Tag: University of Hawaii

Hawai’i Bowl canceled due to COVID issues with Hawai’i football

The Hawai’i Bowl has been canceled due to COVID issues with the Warriors’ program

The Hawai’i Bowl was canceled Thursday due to a COVID-19 plagued Rainbow Warriors football program.

Hawai’i was supposed to play Memphis in the game, which was scheduled for Christmas Eve.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision,” Athletics Director David Matlin said. “The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game.

“We are disappointed for our players, coaches, and fans. … We want to thank the Memphis Tigers for making the long trip to Hawai’i. We are disappointed we can’t compete on the football field.”

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported the school’s football team had as many as 30 people around the program test in quarantine following positive test results for the coronavirus. That number includes several starters on offense, mostly the offensive line.

Coach Todd Graham weighed in with his feelings.

“We are disappointed our season has to end this way,”  Graham said. “As competitive as we are and as much as we want to play the game, we cannot put the health and safety of our student-athletes at risk.”

“We are very disappointed to hear that Hawaii will be unable to participate in the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl on Friday,” Tigers coach Ryan Silverfield said in a statement. “We hope that Hawai’i players and staff get healthy soon. I’m upset for our seniors and the rest of the team that battled this season to earn this opportunity. We’ve had a terrific time here in Hawaii as a program and we are sad our trip ended this way.”

 

 

Former Hawaii star, Washington draft pick Colt Brennan dies at 37

Former Hawaii star quarterback Colt Brennan has died at the age of 37

Colt Brennan, who starred at the University of Hawaii and was a sixth-round draft pick of the Washington Football Team, has died at 37, Hawaii News Now reported.

Professionally, Brennan did not play for Washington, which drafted him in 2008, or the Oakland Raiders, who signed him after his time with the WFT.

He then went on to the Hartford Colonials of the defunct United Football League, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL, and the Los Angeles Kiss of Arena Football.

Per Hawaiinewsnow:

He was 37 years old. Details about his passing were not immediately available.

Brennan’s decision to come to Hawaii after a championship career at Saddleback College in California marked the beginning of a new era in Manoa.

The side-armed slinger, along with receivers like Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen, led an overpowering offense that helped Hawaii win the Hawaii Bowl in 2006 and finish the regular season undefeated a year later.

In college, Brennan was an absolute star for Hawaii.

Among his accomplishments:

  • Second all-time in most career touchdowns responsible for (146). Achieved November 23, 2007.
  • NCAA record for most 400 yard games (20). Achieved in 2007.
  • Tied NCAA record for most career touchdown passes by a quarterback-receiver combination (39 to Davone Bess). Achieved November 23, 2007.
  • NCAA two-season record for most touchdown passes, 96 (2006–2007)
  • Eighth all-time for passing efficiency (season), posting a 186.0 mark in 2006.
  • NCAA record for most points responsible for (season) with 385. (2006)
  • Second all-time for highest pass completion percentage (career) with 70.4%. This record was eclipsed by Dan Persa during the 2011 season.
  • Fourth all-time in career touchdown passes with 131.
  • Sixth all-time in total passing yards with 14,193.

John Ursua’s quarantine includes workouts on the beaches of Hawaii

Seattle Seahawks receiver John Ursua is preparing for the season with sand workouts on the beaches of his hometown in Hawaii.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver John Ursua, like you and I, has been implementing the new social distancing recommendations into place while he prepares for the 2020 season.

However, thanks to his home in Hawaii being devoid of the usual throng of tourists, the second-year wideout has been able to enjoy his quarantined situation more than most.

“Some of the parks and beaches are open, so you can go to the beach and do a sand workout, then I can go to the park and put on my cleats and get together with a smaller group,” Ursua told Dave ‘Softy’ Mahler and Dick Fain on 950 KJR on Wednesday. “I go meet up with some of the QBs who are out here, so I’m just staying very active, staying anxious for any moment to get back.”

Ursua may get the luxury of working out on the beach, but he made it clear he is more than ready to be back in Seattle with his teammates getting ready for what should be a crucial season for the young receiver.

“It’s tough not having an exact timeline,” Ursua continued. “But in my mind, I just know I’ve got to keep working for any moment, because we might have to return at any time. I’m just excited to get back with everybody.”

Ursua was a seventh round pick by Seattle in 2019, and while he impressed in preseason he spent the majority of the year on the inactive report, only appearing in three games.

He had one catch, an 11-yard gain that nearly went for a touchdown against the 49ers, but otherwise was a non-factor in a crowded receiver room.

Ursua admitted he would have liked to have played more in year one, but acknowledged that his comfort level with the playbook and the team’s comfort in him was a process that took until partway through the season to be completed.

“Where I was comfortable and the coaches and Russ (Wilson) were comfortable with me, that didn’t really come until probably midway through the season,” Ursua continued. “I felt ready at any moment, honestly I felt comfortable if I had to play Week 1, but I think where everyone was on board and was seeing, ‘OK, John is starting to understand his playbook and is starting to get comfortable,’ I think it was probably midway through the season.”

The added comfortability will help, but Ursua will have to fight to earn targets in 2020, now that Seattle added free agent Phillip Dorsett and could add even more bodies during the NFL draft.

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