Spring Practice Shows Hawaii Is In Rebuild Mode.

Coach Chang has spring ball practice under way. Things are still not set in stone and it sounds like a chaotic mess on the islands. However it's to be expected when a team goes through a coaching change. Hawaii is no different from Boston College or Texas in that aspect.

Espn Honolulu's Hawaii Football Now said, "The defense looks good..." "The offense looks sloppy..." There's a transition going from Todd Graham's offense to Chang's modified run and shoot. It's kinda like a team going from the Jets and trying to learn the Patriots offense. 

Hawaii still has no starting quarterback. Supposedly there’s a quarterback competition but from reports, nobody is showing they want the job. They have a game on the 16th and hopefully they'll have someone showing the leadership and ability to take the helm of the offenses. Otherwise coach Chang is going to need to lay into his passers.

Coaches are reportedly taking Hawaii culture classes to avoid the errors and problems created or exposed by the Todd Graham era. This is the university or at least coach Chang taking accountability for what happened under the previous coaching regime. If a coach doesn't try to assimilate and instead has a colonizing attitude, they won't be accepted. Chang and the university knows that.

Hawaii Football Now talked about the program not just being about the Hawaii but all the Polynesian islands in the pacific and how they need to do a better job of including everyone. Polynesians have some good athletes and It's easier for those players to get to Hawaii. The university needs to do a better job at getting quality athletes from all the pacific islands and even Asia itself. 

Hawaii is still recruiting players do both be surprised if they have names on the roster that weren't added until June or July. Hawaii will be getting a 3 star pass rusher from Oregon over the summer. The thing with Hawaii is they need to remember there's more athletes outside the pacific ocean and to not focus soley on islanders or they can set themselves up for failure.

The thing with this season is to understand it's a building process. A bowl game in coach Chang's first year is not to be expected at the moment. We don't know how things are going to look for fall kickoff but for now keep expectations to a minimum. And keep the faith in the program. Coach Chang's vision may not start to take shape until the 2024 season. To steal a line from the Patriots, "In Chang we trust!" #Braddahood

Coach Chang Spoke About The Rainbow Warriors And How The Program Is Coming Along.

Timmy Chang was on 'call the coach' with Bobby Curran on ESPN. He gave some insight to what's going on with the University of Hawaii football team. Now before I get into what coach Chang had to say, I really have a problem with Hawaii media making it seem like the only criteria a coach needs is to be from Hawaii, or a former member of the program. It's like the media out there is saying knowledge and ability don't matter. That is a huge red flag for someone who wants the program to succeed.

Coach Chang talked about his offensive coordinator. Curran said that "Shoemaker has a whatever works offense." And Chang replied, "yeah, he has a unique style." Chang praised Shoemakers football IQ and admitted that he hired someone he didn't know, which should go to help dispel the notion that Chang was only hiring former teammates and ex-coworkers.

Chang would later talk about his staff, saying they're all "like minded." He said not all his staff was from or knowledge of the islands. And broke down the diversity he hired. This was good to hear because the media wasn't installing a lot of favor in the current staff for fans outside the islands. Chang mentioned the staff "having too much fun." Curran tried to give Chang a way out but instead Chang went into details about what he meant.

Chang mentioned that about half of the scholarships are gone and basically he hopes after spring ball to get high level talent to come to the islands. For them to use Hawaii as a stepping stone in their college career. I don't know that I like that because he's essentially describing Hawaii as a D2 school with D1 ranking. Chang mentioned that the roster building was more about "depth" than anything. 

Michigan got brought up and Chang mentioned about telling the students to play to get noticed at the NFL level.

Chang mentioned that being a coach is more than just football. That's something people forget. Chang talked about preparing them for not only life after they graduated but helping non Hawaiians assimilate to the lifestyle. And making them Hawaiian to avoid problems while there.

Chang went on to talk about the team is still trying to figure out it's identity and it's limitations. Acknowledging that the team can only do what the talent allows for, regardless of what they want to do. That spring practice will be "three times a week." He also mentioned that roster size is not really in his control.

Chang got asked about tailgating but said something interesting. On top of the stadium tickets, Chang wants to try to increase revenue by "having tickets for outside the stadium."  Chang mentioned an "outside viewing area." With how small the stadium is, the university needs to do whatever it can while the new stadium is being built. Maybe the stadium campus will become the spring ball campus.

The one thing that Chang seemed to stress throughout the interview was that he was not coaching with an iron first. That his staff and players would have input. Mainly the staff. He also mentioned learning from each other a few times. Although Chang is the head coach, it almost sounds like for now it's head coach by committee. That may change but that's how it sounded. I don't know if I like the sound of that but it's gotta be better than what Hawaii had under Todd Graham.

Danny Gray SMU Wiseout Scouting Report.

Danny Gray receiver for SMU, standing 6'1" and weighting 180 pounds. He played in 35 college games making 151 Catches for 2537 with 27 touchdowns. He had 7 carries for 70 yards with 2 touchdowns. He had 24 kickoff returns for a 21.6 yard average. He also returned 18 punts for a 6.7 yards average. 

Danny has limited route tree with good release and he appears to have burner speed. His hands are either great or bad. Let's go of the ball during contact. Needs development in separation but still does a good job.

Yards after catch is his middle name. And Gray seems to knows where the ball is and comes down with it unless it's contested. Has a large radius with little problems with low balls. Knows how to return punts and kicks and adds value to the special teams.

He primarily played primarily on the right. He's projects as a slot or Z receiver but some scouts have complaints that ge doesn't have an X frame. He's not physical enough and needs development with his blocking among other things.

He's projected as an early to mid round day three development prospects. He might be able to challenge for the number 4 spot in a roster early but won't be much more impact fullbacks than that in year one.

Charleston Rambo Miami Scouting Report

Charleston Rambo wideout from Miami standing 6'1" with a 185 pound frame. Rambo played in 40 games where he made 155 catches for 2352 yards and a whopping 16 touchdowns. He also had 13 kickoff returns for a 25.1 yard average, adding value to his draft stock.

The good thing off the bat is he showed needed improvement during his final season. Rambo runs routes the way one wants a slot receiver to run them but don't let thay fool you, he also has a few deep routes on his tree. He has great change of direction speed, which should show up in his three cone.

He's had a history of drops prior to this season and is a risk to deflect passes into interceptions. He also has a bad habit if catching the ball with his body.

He is good against the zone in getting both separation and release. And he can get separation downfield. He's showed the ability to get yards after the catch but again his hands hurt his ability.

He knows how to navagate traffic and find windows for thr quarterback to throw to. Rambo makes up for his deficiencies with his intelligence by reading defenses and understanding what the defense is going to do.

He can lineup in the X but the slot and Z are where Miami preferred to use him. Mainly on the right side of the field. He also has the speed to make teams play off a little.

One of the biggest knocks on him is he doesn't have the X receiver build. That seems to be the main complaint of every receiver I am liking from this class. Unless a team is looking exclusively for an X, size is not an issue.

His NFL comparisons are John Hightower, Marquez Valdes-Scantling. And he projects to be a mid day three developmental Z receiver prospect that might get taken to be a taller slot.

Kevin Faulk, One Of The Unsung Heroes Of The Patriots Dynasty And 2000s Teams

There was a time when Kevin Faulk was a household name for the Patriots. Now people remember the name buy forgot who he was. He was the change of pace back running for 3607 yards. He was a receiving back catching 3701 yards on 431 catches. He was a special teams player and a returner who averaged 9.3 yards a punt and 22.6 yards a kickoff.

If the Patriots needed to give the main back a rest for a play or two or if they needed a spot filled, they turned to Faulk. Faulk was never that big either, 210 pounds was about the largest he ever got but he had the fight of some of the more larger backs.

While Faulk was used wherever Belichick needed him, the Patriots have only had the following fullbacks over the course of the Belichick era: Tony Carter 98-00, Jeff Paulk 00, Marc Edwards 01-02, Larry Centers 03, Fred McCrary 03,  Patrick Pass 00-06, Kyle Eckel 07, Heath Evans 05-08, James Devlin 12-19, Joey Losefa 15, and Jakob Johnson 19-21. The Patriots have also utilized the H-back tight end role. 

Notice who's name wasn't part of the group. Kevin Faulk wasn't a fullback. In fact he was no more a fullback then Brandon Bolden who has played that role on a down or two for the Patriots. Wanna know who Faulk was? He was the guy the Patriots turned to when they needed a play. At least 338 times we heard "Faulk with the first down," and at least 33 times we also heard "Touchdown Kevin Faulk."

For the change of pace, receiving back and third down back role since 2000, the Patriots employed  J.R. Redmond 00, Kevin Faulk 00-09, Woodhead 10-12, Bolden 12-15, Vereen 13-14, Dion Lewis 15-16, James White 16-21, Rex Burkhead 17-20. The have only been few change of pace backs: Redmond, Faulk, Woodhead, Vereen, White, Lewis, Burkhead, Bolden. And maybe J.J. Taylor can be included in this list.

NBC Boston wrote, "As runners, Faulk and White are almost identically . . . average. Faulk, though, was given more opportunity in that role (third down back). He was a second-round pick in 1999 and had the lead-back gig during Bill Belichick's first season in New England in 2000. Though his job morphed into that of a third-down specialist, he finished his 13-year career with 864 attempts for 3,607 yards (a 4.17 yards-per-carry average) and 16 touchdowns. In 161 regular-season games, he averaged 5.36 carries per game.

Harris Danao of Bleacher Report wrote, "Never has a third-down running back ever been more important to a team then Kevin Faulk.  Faulk was known never to talk, celebrate or act out.  He has been behind many running backs in his career (Corey Dillion, Antwoin Smith and Laurence Maroney) and never has a public complaint been issued."

Then there is what Bill Belichick has said about Faulk. Bill said, "Well, I mean that’s a pretty high bar. You’re talking about Kevin Faulk. We have guys like James White or [Shane] Vereen going back that had similar roles and had production. Kevin’s pretty special. As I said this summer, I think many impressive things about Kevin, amongst them would be that I thought he played his best football in the biggest games, the most critical situations, the most critical plays. The times when we need him the most is when he came through with some of his best plays."

Belichick would continue, "Instead of sometimes trying to make a role different, instead of embracing the role that your team wants you to have and needs you to have, some players want a role that they want to have and then sometimes that’s a little bit of a conflict. I think Kevin was a great example of coming in here he started off as a returner and was a great runner, but kind of worked his way into more of a third-down sub back but he always had good run skills and he had a lot of good runs for us. He was great in the passing game, he was great in the return game when we needed him, he was a great leader."

Lastly there's one more place people are going to turn to, so here's what Wikipedia says about Faulk. "Dubbed the Patriots' "Swiss Army knife" because of his multitude of tools and versatility, he played a wide variety of roles on the team. Besides his primary position as running back, he also played some as a wide receiver, special teams as a gunner and a return specialist. He was rarely the team's feature back, but was adept at catching the ball, blocking, and running as needed. In 2016, he was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.[8]"

You know who else has been called a Swiss Army knife? The under appreciated Brandon Boldon, In fact, I would say Bolden is a lesser version of Faulk. Since thus article is about Faulk I'll keep this short but here is what Ryan Spagnoli wrote about  Bolden January 10, 2022: "The “big brother” of the Patriots’ running back room looks to continue to be a Swiss army knife for the Patriots offense."

Faulk was many things and played many roles but with how much time has passed and with how much the players have accomplished since then, it was only fitting to honor the guy when people show they forgot what he meant to the franchise.

Siting:

https://www.patspulpit.com/2017/3/2/14787040/17-years-new-england-patriots-analyzing-running-backs-bill-belichick-blount-white-lewis-faulk-dillon

https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2016/09/17/bill-belichick-explains-why-kevin-faulk-was-such-a-special-player/

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/great-patriots-debates-kevin-faulk-vs-james-white

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/580859-new-england-patriots-kevin-faulks-legecy-and-future

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Faulk

David Bell Purdue Scouting Report

David Bell receiver Purdue. Stands 6'2" and weights 205 pounds. Played in only 29 games but still made 232 catches for 2946 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Purdue plays football? And I thought all they did was chicken. Well it looks like they can produce an NFL quality Z receiver.

Bell is a good route runner who knows tricks to improve his trade and can run any receiver route. However, NFL refs aren't gonna let him get away with his hand usage.

Bell went to the Mr. Miyagi school of catching footballs, snatching the balls from the air like he was catching flies. His large wingspan helps him make circus catches.

He relies of tricks and moves to get open and he has just enough speed for defenders to back off a little at the line. However he struggles against good man defenders.

Expect him to come off the field on running plays. Bell does better at out playing the defender downfield and picking up yards than he does at turning short passes into big plays.

He projects as a day 2 prospect and his reported NFL comparisons Rashod Bateman and Joshua Palmer. His combine is going to be important because it could price him out of the Patriots draft range. 

Hawaii Working On Getting Back Into Football Shape After Todd Graham

So there's been a lot going on since December for the rainbow warriors of Hawaii. The Todd Graham era came to an end after only two seasons and a huge controversy. And former quarterback Chang was brought in to be the new head coach.

Coach Chang has his work cut out for him. He has to rebuild the Hawaii coaching staff, hiring people that he knows. The problem is there wasn't a lot of time to get a staff together. Especially with trying to get players to sign.

Hawaii has their walk on tryout day coming up. They have had some signings. And they're trying to convince people in the transfer portal that Hawaii is a school that will be looking for it's third straight bowl game invite.

The good news is throughout last season until Todd Graham left, the team lost 19 players but has been able to sign 15 players. Hawaii has plenty of scholarships the question is are they gonna recruit local or will they try to bring in some national guys from the portal? The season is coming and Hawaii needs to make sure they have a team together for spring ball.

Calvin Turner Jr Scouting Profile.

Calvin Turner Jr

5'11" 195 lbs

RB/WR

Senior University of Hawaii

College stats (2017-2021) first:

Att: 580 Yards: 3439 Avg: 5.92 TD: 44

Rec: 108 Yards: 1452 Avg: 13.44 TD: 11

PR: 6 Avg 7.6

KR: 42 Avg 22.64 TD 1

Completed 44.6% of 150 Attempts. 1,176 yards 7 TDs 7 INTs

Versatility: The first thing anyone needs to know is Turner started off as a Defensive in 2017 (No stats found). He switched to quarterback in 2018 and then finished out his career as a running back that could line up as a receiver. His elusiveness helped earn him the job of return specialist but special teams as a whole are part of his game.

Turner is more of a scatback than a power back but he can run between the tackles. Impeccable footwork with a good burst and able to keep his balance and stay upright. His vision is good and he's instinctive, always seeming to know where to go with the ball. He's more than fast enough to get around the edge but his ability to see what's in front of him and to change direction without losing speed will make him very valuable.

Turner is an asset on passing downs, he can pick up the blitz and pass block with the best of them but he's also a dangerous weapon. Turner has the ability to win at all three levels of the field. No blade of grass is safe. He's got sure hands and is capable of making circus catches. He uses his experience as both a quarterback and defensive back to help beat coverage and get separation.

The biggest thing against Turner is his production was limited due to having to change offenses going from Rolovich to Todd Graham. It didn't look like Graham always knew how to use Turner. If you're a Patriots fan, that's kinda like the complaints with McDaniels use of Newton and Jonnu Smith.

Every 10.5 touches on offense Turner scored. That number would've been higher if not for a regime change. Turner's decision to return to Hawaii gave him a chance for more exposure but the dysfunction of Todd Graham hindered his progress. If you don't know about the player accusations, I suggest you check it out.

Like all running backs, Turner could use to improve his route tree but it's good where it's at. The things he needs improvement on are all minor. So he should be an instant plug in to any committee.

Turner was robbed of a chance to show off in the Hawaii bowl but he will be playing in the East - West shrine bowl on February 3rd. Right now coming from Hawaii, I think turner is a day three pick but with a good showing in the bowl game and at the combine, Turner could move up and become a day two selection.

NFL Comparisons seen: Trevon Austin, James White.

For teams looking for that Danny Woodhead / James White receiving back, Turner is a guy to keep an eye on. He's not going to be the feature back in any NFL offense but his abilities make him a dangerous athlete if paired with the right coaching staff. 

My current projection 5th to 6th round pick.