HONOLULU – Hawai'i football head coach Timmy Chang announced Thursday the addition of Derek Faavi to the coaching staff as the offensive line coach.
 
A four-year letterwinner for the Rainbow Warriors from 2002-05, Faavi made 37 career games at center and helped lead UH to three Hawai'i Bowl appearances from 2002-04. A native of 'Ewa Beach, O'ahu, Faavi returns home after spending the last two seasons as a quality control analyst at USC.
 
Prior to his time on staff with the Trojans, Faavi had a stint on Chang's initial support staff as the director of player development.
 
Faavi previously spent time on the staff at Adams State from 2016-20, where joined the program as the offensive line coach in 2016 before adding offensive coordinator duties for his final four seasons with the Grizzlies from 2017-20.
 
Under Faavi's guidance, the Grizzlies offense finished in the top four of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in both total and passing offense from 2017-19, leading the league in passing in both 2017 and 2018. Adams State averaged 353.0 yards per game through the air in 2017 and 338.3 per game in 2018, while quarterback Nick Rooney led the RMAC in passing in 2017.
 
Before working at Adams State, Faavi spent seven years from 2010-16 coaching in Japan with the Nojima Sagamihara Rise of the X-League. While with the Rise, Faavi worked with the team's offensive line while helping recruit players to the league from outside the country. He also coached the offensive line for two seasons at Keio University from 2014-15.
 
A standout at Campbell High School, Faavi arrived at UH as a walk-on in 2001 and made his way into the starting lineup for the final three games of his redshirt freshman year in 2002. He went on to start 37 career games at center, most of which came with Chang as his quarterback. Faavi was also named Alec Waterhouse Most Valuable Player following his senior season in 2005, when he started all 12 games.