Hawai‘i Football Continues to Build as Fall Camp Progresses

MĀNOA – The University of Hawai‘i football team continues to work its way through fall camp with head coach Timmy Chang encouraged by the progress he’s seeing across the roster.

With the season opener drawing closer, the Rainbow Warriors remain focused on stacking productive practices while managing the physical demands of camp.

“Hot days, long days, and the guys are putting in the work,” Chang said following Tuesday’s practice. “That’s what I love and respect about these guys is that when you challenge them, they respond and they wanna be better.”

Rather than single out one position group as making the biggest jump, Chang pointed to the development of the team as a whole.

“I think they all have made strides,” Chang said. “The team in general has been doing a good job of just continuing to work and build.”

Associate head coach and linebackers coach Chris Brown has seen many of the same qualities throughout camp.

“The leadership is there. The grit is there. The hard work is there,” Brown said. “You can see the potential of this team, and we want to bring the best out of them.”

Brown has been particularly encouraged by a linebacker room he believes could go eight deep. Among the players separating themselves are Jamih Otis and senior Wynden Ho‘ohuli, who Brown said have elevated themselves as leaders capable of controlling the defense.

Ho‘ohuli, in particular, has taken another step. “Wynden has really, really stepped up his game and stepped up as a leader,” Brown said.

Otis, meanwhile, has returned to full strength after using his rehabilitation period to improve physically and deepen his understanding of the defense. Brown said Otis is now “100 percent” and ready to go.

That veteran leadership has become especially important for Ho‘ohuli as he enters his final season with the Rainbow Warriors.

After receiving a medical year, the senior linebacker said he has approached camp with a renewed sense of purpose.

“I’m super dialed in right now,” Ho‘ohuli said. “It’s my last season. I was able to get my year back medically, and I’m dialed in all the way.”

Ho‘ohuli pointed to his two sons as his motivation and said he has embraced being a mentor for younger players, who have started referring to him as “OG” and “Uncle Wyns.”

“I got a why, so I got two sons, and that’s my why and that’s what drives me every day to come out here and be a leader, be a good mentor for the boys and just showing the way.”

Lindebacker Wynden Ho’ohuli answering questions from the media following a practice during fall camp.

His partnership with Otis could also become a key piece of the Hawai‘i defense.

Ho‘ohuli described the two linebackers as close as brothers, with their relationship extending beyond the practice field. He even made sure their lockers were next to each other entering the season.

“I wanted to be right next to him because I knew it was going to be me and him this season, and we needed to rock,” Ho‘ohuli said. “We’re just trying to be the leaders of that defense.”

For Ho‘ohuli, that responsibility extends beyond making plays.

“We got to be the standard,” he said. “On the field, off the field, we hold the standard.”

That emphasis on discipline and details has become part of the identity the linebackers hope to establish for the entire defense.

On the other side of the ball, Hawai‘i continues to develop a deep group of receivers while Pofele Ashlock works his way back from injury.

Chang mentioned Tama Uiliata, Blaze Kamoku, Koa Eldredge, Kaikai Carvalho, Titan Lacaden and Audric Harris among the options in the room.

“You don’t replace a guy like Pofele, with the amount of snaps, the amount of reps and just his production,” Chang said. “But those guys have been doing a great job.”

Uiliata has emerged as one of the more experienced players in the group and said his focus has shifted toward helping bring the entire room along.

“We just want to be one unit, coming together, just support all the boys,” Uiliata said. “For me, being more on the experienced side, just being a leader, helping all the other boys. But from top to bottom, we got guys that can roll.”

After dealing with an injury of his own, Uiliata said his development has been about “stacking days,” taking mental reps when he couldn’t be on the field and learning from both his own mistakes and the reps of his teammates.

That experience has also changed his approach as a returner. Rather than simply trying to make a big play every time he touches the ball, Uiliata said he has developed a better understanding of field position and the “hidden yards” that can impact a game.

“I’m just seeing the bigger picture,” Uiliata said.

As camp continues, that bigger picture remains the focus for a Hawai‘i team attempting to balance physical preparation with getting a veteran core healthy and ready for the season.

Brown believes the potential is there.

“We’re not there yet,” he said of the defense. “But I know after these next two weeks, we’ll sharpen the sword for sure.”

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