HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i football program added 11 prospects, Wednesday, on National Signing Day bringing the total for the Class of 2021 to 19, which includes eight signees during the early period. The regular signing period inked five graduate transfers, five prep standouts, and one from junior college with six on offense and five on defense.
 
"We're excited about today," head coach Todd Graham said. "I couldn't be more pleased with the type of young men that we're adding to our program. We have a great culture in place and that was evident in how well we were able to do in this recruiting cycle. Obviously recruiting is dramatically changing with high school recruiting, junior college recruiting and now with transfer recruiting and there's a blend of that in this class and I'm very pleased where we're at. We're excited about this bunch and we're excited about what this means for 2021."

Graham also announced Oklahoma transfer Zacchaeus McKinney, who signed with UH last month as part of the early period and is already enrolled in school. The Weatherford, Texas native was a member of the Sooners' College Football Playoff national semifinal teams of 2017, '18 and '19 and was one of the state of Texas' top prospects out of high school.

From the Heart of Texas: The Texas pipeline to Mānoa continued with five signees during the regular period... Along with four signees in December, half of the Class of 2021 hails from the Lone Star State… Three high school seniors will make their way across the Pacific – quarterback Brayden Schager (Dallas), offensive lineman Nate Adams (Flower Mound) and defensive back Ty Marsh (Dallas) – along with Iowa State transfer, defensive back Arnold Azunna (Grand Prairie) and Tyler Junior College defensive lineman O'Tay Baker (Mesquite)… In his only season as a starter, Schager led Highland Park HS to a district title and was named the district's MVP… Adams was a two-time all-district selection at Flower Mound HS while Marsh was the defensive MVP in Denton Ryan's 5A Division I state championship game.
 
Graham says: "All these players are playing or apart of winning programs, programs that are competing for championships and that's something that is really important to us. All of them possess the TTH, character, smart, discipline, tough that we're looking for. Speed, physicality, and discipline." 
 
Second Chances: The Warriors tapped the transfer portal to land five graduate transfers – Arnold Azunna (Iowa State), Hugh Nelson II (Georgia), Dedrick Parson (Howard), Caleb Phillips (Stanford), and Pita Tonga (Utah)… Azunna, who graduated from Texas' Lake Ridge HS, appeared in 33 career games in four seasons for the Cyclones… Tonga, a native of Taylorsville, Utah, played in 36 career games over four seasons for the Utes… Nelson joins his Bulldog teammate Kolby Wyatt, a December signee… Phillips was a backup linebacker in his three seasons at Stanford but comes to UH as a tight end, a position he played in high school… Parson was Howard's leading rusher in both 2018 and '19 and totaled over 2,200 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns.
 
Graham says: "That's the great thing about these men, they're coming to us and they've been coached. They've been developed and we're able to take them to the next level. We're just trying to have the best football team you can possibly have. We do it just like an NFL team, we break down our strengths and weaknesses of each position group. Our areas were very specific in what we were looking for. We really listen to our players and as we get to know the players we're recruiting to make sure they're a great fit for our team because its all about the team chemistry and we want everyone here with a team-first mentality."
 
Safety First: A position of need for the Rainbow Warriors was in the secondary, in which UH inked four more standouts during the regular period… Arnold Azunna made three starts in 2020 for Big 12 regular season and Fiesta Bowl champion Iowa State and was a staple in the Cyclone secondary for the last three seasons... Hugh Nelson II was Georgia's Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2018... A two-sport star for Denton Ryan, Ty Marsh totaled 194 tackles, 21 pass breakups and two interceptions in his final two high school seasons... Punahou School's Matagi Thompson played safety and cornerback for the state's top defensive unit in 2019.
 
Graham says: " We wanted to add great size and physicality and guys who can cover and we think we did an outstanding job with these young men. We wanted physical safeties, we felt we needed to get better with our ability to tackle in space and the physicality from which we can come down and defend the run and obviously the ability to cover. We felt like we met those needs in this class." 
 
The Next Generation: Matagi Thompson, the son of former UH running back Afatia Thompson (1998-2000), continues the long line of second generation Rainbow Warriors… Matagi played both sides of the ball during his career at Punahou School, switching to defensive back for his junior season, in which he finished with 24 tackles, including 2.0 for loss, two interceptions, and three pass breakups.
 
Graham says: "This young man has great speed, great athleticism and he wants to stay here and represent the state and that's something that we're really proud of. We're excited about Matagi and his versatility, the character, the leadership that he brings, the work ethic and passion that he has, and the pride that he has to wear that Hawai'i uniform." 
 
One Tough Cookie: Quarterback Brayden Schager may have led Highland Park to a district title but it was a gutsy effort during a regional final playoff game which he'll be best remembered... Playing against fellow signee Ty Marsh's Denton Ryan squad, Schager broke his jaw and chipped four teeth during a play in the second quarter, but still managed to complete the game… On the season, Schager accounted for 33 touchdowns in 12 games and was named District 7-5A Division I MVP.

Graham says: "I've been at five different places, (Brayden) is as good a quarterback that I've ever signed. This guy represents everything we're about. Tremendous family, comes equipped with extremely high values, great leadership ability, and all the intangibles. We're pretty amazed with how accurate he was with the football, especially being a guy who was a one-year starter. He can make all the throws, has all the intangibles; he'll come in ready to compete. We're excited we think we have an elite quarterback, an outstanding leader that'll be a tremendous asset to our locker room and to our huddle." 
 
Class Breakdown: Of the 18 total signees in the Class of 2021, 12 are defensive players and six are on offense… Nine of the signees are graduate transfers with eight high school seniors and one junior college transfer… Among the grad transfers, seven come from Power 5 schools, including two from Georgia, three from Big 12 schools, and two from the Pac-12… Nine signees are from the state of Texas with two each from Hawai'i, Louisiana, and California and one each from Georgia, Hawai'i, Pennsylvania, Utah, and American Samoa. 

2021 Regular Signing Period Class

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	Hometown / Previous School
Nate Adams	OL	6-6	320	Fr	Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound HS
Arnold Azunna	DB	6-0	200	Sr	Grand Prairie, Texas / Iowa State
O'Tay Baker	DL	6-4	250	So	Mesquite, Texas / Tyler [Texas] JC
Ty Marsh	DB	6-0	180	Fr	Dallas, Texas / Denton Ryan HS
Hugh Nelson II	DB	6-2	200	So	Powder Springs, Ga. / Georgia
Dedrick Parson	RB	5-9	195	Jr	Philadelphia, Pa. / Howard
Caleb Phillips	TE	6-5	230	Jr	Encinitas, Calif. / Stanford
Brayden Schager	QB	6-3	200	Fr	Dallas, Texas / Highland Park HS
Zhen-Keith Sotelo	DL	6-4	270	Fr	Waianae, O'ahu / Kapolei HS
Matagi Thompson	DB	6-2	180	Fr	Honolulu, O'ahu / Punahou School
Pita Tonga	DL	6-1	310	Sr	Taylorsville, Utah / Utah