gmicahb-blogs

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Looking For its First Top 10 in Five Years.

This past week, the NCAA women’s volleyball world has been filled with shocking upsets. Hawaii is set to start conference play on the road against Long Beach, Cal-State Northridge, and UC-Irvine. But, if Hawaii can win all three of their conference games on the road, Hawaii could earn its first ever top 10 ranking in over five years. 

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What to Know about Kaimuki High School Starting Quarterback Jayden Maiava.

Jayden Maiava - The 6-foot-4 sophomore transfer out of Sierra Vista High School has already made a big impact for Kaimuki in his first year in the 808. Before transferring to Kaimuki High School, Maiava had already received offers from Auburn and Tennessee to play for their programs after he graduates in 2022. This year in just seven games, Maiava has already passed for over 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns, doing far better than Saint Louis starting quarterback Jayden De Laura.

What’s next...

Maiava has been a bright spot for Kaimuki’s success, as he looks to lead the Bulldogs to yet another postseason run. With only 3 more games remaining till’ the regular season comes to a close, Kaimuki is set to play at Pearl City 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The Bulldogs must win at least one more game to clinch a spot for the playoffs. 

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Hawaii takes 1 of 2 on the road in Baylor Classic

The Hawaii Women’s Volleyball Team took 1 of 2 games up in Waco, Texas against 17th-ranked Missouri Tigers and 5th-ranked Baylor Bears. Hawaii took the first game over Missouri in a five-set thriller on Saturday. But on Sunday, Hawaii lost to the Baylor Bears in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22. 

The Rainbow Wahine played without their star outside-hitter Jolie Rasmussen throughout these two road games. Starting middle-blocker Skyler Williams was one of the bright spots in Hawaii’s road trip. Williams racked 23 kills and 7 blocks in both matches, and freshman-standout Hanna Hellvig recorded 24 total kills. 

With the Lady Bows’ being unranked beginning of the season, the first-time since 2000, the Rainbow Wahine are now ranked 11th in the country. Also this year, Hawaii was ranked to finish second in the Big West Conference, the first time ever in 38 years Hawaii wasn’t picked to win their conference. Can the Rainbow Wahine step up to the task and out-perform the rest of there competition for the rest of the season, we will have to wait and see. 

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Hawaii Volleyball, Are They Back?

After the Rainbow Wahines impressive 9-0 start to the 2019 season, are they really back as powerhouse team in Women’s Volleyball? 

JOLIE RASMUSSEN - FINALLY! the outside-hitter we have been waiting for.The Redshirt Junior All-American honoree transfer from Oregon has proven she can be an problem for teams to stop on the outside. Rasmussen has already racked up 96 kills this season. The past outside hitter to rack up this high of kills goes back to the great Nikki Taylor in 2015. To have a weapon like Jolie, who has experience in the NCAA Tournament back in 2017 and 2018, top 20 player coming out of the state of California in 2016, and who also was an Under Armor All-American coming out of Canyon Crest Academy, she has all the notable attributes to take this Hawaii team to the next level.   

DEPTH - Counterpart to the Rainbow Wahines success has been there depth off the bench. From Freshman outside-hitter Hanna Hellvig, to middle-blockers like Amber Igiede and Skyler Williams have provided balance in Hawaii’s offense. Hawaii’s bench has been able to average about 12 kills per game, giving starters breathing room in between sets. 

HANNA HELLVIG - Hawaii has had success in producing quality volleyball players coming from the European Leagues. Hellvig played in the CEV League, 

Hawaii is on the road in Waco, Texas to play 21-ranked Missouri Tigers and fifth-ranked Baylor Bears. 

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Breakdown of Hawaii’s Week 2 performance against 23 Washington

Hawaii’s effort against Washington last week was just as good as the Miami Dolphins played against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 of the 2019 NFL Season. 

Hawaii just looked outplayed by a very talented Washington secondary. Cole Mcdonald threw yet another terrible game which lead to three interceptions. On those mistakes, Washington converted those turnovers into a touchdown every drive. Looking at Mcdonald’s performance, if he had thrown one or two less interceptions that game, I think Hawaii actually had a chance to make this a closer game than it turned out to be. 

Although Mcdonald put up yet another horrible performance, the Hawaii defense allowed Washington to score 38 unanswered in the first half alone. The secondary defense which Rolovich reported was suppose to be “dramatically improved” hasn’t shown any signs of improvement at all. Couple miss tackles down short sideline passes, being caught up in short hitch routes which lead to long touchdown runs, losing sight of opposing receivers on simple go-routes, it just hasn’t looked pretty for them. 

Positives: Hawaii defense showed improvement in the second half only allowing 14 points scored. Giving some room to believe that these secondaries have what it takes to make adjustments during crunch-time. Miles Reed had 15 carries for 70 yards and two scores against Washington’s first team defense. Reed looks to build on the efforts against Washington to maybe takeover as the starting running back after Dayton Furuta’s season-ending injury.

Negatives: Hawaii is now the third worst defense in all of college football, and hasn’t shown much improvement coming out of week 2 of this young season. Rolovich pointed out his main focus this past offseason was to get better on defense, and so far, his defensive secondary is doing worse than last season, giving up about three touchdowns average before the half.

Hawaii will play Central Arkansas on September 21 at Aloha Stadium.

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Next Hawaii Superstar?

With stars like Tua Tagoviloa, Marcus Mariota, and Manti Te’o, who will be the next stud to represent the 808?

Taulia Tagovailoa, Class of 2019, Thompson High School of Alabama / Kapolei High School (University of Alabama)

Living in the lights of his older brother Tua, Taulia shows no fear in taking his brothers place once he leaves Alabama. Taulia isn’t as big as Tua, but however more athletic than his older brother. he shows more mobility to move outside the pocket and extend plays with his feet, to follow up with amazing arm strength, Taulia has the makings of being that next man up for Alabama, and here’s why. 

During his time at Thompson High School, he thrown for nearly 3700 yards, five interceptions, and 35 touchdowns all-year. Clearly, those numbers tell you that he can get the job done when it comes to moving the ball down-field. Even with being a little under-sized at the quarterback position, he has all the tools into becoming the next-generation quarterback out of Hawaii to mesmerize all of football. 

Dillon Gabriel, Class of 2019, Millilani High School (University of Central Florida)

Surprised? So Am I! Dillon Gabriel has shown the college football world why he should be considered one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He has not only lead UCF to the second-best offense in all of college football, but has UCF ranked 13 in all total offense in his first year as a starter. 

He is in the top 15 in all quarterback ratings, and did I mention he is a true-freshman? How about also putting up 347 yards against a Stanford defense that is supposed to be one of the best in the Pac-12 this year. When you watch Gabriel connect with his receivers, it’s almost like every throw is on the money. He has great understanding of where to throw in any coverage thrown at him, and knows how to manage the clock.

UCF’s offense kind of reminds me of the old Oregon Ducks offense back when Marcus Mariota was the starting quarterback. Too have that kind of command on an offense that is built to score in less than 2 minutes, there is no room for mistakes. Do not be surprised if Gabriel takes UCF to another New Years Six Bowl this season. 

Jordan Botelho, Class of 2020, Saint Louis School in Hawaii (Committed to Notre Dame 4/18/19) 

The best defensive linebacker to come out of Hawaii since Manti Teo in 2009, and here’s why. 95 rating on 24/7 sports (sixth best in all linebackers in the country), weighs 230 pounds, standing about 6 foot 2 inches. He is built to become a potential defensive standout once he enters college.

Watching him live against Bishop Gorman, he was calling out defensive audibles to his teammates, he showed tremendous awareness on the field, and more importantly, he made it look easy. Jordan lead the team in tackles with 4, and also a couple plays where he broken up short passes towards the sidelines. He was the big reason why Bishop Gorman only scored one touchdown in the first half. Whether it be just to break up a pass, or outside pressure to the quarterback, he can do it all. Which is why he is on my watch list for the next upcoming college football season. 

Faatui Tuitele, Class of 2019, Saint Louis School of Hawaii (University of Washington)

Hawaii high school football players have recently been getting attention thanks to the lights of Tua, Gabriel, Milton, and many others. But since this past couple of years, it’s actually the defensive players that have been getting the attention of these big name schools to come down and recruit them.

Tuitele, according to his scouting reports all highlighted the word “Legit,” as saying he is the real deal.

In his games at Saint Louis, no other offensive lineman in the State of Hawaii could contain this guy. Double team him all you want, and he will still find a way to come with a sack. Ranked 83rd in the country coming out of high school, and ninth in his position, a lot of schools including Ohio State, Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss wanted this guy to play for them. When watching some of his highlights against teams like Punahou and Kahuku, he would easily run over 300-pound lineman to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Scouts say he is like a younger Justin Jones. Very physical upfront, has the size and strength to shed off blockers and finish tackles in the gaps for loss, and has great footwork on the inside to create lots of room for linebackers to get at the quarterback. I wouldn’t be surprised, with the talent and size he bring to the table, Tuitele gets his degree, and enters the NFL Draft sometime around 2022.