Three players to watch for in Hawaii-New Mexico State’s Week 2 matchup

HONOLULU – Well, that start was less than ideal.

Two weeks, two losses and plenty of questions have appeared through the young start of the 2026 season for the University of Hawai’i football team. Seven-ish quarters of offensive ineptitude and plenty of doubters popping their heads out of the woodwork, who knew?

By no means did the first half-month of the 2026 campaign close the chance at a good year for Hawai’i, but after an offseason filled with hype about the potential ceiling of this group, you can understand some of the noise.

The only way to quiet down the outside though is to put up results, which Timmy Chang, Micah Alejado and the rest of the Rainbow Warriors still have plenty of ability to do. The team certainly isn’t panicking with a chance to get into the win column and enter a bye week to get closer to 100% before an important stretch of conference games and a visit to Arizona State.

If Hawai’i is to break out of the winless club this weekend, who are some of the guys who could lead them there?

Here are a few names to keep eyes on for UH’s second straight home game.

WR Audric Harris

He was so close.

The transfer from Washington looked to have his first Rainbow Warrior touchdown late in the third quarter against UNLV on a strike over the middle from backup QB Bjorn Jurgensen, but a review of the play saw the officials overturn the call on the field as an incomplete pass.

Tough break aside, Harris started to look more comfortable in his second week of game action in the green and white. As Hawai’i desperately looks for a pass catcher to emerge as Pofele Ashlock works back from an injury, Harris has an opportunity to cement himself as a key cog of the offense with his high school compadre and QB, Micah Alejado.

Plus, a pass catcher from the transfer portal practically always breaks out for Timmy Chang’s Rainbow Warriors. Steven McBride, Jackson Harris and Dekel Crowdus are a few that come to mind that went from Power 4 programs to big-time roles for Hawai’i.

Why shouldn’t another Harris be next?

DB Jeremiah Hughes

Another pickup from the transfer portal, Hughes quietly had a nice couple of weeks to start his Hawai’i career. While he didn’t get the official “start” against Stanford, Hughes graded out as the third-best defender (via PFF) while playing 29 snaps (17 in run defense, 12 in coverage).

That number jumped up to 58 of 65 possible defensive snaps in Week 1 against UNLV, seeing the junior defensive back out of Bishop Gorman grade amongst PFF’s top three defenders for the Rainbow Warriors again with contributions against both the run and pass.

New Mexico State’s defense fancies itself on creating turnovers, taking the ball away in 18 consecutive games. Hawai’i has had an overall solid showing from the defense this season, but the Rainbow Warriors are still looking for their first takeaway of the year.

The Aggies won’t be afraid to attack downfield, so there will be some chances for Hawai’i’s defense. With Hughes continuing to rise up the ranks with solid play against the pass and run, could he be the one to force a turnover this week with his first interception of his college career?

PK Sean Olvera-Harle

Do yourself a favor and take a peek at the way the game ended the last time Hawai’i hosted New Mexico State if you have some confusion about why a place kicker might find his way on the “players to watch” list.

Olvera-Harle had his own fair share of ups and downs over the opening two weekends as the starting kicker for Hawai’i. Taking over for the first consensus All-American in program history, the junior had plenty of pressure already on his shoulders heading into the season.

He made his first PAT in the Stanford game before shooting one wide on his second try. He drilled his first career Division I field goal attempt in the first half against UNLV, had one drift wide-right on his second attempt and bounced back to calmly cash in his third try against the Rebels – finishing the day as the lone Rainbow Warrior to score in the home opener.

While he (hopefully) won’t be the lone UH player to score on Saturday against New Mexico State, he still could be a key cog in the Rainbow Warriors picking up the team’s first win of the season against an Aggies squad that competed against Florida State in their opener before demolishing Mercyhurst out of the FCS last weekend.

While it may not come down it a last-second field goal against NMSU this time, every point will absolutely matter for an offense that hasn’t been able to get out of its own way so far this season. The best way to avoid needing late-game heroics? Take care of business during the first three quarters and allow the defense to protect a lead for the first time this season by capitalizing with points each time down the field.

Olvera-Harle could end up as the highest-scoring player this weekend for Hawai’i between FG attempts and PATs. He could also make the math hard for the hosts if he doesn’t have his best leg forward for the weekend.

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