The Timmy Chang Chronicles Pt. 7: 0-2, Mr. Shoemaker, What Are You Thinking?

With a disappointing performance against Western Kentucky, the Bows might as well have been playing under COVID restrictions for how silent the crowd was. A 49-17 loss left a lot to be desired from fans and with offensive playcalling that was in short…mind boggling, one has to ask, how does Hawaii flip the script on this young season?

Jacob Yoro, Abe Elimimian, Chris Brown and that defensive staff deserve their credit. The defense showed up until they just ran out of energy. No fault to them, major improvements were made to scheme and held WKU in check for most of the game. They kept UH in the game longer then they should’ve been and took a tremendous step up from what they showed week 1.

However the offense was for a lack of better term…a shit show from the jump. Trusting Pitt transfer Joey Yellen to take the starting snaps saw UH underperform so badly that Brayden Shrager was warming up by the end of the first quarter. Not even having Jesse Sapolu in the crowd could inspire that interior offensive line to make holes or protect the QB. The wide receiver room remains a mystery as multiple interceptions thrown were a result of dropped or deflected passes. The QB position remains a mystery as well, more importantly I must question why Cammon Cooper isn’t getting in game reps. On his first play, he scored a touchdown on an option play. It seems that is the only play the coaching staff feels comfortable calling for him as they ran it several more times to little effect.

I still believe Brayden Shrager is the QB of the future but this offensive staff has put him in even more precarious situations than the former UH coaching staff could come up with. It’s not a good day in the office if I’m questioning whether Shrager is  in a better position to succeed with the Graham’s or with Chang and Shoemaker.

I am so tired of the TE usage in this offense. More Norm Chow than Eastern Washington, when UH caught a break on the muffed punt, Shoemaker calling multiple plays of 23 personnel (running back, full back and 3 tight ends) shows both a complete lack of understanding what Hawaii offense is as an identity and his own players. Hawaii is not and has never been built to execute a power run game and the fact Hawaii only went up by 3 from a 20+ field goal (stalled runs and a holding penalty put them back) is completely unacceptable. You don’t install a system then find players, you use the players you have with a system molded to their strengths. Hawaii needs to go back to its modern roots and limit the tight end. More 4 wide looks that create running lanes based on defensive alignments.

Hawaii needs to be a home for talented receivers who either were under recruited or need a fresh start and this offense provides potential recruits neither. If Eastern Washington can have both Cooper Kupp and Kendrick Bourne at the same time, there’s no reason Hawaii can’t do that.

Coach Chang cleaned up some mismanagement from week 0 as he grows. There’s some exciting recruits verbally committed to the islands and his ability to get them to signing day will be critical to his success. I also pray he finds a true punter, Matt Shipley did a better job this week but he’s a true kicker. If he gets hurt, that’s a loss Hawaii won’t be able to overcome.

Michigan might be a lost cause but a Mountain West season looming may breathe new life into this Warriors offense. To that I say…f**k it, we ball.