The Timmy Chang Chronicles Pt. 11: A Beautiful Spring
Today embarks a new day in the Timmy Chang era for University of Hawaii football. A disappointing 2022 season is a thing of the past as Chang looks to capture his first winning season as a head coach and UH’s first Hawaii Bowl appearance since Aloha Stadium closed in 2019 (Hawaii cancelled it’s appearance in 2021). This is his first recruiting class that is spearheaded by some exciting local/ JUCO talent and some intriguing transfer portal players.
Justin Sinclair is a safety from the College of San Mateo who is a three star prospect. A big win for UH for the 5-10, 185 pound defensive back as he received late offers from future UH opponent Sam Houston State and Clay Helton’s Georgia Southern. The DB room was a big point of emphasis for Coach Chang as there was a max exodus in the post Todd Graham era and there’s hope Sinclair will patch what is a big hole for the Warriors.
The Warriors lacked tremendous depth in 2021 in the DB room and continued to add with another three star DB. Elijah Palmer from Bishop Gorman was getting looks from Non-FBS programs before the Warriors gained interest and fought off a late push by UNLV. Palmer is a versatile CB/S player who attacks. One thing he does very well is contain ball carriers, something UH needs desperately.
John-Keawe Sagapolutele is a three star QB from Punahou who is 6-1 and 185. An intriguing prospect that will put on some weight that will allow him to be a duel threat player at the division 1 level should have UH fans salivating if they return to a pass happy, Run N Shoot style. A good operater from both the shotgun and the pistol, he reminds me of Trey Lance when he was at NDSU. I would like to see a little quicker delivery but he throws with good anticipation and his medium throws excite me a lot. A Polynesian bowl participant, Sagapolutele’s back ground and play style could push him into a starting role earlier then planned.
Ezekiel Rodrigues joins the long line of Mililani Trojans to play for the Warriors. Another DB that could move up to hybrid linebacker, Rodrigues is a player that is not afraid of contact. A clean tackler that can put the boom on you, one thing that stands out with his tape is his fundamentals. This is a fundamentally sound, aggressive football player that’s not gonna be reckless and get himself hurt or kicked out of the game. He has great length and shines in big moments. At the very least, he will be a special teams ace.
The class has a lot of transfers that are exciting and I’m really excited about Elijah Robinson and Joshua Atkins but my big transfer guy is Steven McBride. McBride is a WR from Kansas who was a three star prospect coming out of Louisiana. An outside player who makes his best plays when he cuts inside, what he could do in the slot should worry the opposition. He runs a very nice fade as well and he outruns people on multiple occasions. This dude has day one starter written all over him. He bodies opponents. He understands angles and possesses solid hands.
With year two comes growth and though success isn’t instant and it definetely isn’t easy but these are some of the players that I expect to be apart of the next era of great warrior football.
