Five players to watch on Hawai’i Homecoming weekend against Nevada

HONOLULU – Being back home could not come quick enough. 

Hawai’i (2-5, 0-2 Mountain West) returned to the islands after being dominated last weekend on the road, seeing 42 points run up on them as Washington State’s Homecoming football game. It will be UH’s turn to celebrate Homecoming 2024 on Saturday, playing host to the spunky Nevada Wolfpack (3-5, 0-2 Mountain West). 

The Rainbow Warriors remain searching for the team’s first FBS victory of the season, with two wins coming against FCS programs in Delaware State and Northern Iowa. Hawai’i head coach Timmy Chang served as the wide receivers and tight ends coach at Nevada for five seasons (‘17-’21) and is unbeaten in two matchups against the Wolfpack since taking over the UH program. 

With five games remaining, Hawai’i needs five more wins to be bowl-eligible – also known as needing to run the table. With the postseason one single mistake from disappearing, a win streak is needed in the worst way for the Rainbow Warriors. 

Nevada presents plenty of interesting challenges of their own as a program under the direction of a new head coach in 2024 after struggles among the bottom of the Mountain West over the previous couple of seasons. With a win against Oregon State and close losses to SMU and San Jose State, the Wolfpack has proven that it will be no small task to grab a win this season. 

With a critical matchup against a program putting in work during a rebuild, here are five players to watch for Hawai’i this weekend against Nevada: 

WR Pofele Ashlock 

After missing the first game of his college career last week against Washington State, Pofele Ashlock returned to the practice field this week ahead of the matchup with Nevada. If he is a full-go on Saturday, Ashlock immediately slots directly back in as the top target for the Hawai’i offense and gives QB Brayden Schager his favorite security blanket to feed passes to in critical moments.  

It is no coincidence that Ashlock’s absence coincided with Hawai’i’s worst offensive outing of the year, totaling a season-worst 196 yards through the air in the 42-10 loss at Washington State. The Rainbow Warriors struggled to keep drives alive, going 0-of-8 on 3rd down against the Cougars while going a second consecutive week without a receiver over 75 yards. 

While missing Ashlock forced Hawai’i to look in different directions than the 6-foot-2 receiver, his addition would only help the Rainbow Warriors in the pursuit of an FBS win on this year’s record. The question becomes the full health and trust that the sophomore receiver has in stepping back out on the field. 

How does he look after taking his first hit back in action after exiting concussion protocol? Is he still in the same rhythm that he held with Schager through the first month and a half of the season after six quarters out of commission? Going against one of the top-rated passing defenses in the Mountain West, Ashlock’s health and impact should be towards the top of the list of things to look for on Saturday. 

RB Tylan Hines 

He’s here and he’s wonderful. 

After missing the 2023 season with an injury, Tylan Hines made the move during the offseason to wide receiver as Hawai’i looked for ways to get the ball into the hands of the dynamic 5-foot-6 playmaker more often on offense. The experiment did not quite go as planned as the Rainbow Warriors struggled getting Hines involved in the offense consistently and he struggled to find a rhythm in the flow of the game. 

A few weeks ago, Hines quietly made the switch back to the running back position and has been back on his upwards trajectory since with more touches being found for him. Hines did not get a single carry or catch against Delaware State to begin the year, had four catches against UCLA before being held to a single catch with no carries against Sam Houston. 

His first carry of the year came in Week 5 when Hawai’i hosted UNI, seeing the back get two rushes along with a trio of catches against the Panthers. He has had multiple carries in every game since, helping provide a change-of-pace running back next to Landon Sims and Cam Barfield. 

Even better, his shift back has not taken away from his receiving game but rather enhanced it. Hines has a touchdown catch in all three games in October, finding a connection with Brayden Schager down in the end zone. While it would be unfair to expect a fourth consecutive game with a receiving TD for Hines, he has looked far closer to the weapon that Chang has long believed in. 

WR Spencer Curtis  

Speaking of helping against a strong passing defense, former Nevada receiver Spencer Curtis has tallied nine catches for 80 yards in the seven games he has played for Hawai’i with more than half of that production coming over the past four contests. Curtis appeared in 23 games for the Wolfpack, starting all 11 games in his final year at Nevada while recording 417 yards on 36 catches before the graduate student committed to Hawai’i. 

Part of a constant rotation of receivers in the Run-N-Shoot offense for the Rainbow Warriors, his share of the snaps on offense has been on the rise for a month. While the return of Pofele Ashlock could eat into those snaps as another pass catcher on the field, Curtis is reliable veteran who seems to make at least one positive play each week.

With Dekel Crowdus’ status still up in the air going into the weekend, Curtis gives another body behind Alex Perry that can help Brayden Schager move the chains on Saturday. With a small “revenge game” possibility factored in, Curtis could make some memories for both fans and himself this weekend as Hawai’i fights for the season. 

DL Dion Washington 

Another former member of the Wolfpack’s football program, Dion Washington has enjoyed a continued climb in play during his first season in the islands. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive lineman has provided a steady productive presence among a group in the trenches that rotates bodies, seeing a season-high defensive grade from PFF in Week 8 (74.6) on an afternoon Hawai’i allowed 42 points. 

He was a prime breakout candidate after last year with Nevada, finishing second on the Wolfpack with 5.0 tackles for loss in 2023 while grading out as the 4th-best interior defensive in the entire Mountain West Conference (76.7). After seeing his second head coaching change in Reno in three years, Washington decided to pack his things and re-join the coach that originally helped him decide on Nevada in Hawai’i’s Timmy Chang. 

Washington has tallied 1.5 sacks and is tied for the 3rd-most TFLs (4.0) on the team and has played better against FBS competitors this year. With starter Jemar Sekona sidelined for an extended stretch, coaches will likely put more on the plate for Washington along with Daniel “Sauce” Williams.  

That’s good for the defense as UH prepares to go against Nevada’s rushing attack, which ranks inside the top 30 nationally in production by averaging 199.3 yards on the ground. For Hawai’i’s defense to bounce back like many expect, Washington will have to continue plugging holes in the middle. 

DB Justin Sinclair 

On a defense that seems to be dropping bodies left and right, Justin Sinclair has helped fill in for Peter Manuma since UH’s starting safety left just four snaps into the game against Boise State on October 12. Sinclair is a jack-of-all-trades for Hawai’i, serving in both strong and free safety positions with time defending the slot as well. 

The Washington State offense targeted Sinclair in coverage a few times last weekend, seeing the defensive back allow four catches in five targets thrown to receivers in his direction. It was a bit of a rarity for Sinclair, who has been quite good in coverage for the Rainbow Warriors this season.  

In his largest snap count of the season again Boise State, the senior showed out against both the run and pass attacks of a strong Broncos offense. He continues to be among the most productive defenders for Hawai’i, racking up the second-most tackles on the team with 32 (24 solo) on the year. 

With Manuma’s status in the air still, look for Sinclair to continue playing a key role on the defensive side for Hawai’i.