DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Gerald Welch (38) has made the most of his opportunities this season and is coming off the best game of his UH career.
Welch emerging
as a force for UHAfter three tough seasons,
the Hawaii slotback has become
a big contributor for the Warriors
Gerald Welch could hardly be faulted for wanting to wish away the last three years of his football career.
Following a prolific high school career and a promising start in college, Welch fell into football oblivion for the better part of three seasons. But rather than dwell on time lost, the Hawaii slotback is focused on enjoying the present.
"It's been a long road, but to finally get here, it's been fun," Welch said after the Warriors' practice on Tuesday.
Welch has started the Warriors' last five games and is coming off the best game of his UH career entering Saturday's Western Athletic Conference contest at Louisiana Tech. Although various setbacks threatened to derail his football career, the trials helped shape his outlook on the game.
"After some injuries people don't even come back," he said. "But you can only play football for so long and I'm trying to play football as long as I can and just come out here and have fun."
After an All-State career at Saint Louis School, Welch signed with UH and started against Tulsa as a true freshman in 2000. But he let his conditioning slip the following year and played in just five games. Last year, a knee injury kept him out of action for the entire season.
This year, he returned to the team trim and healthy, but largely forgotten among the Warriors' corps of receivers.
He got an opportunity to contribute again when Nate Ilaoa was lost for the season after tearing a ligament in his knee in the season opener against Appalachian State.
After feeling his way through his first few games as a starter, Welch had a breakout game last week against Fresno State, catching nine passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. He missed out on two more scores when officials marked him inches short of the goal line on two occasions.
"He had his chance and that's the way this offense works," UH receivers coach Ron Lee said. "You have to be ready and it was Gerald's shot. The thing I liked about it was the effort he put in trying to score. He put in tremendous effort after the catch. That's Gerald, he has a nose for the end zone."
Welch scored the first touchdown of his college career in a 41-21 victory over Rice on Sept. 27, reaching the end zone for the first time since catching two TD passes from Tim Chang in his final high school game, a 19-0 win over Kahuku in the 1999 state championship game.
"Gerald just waited his turn and when his time came he's making the most of it and I'm very proud of him," said Chang. "Watching him go through that and stay strong, he probably built a lot more character than he realized and it made him a better person."
Chang and Welch have been classmates and teammates since the sixth grade at Saint Louis and the quarterback said he's seen a different side of Welch emerge over the years.
"Before he was real quiet, but he's kind of grown out of his shell," Chang said. "He's a clown, he's always making jokes. It might be about you, it might be other people, but he just has fun with life."
After not playing regularly since high school, Welch admits it took him some time to get used to being on the field again. But he's since rediscovered his comfort zone.
"The first couple of games I was kind of nervous and I wasn't having as much fun as I am now," he said. "Now I'm just coming out here enjoying myself and not taking it for granted playing with these guys."
After the high of the win over Fresno State, Chang and Welch were dealt a stunning blow over the weekend when Andrew Ngan, a Saint Louis classmate of theirs, died in a traffic accident in Kakaako. Racing is suspected to have contributed to the accident, which killed Ngan and Ryan Kono.
"We were all really close. It's very sad and tragic," Chang said. "We're just sad for his family."
For Welch, the accident was another reminder to appreciate those around him.
"We just have to cherish life, at any moment things can happen," he said. "I feel sorry his family, my heart goes out to them. Hopefully people can learn from this and just think about it."
