Military-style training emboldens Warriors’ mission

The members of the University of Hawaii football team are proving to be tough mudders.

On the final day of offseason training, more than 100 Rainbow Warriors were covered in mud and confidence as they descended the eastern slope of the Waianae Mountain range.

“They’re ready,” associate head coach Chris Brown said after the recent training session at Schofield Barracks. The Warriors report to training camp Tuesday. The first practice is Wednesday ahead of the Aug. 29 opener against Stanford.

Once again, the Warriors ended months of strength and conditioning drills with M-3 — mission, mindset, mentality — at Schofield. Retired Army Col. Trey Johnson ran the Schofield program, which included team-building exercises and two obstacle courses. Allen Hoe, a combat medic who served in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, was one of the sponsors.

“We just took the same ideas that the Army uses to get their soldiers ready,” Brown said. “I was able to work with Col. Trey Johnson, and every year he works it out where Schofield Barracks opens up and they allow us to use their obstacle courses. It’s creating teamwork. It’s creating leadership. It’s creating the ability to overcome adversity. And it’s great communication.”

A couple of generations ago, college teams used training camp to get in shape for the season. At UH two decades ago, training camp opened with 20 220-yard sprints. Now Bobby Thomas, in his second year as the Warriors’ strength/conditioning coordinator, has the players entering camp in fit shape. Thomas said he crafts individual and team plans based on the way head coach Timmy Chang wants to play this coming season.

Thomas created incremental stages for players recovering from injuries, such as quarterback Micah Alejado and linebacker Jamih Otis. As their health improved, they were able to advance to the next level of workouts. Both are fully healthy.

During workouts, players wore GPS trackers that measured their vital signs and stamina. The data showed several players, like nickelback Elijah Palmer, were able to function at a high level throughout the workouts. Palmer has shown to be effective in the fourth quarter.

Thomas said all the position groups met their offseason goals. He praised the receivers as being “extraordinary. These guys are absolute track stars. But they all did well. The entire defensive line did well.”

QUARTERBACKS

Mountain West opponents are bracing for the evolving impact of AI — Alejado Intelligence — on their defenses. Through video studies and Q-and-A sessions with coaches and teammates, Micah Alejado has mastered the intricacies of the four-wide offense. Within a snap-to-release window of 2.2 seconds, Alejado speed-reads coverages, then launches lead passes to vacant areas. Head coach Timmy Chang, who calls the offensive plays, said the 5-foot-10 Alejado has a knack for guiding passes through and over towering defensive fronts. A natural left-hander, Alejado can accurately throw right-handed spirals up to 30 yards, making him a threat on rollouts to either side. He also has shown grit. He played 11 games on a fractured right ankle last year.

Bjorn Jurgensen, who redshirted as a Virginia freshman in 2025, is the lone backup following freshman Maika Eugenio’s departure. Kamehameha graduate Hazyn Botelho is expected to lead the scout team. UH is prepared to add another quarterback during training camp.

RUNNING BACKS

Of the running backs, Landon Sims and Cam Barfield accounted for 85.6% of last season’s carries and 12 of 13 TDs. Sims, who was used in the base packages, completed his NCAA career, leaving Barfield as the primary back. “Landon was awesome, but Cam was just as awesome,” offensive coordinator Anthony Arceneaux said. Barfield is fast (21 mph) and strong (325-pound bench press). At 5-9, he uses his lower-body strength (465-pound squat lift) on dives (7.45 yards per up-the-gut rush), to keep grinding (3.02 post-contact yards) and to gain leverage on pass rushers (zero sacks allowed on 58 pass-protection situations). He also did not fumble on 80 carries. Barfield’s fellow Bishop Gorman High alumnus, DeVon Rice, joins the Warriors after two seasons at K-State. Sitani Mikaele is ready for big-back opportunities after a year on scout offense and another on special teams. TJ Fo‘ilefutu, an early enrollee from Arizona’s Liberty High, is termed as an “enforcing-type” running back. Translation: smash ball.

RECEIVERS

Slotback Pofele Ashlock cemented a legacy with 220 receptions the past three seasons. According to receivers coach Jared Ursua, Pofele is “one of the guys who can use the (Indiana coach Curt) Cignetti line: ‘Google me.” Slotbacks Tama Uiliata, Blaze Kamoku and Audric Harris can make pushes to become popular searches. Uiliata is a triple threat as a receiver, runner and wildcat passer. He is skilled at adjusting routes, even when the football already is airborne. Kamoku is a quick cutter with 20 mph speed. In two years at Washington, Harris was a wideout for one season and inside receiver the next. In being named the state’s Offensive Player of the Year as a Kahuku High junior in 2021, Kainoa “Kaikai” Carvalho caught 64 passes, averaged 9.3 yards on end-around runs and jet sweeps, scored on three kickoff and two punt returns, and converted 45 point-after kicks. He appeared in two games in 2025 after returning from a two-year church mission in Japan.

Wideouts Jackson Harris and Brandon White transferred, but the Warriors reloaded with speedy Power-4 receivers. Iowa State transfer Carson Brown was limited in spring ball because of hamstring issues. Brown has logged 562 snaps — 337 as a wideout — the past two seasons. Virginia Tech transfer Devin Alves, who also has played defensive back, has been clocked at 21 mph. Tre’ Griffiths, who transferred from Oklahoma State, is capable of sprinting 40 yards in sub-4.5 seconds. Freshman Robert Haynes IV has drawn comparisons to former UH receiver Steven McBride. Entering ...

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