Hawai‘i's Mountain West representatives soak up Las Vegas homecoming

LAS VEGAS — Before meeting their media obligations as college football players, a quartet of University of Hawai‘i football players made a meaningful pilgrimage back to where it all began.

Quarterback Micah Alejado, defensive back Elijah Palmer, linebacker Jamih Otis and running back Cam Barfield are all returning starters for Hawai‘i in 2026. Each will be essential pieces for a UH squad that has Mountain West championship aspirations, and as such, the four were chosen as the program's player representatives at the conference's media days on Wednesday at the Palms Resort Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

All four also played prep football in Vegas at Bishop Gorman, a private Catholic high school and national powerhouse that has four national championships to its name. Before Wednesday's press junket, the four made a trip back to their old stomping grounds at Gorman.

"It just makes me realize how far we have come and how far I've come," Barfield told Aloha State Daily. "All the work that I put in to get to the point that I am right now, it's amazing to just soak up all those memories back of where it started."

Aided by the billionaire Fertitta family, Bishop Gorman boasts a $10 million football facility, which includes a state-of-the-art weight room in the end zone of Fertitta Field, its on-campus stadium. It's there that players such as Alejado, Palmer, Otis and Barfield honed their skills en route to becoming Division I athletes.

Established in 1954, Bishop Gorman has long been considered the most dominant force in Nevada high school football with 22 state titles. Three consecutive national titles from 2014 to 2016 inspired its next crop of star football players, who were drawn to the school's winning tradition and mystique.

"I grew up watching these dudes all on TV, wanting to be them, and just wanting to go to Gorman and playing football for the love of the game," said Barfield, who rattled off the names of a dozen former Bishop Gorman stars by memory, including quarterback Tate Martell and former O‘ahu youth football star Haskell Garrett. "Just seeing that, that's kind of where my story starts, and seeing them do it first and wanting to be like them, and wanting to be better than them."

Like Barfield, Palmer was born and raised in Las Vegas. Attending Bishop Gorman for high school seemed like a pipe dream, but he was able to do so thanks to help from his family.

"I was never really going to Gorman growing up because you got to pay (tuition) and do all those things," Palmer said. "But having just that support system around me, there was a way for me to go. My family had made a way. It was hard, but my grandparents kind of stuck it out and helped me achieve goals that I had set for myself, and they for sure allowed me to do that by getting me to Gorman, as well."

While Barfield and Palmer were Las Vegas natives dreaming of suiting up for the local juggernaut, Otis and Alejado made the move to Sin City to further pursue their football dreams. Otis spent his childhood in Southern California but was certainly aware of the team over in Vegas. Meanwhile, Alejado relocated from O‘ahu and became the rare freshman to win a starting job on the varsity team.

"You just look at decisions, and you just want to set yourself up for a great future, and Bishop Gorman does that," said Alejado, who led the Gaels to their most recent national title in 2023. "Not just athletically, but academically. I think they have a great system that runs around their faith and a Catholic school system, and that was big for me because I'm a hard Catholic, very religious. Being able to have that, it was amazing. I think it's the best decision of my life. Meeting new people, being able to experience new experiences, just simple things like that, they add to your life, and I had a fun time."

Added Otis: "I think Gorman is just where we built that callous, built that mindset, just knowing how to work, what it looks like, and just being that guy every day. Being the game changer. That's the thing about Gorman; it breeds a lot of dogs. Coming in as a freshman, there was already a standard to uphold, and ever since then, we've been held to that standard and it carries on to college. Coming from that type of background, it kind of prepared us for any situation, any circumstance that we come through in college."

In total, the Rainbow Warriors had 13 Bishop Gorman graduates on its spring roster. Additionally, associate head coach Chris Brown and quarterbacks coach Chad Kapanui were on the Gorman staff before getting hired by Timmy Chang. Brown has been viewed as the glue keeping the pipeline between Bishop Gorman and Hawai‘i together, and he continues to recruit the Gaels heavily.

Following their Tuesday stop at Bishop Gorman, Alejado, Palmer, Otis and Barfield all toured the UFC Apex and hung out for a photoshoot.

Then on Wednesday, the four made the rounds at the Palms as part of Mountain West media days. Alejado, Palmer, Otis and receiver Pofele Ashlock were all named to the preseason All-Mountain West team, while Alejado was named the preseason Offensive Player of the Year. During their various media appearances on a bevy of platforms, they talked about heightened expectations for the team in 2026 after retaining the core of a 2025 team that went 9-4.

"I feel like it's kind of what God has set for us," Palmer said of the 2026 season. "Whatever's in his will, it will be done. Hopefully that is a breakout year for the team. But if it's not, it's not, and we work for it regardless."

Otis echoed Palmer's sentiments, leaning on his faith and taking comfort in what happens as a result of that.

"It's already written. All we can do is just trust God and keep putting our best foot forward every day," Otis said. "We can only control what we can control, and that's coming into to the facility, holding each other accountable, and understanding why we're doing what we're doing. We got our team goal: host the Mountain West Championship, so we're doing everything that we can to host that."

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.