For multiple weeks, Micah Alejado's status was shrouded in mystery.
The University of Hawai‘i quarterback played one healthy half of football in the team's season-opening win over Stanford. Since then, his injured right ankle has been one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the Rainbow Warriors in 2025.
Alejado ended up missing two consecutive games, both wins for the Rainbow Warriors, as backup Luke Weaver displayed his full capabilities in victories over Sam Houston and Portland State.
As the 'Bows enter conference play against rival Fresno State on Saturday at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, there was no hiding UH's intent before or after Tuesday's practice: Alejado will be a full go.
"He's expected to go this Saturday and be the quarterback," Chang said following Tuesday's practice.
While speaking to media for the first time since the postgame press conference against Stanford, Alejado reflected on the weeks since Aug. 23. He's received treatment on his ankle three times a day.
"Daily, it was wake up, get treatment before practice, come out, support the guys and try to help coach them up a lot, and then after go back and get treatment again, and then take some time off, and then come back to treatment in afternoon," Alejado said. "I was getting some type of treatment three times a day. It was more so just to be able to stay on top of it. It was hard mentally just coming back and slow process for sure. But it was definitely great for me, and I feel great right now. Probably the best it's been a long time, so it'll be fun."
After putting his ankle to the test in various drills and workouts in practices leading up to the team's game against Portland State, Alejado also got plenty of mental reps in while wearing a headset during both the Sam Houston and Portland State contests.
"It was definitely a different experience just hearing what the coaches are saying," Alejado said. "Hearing the reactions and hearing the communication for the coaches, I think it's definitely a great experience for somebody to have if they want to go into the coaching level. Seeing how coaches are operating, calling plays. Having a headset and taking a step back and watching, it was fun."
Giving his teammates pointers and seeing how the offense operates from the sideline was a valuable experience for Alejado, but his heart remained set on returning to the field and living up to the promise the redshirt freshman displayed in spurts over the past two seasons.
Eager as he was to play, Alejado understood he needed to give his ankle time to heal in order to return to the best version of himself.
"We flew back from Arizona that Sunday and woke up on Monday, and I felt I'm not putting the team in the best position to win," Alejado recalled. "We sat down and talked about it and thought the two weeks would help me a lot, and sat down with trainers about what the recovery process would look like. And it's paying off a lot."
There will be no easing Alejado back into the swing of things. Hawai‘i coaches continued to give intense instruction towards players on Tuesday ahead of the team's rivalry game against Fresno State.
The Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs have been conference rivals in both the WAC and Mountain West, with Fresno State holding an all-time advantage of 30-25-1 in the series.
Saturday's contest, which kicks off at 6 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex, will be the last meeting between the 'Bows and Bulldogs for the foreseeable future. Fresno State is departing the Mountain West in favor of a revamped Pac-12 next summer.
"The history of Bulldog and Warrior football...those battles that we've had, there's extra history, and love playing them and they love playing us, and it's a good battle," said Chang. "Them leaving and the unknown of playing them again, it is what it is. But we'll just focus on this one."
The Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs are both 3-1 overall heading into Saturday's contest, but neither team has played a Mountain West game in 2025 prior to Saturday. The game figures to serve as a tone-setter for conference play.
"What a big game," Chang said. "It happens to be an opponent, a familiar foe that is playing very well, a well-coached team, first-year coach (Matt Entz) that has a great pedigree and is installing that toughness through that old Pat Hill mentality back into that football team. What a challenge for us. Both teams are 3-1. Opening up conference play is pretty exciting.
"We got to go out there and compete and look at the game plans and then execute the game plans. It was a great practice today, and we need more great practices throughout the week to give us a chance to to perform on Saturday."
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Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
