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Michigan Football: Getting to Know Hawaii

By Grant Dossetto

Nov 14, 2015; Honolulu, HI, USA; Hawaii quarterback Ikaika Woolsey (11) throws a pass against Fresno St. during the second quarter of the NCAA college football game at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 14, 2015; Honolulu, HI, USA; Hawaii quarterback Ikaika Woolsey (11) throws a pass against Fresno St. during the second quarter of the NCAA college football game at Aloha Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-USA TODAY Sports /
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After a difficult 2015 season and a season-opening loss, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors head to the Big House this Saturday, to take on Michigan football.

The Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii had a 2015 they’d like to forget. Amid a winless Mountain West slate, Hawaii said goodbye to Norm Chow. Former Warrior QB Nick Rolovich takes over this season as head coach with some offensive pieces to work with.

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Hawaii has already gotten the 2016 campaign underway with a non-conference matchup against Cal in Australia last Friday. The Golden Bears won by a comfortable 20-point margin, highlighting the challenges that Rolovich has in rebuilding a program with a long, competitive history.

Now as Michigan football gets set to host the Rainbow Warriors, here is an in-depth look at the Wolverines’ Week 1 opponent.

Offense

Rolovich has professional experience in NFL Europe and the Arena League on top of his collegiate career at Hawaii. He returned to his alma mater as QB coach and then offensive coordinator in the Greg McMackin era. Rolovich moved to Nevada from 2012 -2015 where he was QB coach and OC. He will have a lot of work to do with senior Ikaika Woolsey. Woolsey completed less than half of his passes last year. Most scouts put Woolsey at, or near the bottom, of NCAA quarterbacks.

The rest of Hawaii’s offensive unit is fairly solid. The experienced offensive line has 73 combined starts coming into the year. Mountain West honorable mention Dejon Allen has moved to LT and anchors the unit. The line was able to run the ball effectively against Cal. Hawaii averaged 6.5 yards per rush in the game, gaining 248 yards on 38 attempts.

Hawaii runs the spread with almost all snaps taking place out of the shotgun. Draw plays between the tackles were the weapon of choice in game one. RB Diocemy Saint Juste got a majority of the carries. Saint Juste is only 5’8″ but he is a powerful runner and he hides well behind the large offensive line. Combine that with good cutting ability and a knack for getting yards after contact and Saint Juste helps to make the running game a strength for the ‘Bows.

The receiving corps is more than adequate. Senior Marcus Kemp has nice size and is a quality possession receiver over the middle. Slot receiver John Ursua has speed to be a deep ball/big play threat. QB Woolsey only completed 50% of his passes against Cal. The offense could be good, and balanced, if Ikaika comes along. The unit will also need to cut down on turnovers.

Defense

There is very little to be excited about regarding the defensive unit for the Rainbow Warriors, so the Wolverines should be licking their chops.

Hawaii gave up 450 yards/game last year. Cal earned a lot more than that. The Bears racked up 5.4 yards per rush and threw for 450 yards. Cal hardly blinked while replacing the number one overall pick in former QB Jared Goff. Transfer Davis Webb completed over 70% of his passes.

While no facet of the defense looked good, Hawaii’s secondary seemed particularly putrid. Webb wasn’t forced into low percentage throws. Easy throws to receivers in the flat and basic wide receiver screens picked up solid yardage. Hawaii CBs were unable to get off the blocks of Cal receivers. When the Golden Bears ran, anytime a back made it through the first level Hawaii defensive backs were unable to support well. Their safeties took poor routes to the ball. A great example is Cal’s first score when Muhammad went in untouched from 34 yards out.

Odds ‘n Ends

-Hawaii did not win off of the Island last year but that is probably due more to lack of success than an unfamiliarity with travel. The Rainbow Warriors had 12 p.m., (EST) starts in Big Ten Country twice in 2015 at Wisconsin and at Ohio State. The start time should be less of a factor than the travel. Between trips to Sydney and Ann Arbor, Hawaii will have flown 15,000 miles in a couple weeks.

-It will matter that Hawaii has played a game and Michigan has not. A new coach and offensive scheme means that Hawaii should see marked improvement every week. Think back to Michigan’s progress from the Utah performance last season. There is enough talent to make Hawaii’s O an effective unit.

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-Wilton Speight or John O’Korn have a good opponent to get their first Michigan start. A repeat of Davis’ debut for Cal (38 completions for 441 and 4 touchdowns) is unlikely but whoever Harbaugh starts should be able to put together a quality opening week.

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