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BYU Football: Scouting the Schedule – Hawaii

By Shaun Gordon

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Cole Brownholtz #17 of the Hawaii Warriors gets pas Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a touch down in the fourth quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on September 9, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 09: Cole Brownholtz #17 of the Hawaii Warriors gets pas Keisean Lucier-South #11 of the UCLA Bruins as he runs for a touch down in the fourth quarter of the game at the Rose Bowl on September 9, 2017 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – NOVEMBER 05: David Wells #88 of the San Diego State Aztecs dives towards the goal line scoring a touchdown in the first half against Jalen Rogers #19 of the Hawaii Rainbows in Qualcomm Stadium on November 5, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – NOVEMBER 05: David Wells #88 of the San Diego State Aztecs dives towards the goal line scoring a touchdown in the first half against Jalen Rogers #19 of the Hawaii Rainbows in Qualcomm Stadium on November 5, 2016 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /

The Offense

Quarterback

The loss of Dru Brown really hurts the Rainbow Warriors. Last season he threw for 2,785 yards and 18 touchdowns. With him gone, the only quarterback with any college experience is Cole McDonald (So.), who threw nine passes in mop-up duty last year.

He’ll be thrust into the starting spot, and Hawaii will sink or swim based on how he performs. Look for either Chevan Cordeiro (Fr.) or Jeremy Moussa (Fr.) to win the backup spot. If McDonald struggles, one of these two may find themselves with a starting job much sooner than expected.

Running Back

Not only did Hawaii lose their quarterback and top receiver, they also lost their record-setting running back to graduation. In 2017 Diocemy Saint Juste broke the Rainbow Warriors’ rushing yardage record with 1,510 yards. He led the team with seven touchdowns as well.

Freddie Holly III (So.) will enter the season as the starter. Last year he ran nine times for 30 yards. That’s not much, but it’s more experience than anyone else on the roster.

Kaiwi Chung (Sr.) and Dayton Furuta (Jr.) will get opportunities to play as well, and could overtake Holly III as the season progresses.

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Receiver/Tight End

Dylan Collie was Dru Brown’s favorite target. The pair hooked up 56 times for 636 yards and four touchdowns. He’s a Cougar now, but Hawaii still has John Ursua. The junior-to-be actually edged out Collie in receiving yards (667) and touchdowns (5), and he’ll be the top target in 2018.

Marcus Armstrong-Brown (Sr.) caught 24 passes for 184 yards last year, and Kumoku Noa (So.) caught 11 balls for 140 yards. Those two, along with junior college transfer Cedric Byrd (Jr.), will take the remaining starting spots.

Behind this starting four there’s little college experience. Hawaii will have to rely on Ursua heavily, and hope that a few other faces on the two-deep step up.

Because the Rainbow Warriors run the spread and use four wideouts, they don’t use a tight end. There aren’t even any on the roster.

Offensive Line

Only one starter returns for Hawaii, and that’s Asotui Eli (Sr.). He spent last year at center, but will move to left tackle to ensure experience there. A couple of juniors, Emil Graves and JR Hensley, along with a couple of sophomores, Taaga Tuulima and Joey Nu’uanu-Kuhi’iki, will likely make up the rest of the starting offensive line.

There’s almost no experience on the second team, so the starters will have to learn quickly and avoid injury for the offense to succeed in 2018.

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