After party, like 1999

In the glow of the historic turnaround season in 1999, the Warriors received early commitments from two JC quarterbacks — Jared Flint and Nick Rolovich. But the Warriors were not done. They added four more quarterbacks, from local high school, led by Saint Louis’ Timmy Chang and Roosevelt’s Chad Kapanui. Thanks to record-setting Chang’s decision to play for the home team, the Warriors secured 14 top prospects from Hawaii high schools for the 2020 recruiting class. Although the Warriors struggled in 2020, even with freshman Chang at the controls beginning with that season’s third game, that newcomer class set the way for the next several years.

There is optimism that the 2024 class also will brighten the Warriors future. In the past week, five prospects pledged for UH’s 2024 class. Three of the commitments were on official UH-sponsored visits this past weekend.

The key was when quarterback Micah Alejado of Bishop Gorman High (Las Vegas) announced his 2024 commitment to UH on April 3. Alejado had actually decided a few months earlier, but wanted to make his announcement after his recruiting visit. Alejado, who lived in Hawaii through eighth grade, set up group chats with Hawaii-reared prospects, encouraging them to stay home. Every prosperous recruiting class begins with an influential leader.