Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - Aug 31, 2022

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK AUGUST 31, 2022
The Timmy Chang era officially kicked off last weekend with the former Rainbow Warrior passing great bringing the magic back to Mānoa.
W hen new Univer- sity of Hawai‘i football skipper Timmy Chang took the field last Saturday for the team’s season-opener against Van- derbilt, it wasn’t surprising that he found himself mo- mentarily flashing back to his days as a record-setting Rainbow Warrior quarter- back and reminiscing about how his journey to Mānoa
else in the country, Chang chose to commit to UH and suit up for June Jones, the man whom he beat out for the vacant head coaching position earlier this year.
him was the opportunity to do it all in front of the home crowd.
collegiate assistant.
And it’s why he’ll do just
make the best long-term de- cisions and hopefully make some good decisions along the way,” says Chang. “It’s kind of the same thing now. I’ m a first-year head coach and I’m trying to make long-term decisions, but at the same I’ m trying to make really good decisions as we climb as a program and try to establish ourselves as one of those dominant Hawai‘i teams.”
ultimately convince some of Hawai‘i’s homegrown talent that the grass is just as green in Mānoa as it is anywhere else.
all began.
As many pigskin fans
In recalling his reason for staying home and playing for UH, Chang points to Jones’ wide-open offense and how his imagination as a young field general was captured by his former coach, who took a winless team in 1998 and turned it into a confer- ence champion the following season.
To accomplish that, Chang knows he’s going to have to make smart calls moving for- ward. He also understands that he needs to be a figure in whom the players can trust and believe in — and some- one whose winning ways as a former quarterback rubs off on his players. Those fa- vorable traits of his, which he’s been showcasing since his prep days as a Crusader, are what he’s banking on as he transitions into a full-time head coach operating within his dream job.
“Sure we’d like to be cho- sen first, but all we need is at least one of the big ones in Hawai‘i to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to come in and rep- resent the state’ — just like how I did, and then other players followed along,” says Chang.
may remember, the former gunslinger was not only the bee’s knees among prep quarterbacks in the late ’ 90s, but also one of the nation’s top high school recruits at his position. Yet despite having the option to play college football just about anywhere
That ability to miraculous- ly right a team’s fortunes in a single year, and do it with pass-friendly prowess, was both inspirational and at- tractive to Chang. But what really sealed the deal for
Recapturing that glory of yesteryear is what drives the Rainbow Warrior boss these days. It’s why he re- turned to the islands as the program’s 25th head coach after spending the last de- cade on the mainland as a
“When I was 18, I was just trying to be the best quarter- back I could be and trying to
Of course, helping the program reach that kind of success again means in part persuading the state’s stand- out high school players to, just as he did two decades ago, choose the path of the Rainbow Warriors. Relish- ing the challenge, Chang believes he and his staff can
To his credit, the head coach has already been ex- panding his outreach efforts in Hawai‘i’s communities and stressing the impor- tance for tomorrow’s Rain- bow Warrior to believe he has a future in the islands beyond his college-playing
“I saw that excitement in the stands during my senior year at Saint Louis, and I saw the state rally around that team. I even saw 40,000 peo- ple at Aloha Stadium throw- ing confetti onto the field,” Chang fondly recalls. “So, I thought to myself, ‘Hey, Ihaveachancetoplayina lot of cool places, but there’s nothing like staying home and representing the state.’ ”
about anything to bring the magic back to Mānoa.
SEE PAGE 5
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK COVER STORY