: Wyatt Tucker, 5-10, 205, Jr. (Chino Hills, Calif.)
>> HOLD: Stan Gaudion, 6-3, 210, Sr. (Melbourne, Australia)
>> PR: Lincoln Victor, 5-10, 165, Fr. (West Camasm Wash.)
>> KR: Dae Dae Hunter, 5-10, 200, Fr. (Denver)
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