Rolo: ‘They make your team better’

The newly hired UH coaching staff faced this mathematical equation in December:

> The NCAA permits each FBS team to sign a maximum 25 players per recruiting class.

> Wideout Isaiah Bernard, cornerback Cameron Hayes and kickers Rigo Sanchez and Mauro Bondi were blueshirts who received scholarships for the 2015 season but counted toward the 2016 recruiting class.

> There was an understanding from the previous staff that receiver Makoa Camanse-Stevens and long-snapper Noah Borden would earn 2016 scholarships. Because both players had been in the program for fewer than two years — they joined last July — their scholarships, if offered, would count as one of the 25 initials for the 2016 recruiting class.

Head coach Nick Rolovich admitted he initially wanted to bring in his own recruits. But after meeting with Camanse-Stevens and Borden, double-checking their backgrounds, and reviewing glowing recommendations, Rolovich decided it was a no-brainer: Both were deserving of scholarships.

Rolovich said both are good students and teammates, hard workers, and have strong character. “They make your team better,” Rolovich said.

The scholarship came at the right time for Borden, who returned from a two-year church mission last May. He worked for FedEx during the summer to pay for the 2015 fall semester. He said he drained his savings, and would have had to quit school if he did not earn a scholarship. Rolovich empathized with Borden’s situation, but said it was his contributions to the team that merited the scholarship.