From the start of the spring football schedule on March 29th till the end of the annual spring game on April, 27th, Eric Mathews of the University of Hawai'i athletic department's media relations office, will provide weekly written content from his perspective in regards to the Rainbow Warriors football squad. Read, enjoy, share, and like on all forms of social media, while using the hashtag #HawaiiFB.

HONOLULU—From a fan's perspective spring football does three things well. It builds anticipation, provides intriguing intrasquad matchups, and introduces new players from the roster.
 
For the University of Hawai'i, the anticipation of what could be in 2019 floated to the top shortly after the Hawai'i  Bowl. As soon as the calendar flipped, the buzz of potential has followed the program into spring practice. Returning stars litter the field as junior quarterback Cole McDonald completes pass after pass to senior wideouts JoJo Ward and Cedric Byrd. Meanwhile senior defensive lineman Kaimana Padello and junior linebacker Penei Pavihi hone their craft challenging offensive lineman and running down tailbacks.
 
As the returning stars add to their reputations, it's the newcomers who are working to enter their names into the lore of Rainbow Warriors football.  Before spring practice of 2018, head coach Nick Rolovich promised to usher in the run-and-shoot offense once again, and he delivered with an offensive posting high caliber numbers. As a result, "Byrd flew" and "JoJo got loose," transforming the previously mentioned receivers from unknowns in early 2018 into stars come fall.
 
One of many new receivers looking to do the same is junior transfer, Melquise Stovall. His name may ring a bell to fans as he spent two seasons with the University of California at Berkley. As a true freshman in 2016 Stovall pulled in 42 catches for 415 yards and three touchdowns,  Including a debut performance against UH in Australia where he snagged four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown.
 
Since then Stovall dealt with injuries, left Cal, played one season at the junior college level with Riverside City College in California, and made his way to Hawai'i after signing on to be the next target receiver for the Warriors.
 
"It has been a crazy ride, but I expected it," said Stovall. "It's a blessing to be here. I took things for granted before, but when I went to JUCO, it was an eye-opener. I've learned to be humble and work with my head down."
 
As John Ursua declared for the draft, the question became, who could fill his spot? As special as Ursua was, the mentality remains: "Next man up."
 
The brief history of Stovall and his play during spring practice makes for a certain storyline of what could be, and according to Stovall, he noticed the numbers were spread out amongst the receivers before giving his commitment.
 
"I watched everyone last season have an amazing year," said Stovall. "To have that many yards spread out amongst receivers was the most the unique thing I've ever seen at the Division I level. I want to come in and be a part of it."

While Stovall aims to pull down receptions and work towards the numbers his fellow receivers have produced, his counterpart on the other side of the field wants to build his reputation by stopping him, leading to some intriguing newcomer vs. newcomer matchups.
 
Junior defensive back Cortez Davis often looks across to see who he is matched up with and on several occasions it's Stovall. Stovall wears white (offense) and Davis wears green (defense), but aside from that, the differences between the two are minimal on the field.
 
Defensive backs are notorious for being talkers. Ask junior Zach Wilson and sophomore Akil Francisco, they'll be happy to tell you. But Davis is like Stovall, he keeps his head down and plays, letting his coverage do all the talking.
 
"I fit in where I can contribute," said Davis. "I view myself as a hybrid because I know I can do different things on the field and the coaches have confidence in me. I can come downhill and tackle, but I can work coverage with my length."
 
The journey to UH is similar to Stovall's as Davis spent the first two seasons of his college career at the University of Chattanooga in Tennessee, redshirting his first season before seeing playing time as a redshirt freshman. Davis moved on and played a season in junior college at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi. While at Itawamba, Davis found his groove recording 59 tackles including 3.5 tackles-for-loss. Now the goal is to repeat his prior production and bolster the defensive backfield as a no-fly zone in 2019.
 
Every spring, every football team, at every level have stories like Stovall and Davis. Student-athletes are looking to make a difference and become notable names after going through hardship elsewhere. With UH football it's starting to become the norm. For student-athletes like Stovall and Davis, Hawai'i is the right place and now is the right time.