Three questions as Hawaii football opens up training camp

HONOLULU – Welcome to Year 5 of the Timmy Chang era.

After the best season since the 2019 run to the Mountain West championship game, the University of Hawai’i football program enters the 2026 campaign with expectations to compete for a conference championship.

It’s a far cry from the disastrous situation that Chang took over ahead of the spring of 2022, one that had the program on its knees fighting to stay alive in the changing landscape of college athletics while it dealt with the fallout of the Todd Graham regime.

A relatively barren roster set to play for a coach that didn’t recruit them in a temporary stadium arrangement ended up how most would expect in 2022, but Hawai’i has improved its record in every season under Chang since.

That led to a 9-4 record and an exciting conclusion in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl last year, bringing energy and national attention back to UH football. Add in the fact of Hawai’i lost under a handful of players in the transfer portal and retained the most important one in QB Micah Alejado and expectations only grew as the offseason progressed.

Alejado is at the top of the list of reasons why fans are optimistic about the Rainbow Warriors’ opportunity to compete for a Mountain West title in the new-look conference. The left-handed gunslinger was named the league’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year on July 15 after a rockstar redshirt freshman campaign saw him lead the MWC in touchdown passes.

With Chang, Alejado and the rest of the “Braddahhood” prepared to kick of the 2026 campaign on Wednesday, here are three questions still pressing entering preseason training camp for the Rainbow Warriors.

How do new pass catchers look versus defensive backs room full of fresh faces?

This one is slightly cheating the exercise with two questions in one.

One of the few transfers Hawai’i lost due to NIL was all-Mountain West 1st-team WR Jackson Harris, who made his way to the SEC to play for Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers. The 6-foot-2 playmaker racked up a team-best 963 receiving yards and paced the conference with 12 touchdown catches, leaving a ginormous hole in the production share from last year’s UH squad.

Add in the graduation of Karsyn Pupunu and Nick Cenacle (who is enjoying a nice rooking season in the CFL currently) along with Brandon White’s transfer to K-State and the Rainbow Warriors have 148 catches and nearly 200 targets from last year that won’t be getting looks from Alejado this season.

So, who is going to soak up the chance at success?

The answer might (and likely would be) whoever can find the most success against the DBs lining up against them in practice when the first-team offense is on the field. There are PLENTY of options that the Rainbow Warriors added to the roster this offseason, and that doesn’t even dive into a room of riches in returning wideouts for Chang.

In terms of defensive backs, Hawai’i will have plenty to figure out before heading to Stanford in Week 0. For the first time in Chang’s tenure, he won’t have Peter Manuma patrolling sideline to sideline. Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen also said aloha after his breakout final season of eligibility, leaving UH without either starting safety from last year.

Matagi Thompson could slot into one of those spots after a strong finish to 2025 and Kodi DeCambra transferred to the islands from UNLV, looking to unlock the form that saw him ranked as a four-star recruit coming out of Bishop Gorman (NV) in 2023. But assumptions are dangerous, and spots (mostly) need to be won.

The cornerbacks aren’t safe from discussion either with senior Elijah Palmer as the only returning starter from last year’s group. Hawai’i brought home familiar face Caleb “C-Bo” Brown after a Virginia Tech sabbatical last year, but he’ll have to get back to his top form after suffering an injury that sidelined him after just three games with the Hokies.

The rest of the snaps seem up for grabs for a hodgepodge of hungry players who returned from last year’s group and transfers that came to the islands ready to compete for legitimate playing time.

What’s the old phrase? Iron sharpens iron?

That’s how Hawaii’s WR vs DB battle matches up in camp. Who emerges?

How does Bjorn Jurgensen take on the backup QB mantle?

There is no QB battle.

Not for the starting gig, and not for the backup job either.

Jurgensen comes to the islands after redshirting last season at Virginia. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds on paper, his frame is practically a perfect match to what Luke Weaver played at last year for the Rainbow Warriors.

Following Weaver’s transfer to San Jose State (where he’s expected to compete for the starting gig) and the reported dismissal of freshman Maika Eugenio right after Mountain West Media Days, Jurgensen has a straight shot to the QB2 role for UH.

Jurgensen was ranked as one of the top QB recruits in the 2025 class, checking in at No. 33 out of nearly 250 QB recruits indexed by 247Sports. He racked up 2,709 passing yards as a senior and accounted for 38 total touchdowns (27 pass, 11 rush) as he wrapped up a Hall of Fame-worthy career at Bishop Moore Catholic (FL) that saw him set 15 school records.

He spent last year with Virginia, redshirting for a Cavaliers squad that went 11-3 and spent most of the season ranked in the top 25 nationally. It’ll have been nearly two years since he was the main signal caller for a team in a game when the 2026 season kicks off at the end of August.

Jurgensen has all the talent that UH fans could ask for from the QB2 spot, but when college defenses are out there trying to cause confusion, it’s still TBD on how he produces.

Will he be as effective as Weaver was last season?

How does the new offensive line shake out?

Good news – Hawai’i was able to retain a starting tackle and center from last year’s O-Line group that helped the team lead the Mountain West in passing yards.

Bad news – Hawai’i graduated three starters on the O-Line, including both guards and the left-handed QB’s blindside protecting right tackle.

More good news – The Rainbow Warriors brought in a variety of new faces to compete for snaps and ranks on the depth chart.

With Ethan Spencer and Dean Briski each returning for UH, Micah Alejado has two secure protectors in front of him as he looks to make good on preseason conference Player of the Year honors. Spencer was the PFF’s third-highest graded Mountain West center last year and Briski will likely get a shot at shifting to Alejado’s blindside protector after starting 11 of the 13 games for UH in his junior campaign on the left side.

That leaves three spots to still figure out in the trenches for the Rainbow Warriors. Sophomore OL Boogie Henderson filled in admirably for Briski at left tackle in 2025 for a brief stretch, but there will be a variety of new faces that joined via the high school or transfer portal ranks that are vying for those same snaps.

The issue of the interior spots next to Spencer could be the bigger question by itself. Kuao Peihopa allowed just six pressures in over 600 snaps last season at right guard as he battled through injuries and Zhen Sotelo started all 13 games at left guard and earned an All-Mountain West honorable mention after playing over 800 snaps and not giving up a sack.

Who fills in the gaps in the interior? How does the new line best coalesce?

Most of all, who do you trust most to keep your quarterback upright and safe as much as possible?

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