Coach Chang and Warriors ready to run it back as camp opens
For the Hawaii football team this offseason, there have been training tables, potlucks, Braddahhood Grindz, barbecues, picnics, snacks, cookouts, more snacks and yet …
For the Hawaii football team this offseason, there have been training tables, potlucks, Braddahhood Grindz, barbecues, picnics, snacks, cookouts, more snacks and yet …
“We’re staying hungry,” nickelback Elijah Palmer said. “We’re excited to get football going. (Conditioning) Coach (Bobby Thomas) did a great job with us this offseason. Everybody progressed. Now it’s time to get ready for some ball. We’re not a complacent team.”
After winning nine of 13 games in 2025, including the Hawaii Bowl, the Rainbow Warriors hope to run it back. Training camp opened Tuesday. Today’s practice is the first of training camp leading to the Aug. 29 opener against Stanford.
“Since January I’ve been thinking about Aug. 29 and getting to this point,” defensive lineman Luther McCoy said. “We want to show the island who we are, show the world. It’s important to us, the braddahhood, to work hard and make sure we’re prepared. Not preparing is preparing to fail. That’s our mindset.”
The Rainbow Warriors are undergoing a moderate makeover. The core is in place, led by quarterback Micah Alejado, center Ethan Spencer, rush end Lester Lagafuaina, linebacker Jamih Otis and Palmer.
Alejado and Otis are fully healthy after recovering from ailments. Alejado played most of last season with a badly injured right ankle. Otis underwent surgery in December to repair an ACL tear. With incoming freshman Maika Eugenio’s departure, Alejado and Virginia transfer Bjorn Jurgensen are the only starter-ready quarterbacks in camp. Hazyn Botelho is expected to run the scout offense.
With Landon Sims completing his NCAA eligibility, Cam Barfield ascends to No. 1 back.
“It’s a big responsibility,” said Barfield, who averaged 3.02 post-contact yards and did not fumble on 80 carries. “It’s trust with the coaches. They’ve seen the work I’ve put in. They trust me. I’ve got to go out there and do my thing.”
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Last year’s starting wideouts — Jackson Harris and Brandon White — exited through the transfer portal. But the Warriors signed four wideouts, three from Power 4 schools. Washington transfer Audric Harris will compete at slotback. He has resumed a bond with Alejado, also a Bishop Gorman High School alumnus.
“He’s a great leader,” Audric Harris said of Alejado. “He’s one of my best friends on the team, as well., Knowing he’s my quarterback and and somebody I can trust on and off the field is amazing.”
Otis is moving from middle linebacker to dime linebacker, where he will align in the box, on the edge or in the flats. “Middle is something I’ve done my whole life,” Otis said. “Dime is something I can showcase more of my skill set being in space more. That’s something I wanted to do. It was a growing stage learning to react to things from a different perspective and angle.”
Safeties Peter Manuma, Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen and Justin Sinclair ended their NCAA careers with the Hawaii Bowl’s final whistle. Kona Moore, who has recovered from a shoulder injury, fifth-year senior Matagi Thompson and Makana Meyer move into the starting rotation.
“We lost those guys, but I learned a lot from seeing them play and getting thrown in the fire a little bit last year,” Moore said.
The competition also opens on special teams, where the Warriors are seeking successors to kicker Kansei Matsuzawa and punter Billy Gowers.
“We’re super excited,” Barfield said. “Everybody is tired from just working out and they just want to play some football. We’re ready for that. We’re ready to get the season started.”
