For the University of Hawai‘i football team, the show goes on and the mission continues.
Sunday's Pau Hana event at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex marked the 15th and final allotted spring practice for the Rainbow Warriors. The next time the 'Bows can practice as a team is a month in advance of their Aug. 23 season opener against Stanford.
In between their last spring practice and their first fall practice, the 'Bows will aim to make progress in the weight room during the team's offseason strength and conditioning program.
"It's an advantage to get done and really get stronger and get bigger. We want to make sure that we're able to impose our will on teams, whether we're away or they come inside here. And so we're gonna get bigger, stronger, faster, from now all the way to July," head coach Timmy Chang said following Sunday's event. "The football growth has to continue. Our football knowledge, our fundamentals got to get better. ... It was a good starting point, and these guys know what they got to do to reach our goal."
The work in the weight room will proceed for the Rainbow Warriors, despite the departure of head strength and conditioning coach Ryan Ishihara midway through spring ball.
"We're ready to hire our next guy coming in," Chang said, noting that associate head coach and linebackers coach Chris Brown will continue to be a presence for the team during workouts.
"For me, it's the mindset part. It's that motivation and inspiration part," Brown said earlier in the week when asked about his involvement in the team's workouts. "The way they do things, that's what I oversee. How they do it, with what kind of energy, what kind of fire? For instance, if they go walking into the weight room before their workouts and I can hear a pin drop, I'm sending their (behinds) back outside, and I'm making them start a chant, and they can scream their way back in there. And I want to hear loud screaming and noise and bring some fire."
Hawai‘i exited camp with a handful of openings in its football staff, both on and off the field. Cade Socha entered spring practice as the team's new quarterbacks coach but didn't participate in the 15 sessions. Meanwhile, director of recruiting Ella Devenny is no longer listed on the coaching staff, while director of player personnel Silas Clapham departed to become the University of Washington's director of college scouting.
While Chang will look to make additions to his coaching staff, his roster of 112 will have to be whittled down to 105 by the time the 2025 season begins, per NCAA rules.
"At the end of the day, it's a different game than it's been in the past. We're not going to be able to keep everybody in that sense. The roster is going down to 105 and so tough decisions will be made, but at the end of the day, it's the best 105. We have to go out there and represent our state," Chang said.
Sunday's 11-on-11 period was a showcase in skill for both UH's offensive and defensive units. Incumbent starting quarterback Micah Alejado hit Stanford transfer Jackson Harris for a perfectly placed touchdown throw that traveled approximately 50 yards in the rain. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Warrior defense forced a handful of turnovers, led by Elijah Palmer's two interceptions.
When asked about the team's urgency in the upcoming offseason, Palmer is optimistic the process will lead to more victories.
"It's to do the things to put us in position to win, really, that's what it is. It's to win. That's our main goal," Palmer said. "That's our main objective, regardless...doing what we need to do for not only us, but the brothers next to us."
Five and a half months may seem like a ways away, but for the Rainbow Warriors, each day leading up to Aug. 23 will be precious.
"This is going to be a summer of strain," wide receivers coach Jared Ursua said. "We got to push. We got to continue to move the needle in everything that we do. We about getting 1% better every single day. So, today is done. Tomorrow, we wake up, we tap the weights, we get better."
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
