WARRIOR FOOTBALL
Warriors land prolific quarterback from California
One mark of a smart coach is adjusting to the talent at your disposal. Count College of the Desert's Dean Dowty among the wise.
He realized he had a passer in Brent Rausch, who committed to Hawaii yesterday.
"We started last season in the Power-I," said Rausch, who is here on his official recruiting visit. "But I made a couple of good throws, and Coach started to spread it out. By the end of the season we were running just 10 times a game."
COD went 9-2, and Rausch completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,632 yards and 28 touchdowns. He said he's 6-feet-4 and 190 pounds.
Rausch chose Hawaii over Youngstown State and Montana State. He said he has escaped the attention of bigger schools because he played 8-man football at Desert Chapel High School in Palm Springs, Calif.
Rausch was a high school basketball teammate of UH baseball catcher Landon Hernandez.
"Yeah, he's one of my good friends," Rausch said. "I talked to him last week a couple of times, and he told me a little bit about what I might expect. He told me it's a great place and I would like it."
Rausch has three seasons of eligibility. He said he thinks he can fit into UH's run-and-shoot offense, but admits he "has some big shoes to fill" following Colt Brennan, and competing for playing time with fifth-year senior Tyler Graunke and other returnees will be a challenge.