Throughout the course of fall camp, HawaiiAthletics.com will provide a breakdown of the 2019 Rainbow Warrior football team, position-by-position, as the team prepares for its home season opener against Arizona on Saturday, Aug. 24.
The football should still be flying in every direction of the field this season. Former all-conference receiver
John Ursua is now with the Seattle Seahawks and UH also loses the services of a physical, possession receiver in
Marcus Armstrong-Brown. However, the Rainbow Warriors have no shortage of weapons to keep its Run-n-Shoot offense humming.
"I think we're a lot quicker, a lot deeper than last year," wide receiver coach
Andre Allen said. "We got new additions that are picking up the offense pretty well and with our veteran leadership, they're really helping these young guys get this stuff down pretty fast."
Returnees
Newcomers
| Wide Receiver |
Ht |
Wt |
Cl |
Hometown (Last School) |
| Jared Smart |
6-0 |
180 |
Jr. |
Dublin, Calif. (Laney College) |
| Melquise Stovall |
5-9 |
190 |
Jr. |
Lancaster, Calif. (Riverside CC) |
| Grey Ihu |
6-0 |
180 |
Jr. |
Kane'ohe, O'ahu (Campellsville Univ.) |
| James Phillips |
5-9 |
155 |
So. |
Menifee, Calif. (Mt. San Jacinto Coll.) |
| Jaden Allen |
5-9 |
165 |
Fr. |
La Puente, Calif. (Bishop Amat HS) |
| Chance Beyer |
5-10 |
180 |
Fr. |
Kapolei, Oahu (Saint Louis School) |
| Mekel Ealy |
6-3 |
180 |
Fr. |
Antioch, Calif. (Freedom HS) |
| Jonah Panoke |
6-2 |
185 |
Fr. |
Honolulu, O'ahu (Saint Louis School) |
| Lincoln Victor |
5-10 |
165 |
Fr. |
West Camas, Wash. (Union HS) |
2018 WRs lost:
John Ursua,
Marcus Armstrong-Brown,
Devan Stubblefield,
Dakota Torres,
Tristin Kamaka
The Ones To Watch: Cedric Byrd II and
JoJo Ward each made an immediate impact in 2018 as junior college transfers...now both Byrd and Ward find themselves on the Belitnikoff Award preseason watch list after combining for 18 TDs last year…Allen says, "I expect them to take off from last year. I expect them to be one and two for us and make some noise both in conference and non-conference play."
Replacing Johnny Touchdown: Ursua led the nation in receiving touchdowns (16) last year and it will take a group effort from the likes of returnee
Jason-Matthew Sharsh as well as newcomers
Melquise Stovall,
Jared Smart,
James Phillips, and even possibly young true freshman
Lincoln Victor to fill the void. Allen says, "I think these guys are doing really well and with their play-making abilities, all of them should contribute."
Hot Stovall: Former four-star recruit
Melquise Stovall, who started his collegiate career at Cal, brings experience and explosiveness to the unit and could be the closest as an heir apparent to Ursua…Allen says: "The more comfortable he gets with this offense and the better he gets with it, I think he's the front-runner as a guy that could help reach those numbers that John did. He's a real talented kid and could really be a big factor in this offense."
Numbers To Know: Byrd is the Mountain West's leading returning receiver in catches (79), receiving yards (970) and touchdowns (9)...Ward has the sixth-most deep receiving yards (20+ yard targets) among returning FBS wide receivers.
Fun Fact: Junior college transfer
Jared Smart's father is Keith Smart, an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, who is best known for making the game-winning shot for the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1987 NCAA championship…Stovall scored his first-ever collegiate touchdown against UH as a true freshman for the Cal Bears in the 2016 season opener in Sydney, Australia.
The Last Word: Allen's assessment of this year's unit: "Resilient, tough, passionate… these guys want to be great. They want to know what they need to do to get to that level. They're pushing themselves in the film room and on the field every single day to reach that goal."
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