Warriors look ‘eager’ for action in first football practice

The University of Hawaii football team opened training camp with this morning’s animated 2 1/2-hour practice on the lower campus’ grass field.

“The guys looked like they’ve been eager to get out here and play some football,” head coach Timmy Chang said.

Because of construction work at the Ching complex, where the Rainbow Warriors play their home game, UH’s spring ball wrapped on March 3.

For the first practice, in which the players wore light padding inside their jerseys, the Warriors employed two-deep rotations during team drills. “We can’t give everyone reps,” said Chang, who wanted to establish a performance “base line” as a starting point for training camp.

>> PHOTOS: Hawaii opens training camp

For his second season as head coach, Chang implemented the complete run-and-shoot offense and took over the offensive play calling. Chang said quarterback Brayden Schager, running back Tylan Hines and tight end Greyson Morgan have secured first-team spots. Chang said nine players are contending for starting jobs on the offensive line. The competition also is open at the three receiver positions (a fourth if a slotback replaces the tight end in the four-wide scheme).

Dan Morrison, who was the quarterbacks coach when Chang was a record-setting UH passer, was among the observers at the open practice. Morrison, who lives in Dallas, has served as a mentor to Texas-reared Schager during the offseason. From Morrison, Schager has improved his footwork and learned to stare to one side and then throw the other way. Chang also is seeking improved accuracy on deep throws. Last season, Schager was 33.9% on throws that were airborne at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage.

The Warriors will have a walk-through session on Thursday. On Friday, they will practice in shoulder pads. Saturday’s practice, which will feature a situational scrimmage, is closed to the public because Ching is considered a construction site.