HONOLULU — The “Braddahhood” has an open-door policy.
Before new Hawaii football coach Timmy Chang stepped to the podium in front of media and special guests at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday, he had another set of introductions to make.
At pre-dawn, he gathered the several dozen returning Rainbow Warriors players and put up the now-ubiquitous “Braddahhood” logo for all the players to see.
The former UH quarterback – who spent the last five seasons as a Nevada assistant coach – has fully embraced the hashtag on social media in the days since he was announced as the 25th coach in program history last weekend. But he assured the players that the movement – which arose in large part from the players themselves before a new coach was chosen – was about them, and that his playing days were long done.
“From the first meeting we had with him, he was talking about Braddahhood and he just loved how we came up with this idea,” receiver Jonah Panoke, one of its original proponents, told Spectrum News after Chang did Q&A with the media.
“Especially from a Saint Louis guy, coming from (the Crusaders’) Brotherhood to Braddahhood now, he understands what it is and how much it means.”
A 6 a.m. training session on the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex field followed.
Chang, who made his initial introductions to the media on a Zoom call last Saturday, was this time greeted to fanfare of the UH fight song and the “Hawaii Five-O” theme as he took the stage. His wife, six children, mom and other family members sat in the courtside seats that made up the front row of the portable setup.
Even UH President David Lassner said, “Go Braddahhood” to close the livestreamed welcome remarks from himself and athletic director David Matlin.
Chang struck a tone of empathy when he spoke about what he wanted to impart to the players. Whether purposeful or coincidental, it made for a clear contrast from the allegations of mistreatment and aloofness that current and former Rainbow Warriors directed at ex-coach Todd Graham.
Following the controversies of multiple prominent player defections, a Jan. 7 state Senate hearing on the state of the program, Graham's subsequent resignation Jan. 14, and a spat between UH adminisration and former head coach and recent coaching candidate June Jones, there is still a lot to get past.
“I just wanted to the talk to the players. They’re the bloodline,” Chang said. “Those guys in there, man, they don’t know me yet. I recruited some of them. But I’m going to give them my all. I’m going to love them. I’m going to coach them hard. Our staff’s job is to put them in position to be successful, and while doing that, they’re going to see and reap the benefits and rewards from it, and it’s going to be awesome.
“I want them to experience what I went through and what I had here at Hawaii.”
He said that even beyond their college playing career, the choice of where to play can represent a commitment of “five-, 10-, 20 years,” which in his case allowed him to return home to his alma mater for his first head coaching job.
With the next national signing period approaching rapidly on Wednesday, Chang faced several questions about how prepared his new staff is to bring in a haul of players given the drastic losses UH experienced to the transfer portal during and after the 2021 season under Graham.
His replies were consistent: The signing period is important, yes, but the entire offseason is available to use the portal as a help, not a hindrance.
“We probably have the most scholarships in the country to this point. I’m going to use that to our advantage,” Chang said.
UH players who entered the transfer portal over the past several weeks will be gladly taken back in, he said.
“We’ve got a tagline: ‘E Komo Mai,’ don’t we Jake,” Chang said to his new defensive coordinator, Jacob Yoro, a holdover from Graham's staff. “We welcome them all back. You know, we’re going to build a relationship. We understand there’s opportunities in other places. Unbelievable opportunities. But we’ll welcome all these kids back.”
Chang’s pan-Pacific recruiting strategy already landed one local product looking to make a move back home: former Mililani four-star linebacker Wynden Ho‘ohuli, who transferred from Nebraska with four years of eligibility after he redshirted in 2021. He announced on his Instagram page on Thursday that he has committed to the Rainbow Warriors.
Several of Chang’s former teammates made appearances Friday. Former lineman Michael Lafaele took the podium to welcome Chang, whom he overlapped with for the 2004 season, to announce that there will be a new alumni council to strengthen bonds between former players and the program.
Chang said there were “a couple of pukas” remaining to fill on his coaching staff following the announcement of Ian Shoemaker as his offensive coordinator and Thomas Sheffield as his associate head coach and special teams coordinator on Thursday. He said he is actively attempting to recruit a coach away from another unnamed staff.
