Five players to watch as Hawai’i hits the road to face San Diego State 

HONOLULU – Conference time! 

Following the second of three bye weeks on the 2024 schedule, Hawai’i football returns to action this weekend to begin Mountain West Conference play on the road. The Rainbow Warriors threw and ran all over FCS powerhouse Northern Iowa in Week 4 for an impressive 36-7 victory, setting a new season-high with over 500 yards of total offense in the win. 

Hawai’i (2-2) now heads to the continent for the second time this year, looking to put the Sam Houston struggle in the rearview mirror with a trip to Snapdragon Stadium and a face-off with San Diego State (1-3). The matchup marks the beginning of the conference schedule and will provide one of the teams with an FBS victory for the first time this year. 

The Aztecs, coming off a heart-breaking 22-21 road loss to Central Michigan, return home for the first time in four weeks to host the Rainbow Warriors. As Hawai’i looks to go above .500 for the first time since August and grab a crucial game for bowl hopes, here are five players to watch in Week 6 for Hawai’i. 

QB Brayden Schager 

The senior quarterback has had an up-and-down start to his final season with the Rainbow Warriors, showing the flashes of greatness that placed him among the conference’s most productive players last season while trying to work through some timing problems with receivers and shaking off obvious pain through four games. He looked the most confident, comfortable and on-time against Northern Iowa, leading an efficient offensive attack that converted on third down 66 percent of the time and punted only once. 

Schager also tossed two interceptions on back-to-back drives to end the first half against the Panthers, leaving points on the board for Hawai’i in a game that already set a new high for scoring under Timmy Chang with 36. The senior cannot be as careless with the ball this week against a San Diego State team that historically is dominant when winning the turnover battle (SDSU has won 51 of last 55 games when holding an advantage in turnovers). 

The Aztecs boast the 2nd–best coverage grade in the Mountain West as a group (90.1) according to PFF, trailing only the Rainbow Warriors’ 92.2 grade through four games. If Schager and UH cannot solve the puzzle of SDSU’s passing defense, the likelihood of winning rapidly decreases – the Aztecs are 34-10 since 2011 when holding opponents under 150 passing yards. 

RB Tylan Hines 

The Tylan Hines-Wide Receiver experiment seems to be over for Hawai’i as the redshirt sophomore was listed as the second-string running back on the UH depth chart against Northern Iowa. This was a direct change from the previous three weeks when the Rainbow Warriors attempted to move the 5-foot-7 playmaker to wide out, a change that saw Hines get only five offensive touches through three games. 

Hines would touch the ball five times in total against UNI, racking up 22 yards on his first two carries of the season and getting three short receptions for good measure. That trend of touches needs to continue against a San Diego State team that has struggled against the run but is elite against the pass. 

Look for Hawai’i to use Hines’ dynamic playmaking ability by creating advantages in space against linebackers and try to use the running game as a whole to loosen up a strong defense that has a solid pass rush and quality coverage on the back end. Points will be important with a pair of good defenses on display and Hines has the ability to break off explosive plays on the regular. 

WR Dekel Crowdus 

One of the most fun transfer portal acquisitions of 2024 for Hawai’i, Crowdus has taken the mantle as the “Schager Bomb” threat after the offense’s loss of Steven McBride. Through his first four games for the Rainbow Warriors, the Kentucky transfer has totaled nine catches for 193 yards and a touchdown and has the three longest catches by yards (59, 52, 29) for UH this season. 

Hawai’i wide receiver Dekel Crowdus runs under a deep pass from Brayden Schager. Crowdus has been a dynamic addition and has seen chemistry with Schager improve as the season has progressed. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

Crowdus is also the only receiver other than star sophomore Pofele Ashlock to lead Hawai’i in single-game receiving yards so far this season after his 83 yards against Northern Iowa paced all Rainbow Warriors. Along with the emergence of Nick Cenacle in the wide receiver room, Crowdus has given UH multiple options to hurt opposing defenses outside of spamming Ashlock with targets. 

Similar to Hines, Crowdus’ ability to make the “big play” could help lead to prime scoring opportunities for Hawai’i on Saturday. For the Rainbow Warriors to deliver Timmy Chang’s second career road victory, the offense will need to capitalize on those opportunities and finally score more than 13 points against an FBS opponent. 

CB Cam Stone 

The lone defensive back with an interception this season for Hawai’i, Cam Stone is one of the most talented players on the back end of UH’s defense. The Rainbow Warriors will need him to show that in full on Saturday against an efficient, low-turnover team in San Diego State that features a true freshman at quarterback. 

SDSU starter Danny O’Neil has not thrown an interception in 80 passing attempts to begin his career, showing the qualities that made him the first true freshman to start a season opener at quarterback for the Aztecs since SDSU became a Division I football program in 1969. O’Neil missed the September 14 matchup with the Cal Golden Bears with an injury but returned last week with a bang against Central Michigan, throwing for a season-high 243 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 43 yards rushing in the loss for the Aztecs. 

With the young QB seeing his confidence grow, look for the veteran Stone to make a play or two on the ball to help spark Hawai’i on the road. The senior cornerback will also need to help limit explosive plays, tackling well against a San Diego State running attack that will find ways to the second level. 

P Lucas Borrow 

Special teams love for the MVP of the first third of the season for Hawai’i, Lucas Borrow basically got the night off against Northern Iowa with only one punt needed. While it was unfortunate for Borrow (his family had traveled from Australia for one of the few chances to see him play), it was nice for Hawai’i to not need the super services of the Ball State transfer for a change. 

Over the first three games, Borrow punted the ball 17 times and tallied seven punts over 50 yards to help flip the field and give the Hawai’i defense extra room for error. The Australian punter is a special teams weapon for UH, dropping six punts inside the 20 while still showing himself off as a threat to take off and run on a fake punt. 

Hawai’i will need to win on the margins on Saturday as the road team, meaning field position and special teams can play a key factor. While the Rainbow Warriors would prefer to be able to see Borrow’s workload remain like the Northern Iowa game, they are happy to have an elite punter who could be the defense’s best friend by the end of the weekend.