By Lance Tominaga, ESPN Honolulu Web Editor.
From standout running backs like Gary Allen and Heikoti Fakava to monster D-linemen like the Noga brothers, the University of Hawaii football program has had outstanding players at certain positions. Since the June Jones era of UH football, however, it seems the quarterbacks have served as the most prominent VIPs – Very Important Position. Take this Pop Quiz and see how well you know some of the greatest QBs in Rainbow Warrior history:
- Which player had the most starts as a UH QB, with 50?
- Who holds the UH record for most passing TDs in a single game?
- Who is the only Rainbow Warrior QB to have a 1,000-rushing season?
- Which UH QB recorded 514 total yards and 5 TDs in his starting debut?
- Although he’s considered the greatest QB in UH history, Colt Brennan did not start in his Rainbow Warrior debut. Who got the starting nod on that day?
- Who was the first UH QB to get selected in the NFL Draft? (This goes way back!)
- Who started at QB in the first UH game of the post-Colt Brennan era?
- On Oct. 3, 1987, this prominent college football coach made his first and only start as a UH QB.
- Who was the first UH QB to pass for 2,000+ yards in a single season?
- Who holds the UH single-game record for most passing yards, with 560?
ANSWERS:
- Timmy Chang went 29-21 as a starter for UH.
- Nick Rolovich tossed 8 passing TDs in the 72-45 rout over BYU in 2001.
- Running the triple-option, Michael Carter rushed for 1,092 yards in 1991.
- Cole McDonald had 418 passing yards, 96 rushing yards and 5 total TDs in the 2018 season opener at Colorado State.
- Tyler Graunke got the start over Brennan in Hawaii’s 2005 season opener against USC.
- The L.A. Rams picked QB Larry Arnold in the 12th round of the 1970 NFL Draft.
- Greg Alexander.
- Kenny Niumatalolo got the start against Yale and led Hawaii to a 62-10 victory. The current Navy head coach had 17 passing yards and 83 rushing yards.
- Raphel Cherry had 2,478 passing yards in 1983. He was the first to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark.
- Bryant Moniz had 560 passing yards against San Jose State In 2010.