UP CLOSE:
Chang has endured
a rollercoaster ride
WHETHER HE'S FROM Waianae or Walla Walla, he is everybody's son. Even in normal times, the University of Hawaii quarterback carries the athletic dreams of an entire state upon his shoulders.
He has the capacity to do proud or disappoint on every Saturday in the fall.
Hawaii's bowl history
Today's Sheraton Hawaii Bowl is the Hawaii program's fifth bowl game, and the fourth at Aloha Stadium. Hawaii is 2-2 in the postseason, most recently losing 36-28 last year in what was then the ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl.In 1999, Hawaii completed the magical turnaround of coach June Jones' first season with a 23-17 victory over Oregon State in the Oahu Bowl.
Bob Wagner-coached teams beat Illinois 27-17 in the 1992 Holiday Bowl in San Diego and lost 33-13 to Michigan State in the 1989 Aloha Bowl.
Kaloi, Cherry, Gabriel, Carter, Freitas, Robinson, Rolovich and dozens of others felt the warmth and the heat.
The pressure is squared for Tim Chang. For better and worse, it expanded to include the expectations of an entire race of sports fans when UH decided to promote him for the Heisman Trophy. Billions of people in China still don't care about football, but many Americans of various Asian extractions do find interest in what Chang does with his right arm.
Chang (who is also of Caucasian and Hawaiian ethnicity) always handled this situation and other aspects of public figuredom with grace and good humor. The only thing brighter than his future was his smile.
But in the last month of this, his junior season, Chang became a tragic figure to some. The Warriors' career passing yardage leader suddenly lost his mojo. The passes to receivers he could find before with his eyes closed fell instead into the hands of opposing defensive backs. Again and again. More than before.
On the day of the Alabama game -- a day that should've been one of rejoice for all Hawaii fans and players -- Chang was booed several times by thousands of "fans." At his homefield. During a Warriors victory. The booing didn't stop until Chang was relieved by Jason Whieldon for the second time. Whieldon started against Boise State, and coach June Jones has not named a starter for today's Hawaii Bowl game against Houston.
In recent weeks, Chang retreated to his two sanctuaries: the Manoa grass practice field and his parents' home in Mililani. For two hours a day, he practiced in an environment where he can throw the ball without being booed.
And the Warriors' favorite interview subject closed himself off from the media, local and otherwise (though he was interviewed yesterday by UH radio voice Bobby Curran).
This is the second time quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison has helped Chang through an extended rough period. Two years ago Chang injured his wrist and could only watch as Nick Rolovich replaced him and led the Warriors to triumph after triumph. To many, Rolo's toughness made Chang soft by default.
"He's a fun-loving kid with a huge heart," Morrison said of Chang. "... It's hard on him when things don't go well, when people are not happy in the stands. He has to learn how to fight his way through and he has.
"We talk about how it probably won't be the last time. It's tough on a young guy, a sensitive kid. He would never treat anyone like that, so it's surprising to him that others would."
Mary Ann Chang said hearing her son being booed "was an eye-opener."
"Like any parent, you feel for him. It's kind of disappointing. But we tell him that comes with the territory. If he's going to be No. 2, be ready when the call comes," she said. "He knows home is the place where he doesn't have to talk about football."
Jones knows all about being a quarterback in your hometown, and about being booed and benched. If anything, he's been faulted by some for sticking with Chang too long.
"Everything you go through makes you better. If it doesn't make you better, then you're screwed up," Jones said. "This year he's really grown up. He's got to do it again and get better next year. He's on his start to that already."
Even if he doesn't start today.
Tim Chang
Dave Reardon / Star-Bulletin
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How they fared...
Western Athletic Conference standings:
CONFERENCE OVERALL W L Pct W L Pct Str Boise St.. 8 0 1.000 12 1 .923 W10 Tulsa 6 2 .875 8 4 .667 W5 Fresno St. 6 2 .714 8 5 .615 W1 Hawaii 5 3 .625 8 5 .615 L1 Rice 5 3 .625 5 7 .417 W3 Nevada 4 4 .500 6 6 .500 L1 Louisiana Tech 3 5 .375 5 7 .417 L2 San Jose St. 2 6 .250 3 8 .273 L2 UTEP 1 7 .125 2 11 .154 L7 SMU 0 8 .000 0 12 .000 L12
Warriors in ’03
The University of Hawaii finished 8-5 this year. Here's a game-by-game summary of the season (visitor listed first):
Jason Whieldon plays for suspended Tim Chang and throws three TD passes to housemate Jeremiah Cockheran.
Appalachian St. 17 Hawaii 40
Reggie Bush rushes for two TDs and Matt Leinart passes for two more for USC. Chang passes for 306 yards and two scores, but is picked twice.
Hawaii 32 USC 61
Dyante Perkins' two TD runs, Dillon Pieffer's four field goals and six Hawaii turnovers do in the Warriors.
Hawaii 22 UNLV 33
Gerald Welch catches two TD passes from former high school teammate Chang and UH rolls in its WAC opener.
Rice 21 Hawaii 41
The Warriors fall to 0-3 on the road as Hurricane QB James Kilian runs for 115 yards.
Hawaii 16 Tulsa 27
Chang throws five TD passes and Travis LaBoy bags two of Hawaii's five sacks.
Fresno St. 28 Hawaii 55
Chang heaves five more TD passes as the Warriors pull off a road win despite Ryan Moats' 267 yards rushing.
Hawaii 44 Louisiana Tech 41
Mel Purcell makes 12 tackles, including two sacks, for Hawaii. Justin Ayat makes all four field goals but misses two of three extra-point tries.
UTEP 15 Hawaii 31
West Keli'ikipi scores twice and the Warriors win their second road game of the year. Time runs out on the Spartans with the ball inches from the Hawaii goal line.
Hawaii 13 San Jose State 10
Chad Owens and LaBoy score TDs in the space of 11 seconds, but Nevada steals back the momentum for good with Derek Kennard Jr.'s 11-yard TD interception return.
Hawaii 14 Nevada 24
The Warriors pile up a school-record 741 yards as Owens (168) and Jason Rivers (117) surpass the century mark in receiving yards and John West rushes for three TDs. Whieldon sets the stage for a QB controversy by completing 16 of 17 passes.
Army 28 Hawaii 59
Ikaika Curnan makes 15 tackles and Lance Samuseva gets a safety as defense leads Hawaii to one of the program's biggest wins. Chang is booed several times by many in the home crowd at Aloha Stadium.
Alabama 29 Hawaii 37
Backup RB Donny Heck rushes for four TDs and the Broncos use a 12-play, 91-yard drive in the third quarter to establish control. The Warriors harass BSU's Ryan Dinwiddie with four sacks, including two by Isaac Sopoaga, but poor special-teams play hurts Hawaii.
Boise St. 45 Hawaii 28
Offense
Shade denotes starter (subject to change):
NO NAME HT. WT. CL 4 Kevin Kolb 6-3 220 Fr. 7 Shang Moore 6-1 200 Fr. 10 Matt Stanley 6-3 205 So. 12 Blade Bassler 6-4 220 So. 16 Bart Zavaletta 6-1 200 Sr. 6 Anthony Evans 5-10 215 So. 20 Mialon Collins 5-5 165 Fr. 22 Anthony Alridge 5-10 165 Fr. 24 Bobby Tillman 5-11 210 Jr. 25 Stephen Scott 5-10 195 Fr. 31 Charles Sapp 5-11 190 Sr. 33 Saleem Fernandez 5-7 182 Jr. 23 Carl Francis 5-10 245 Jr. 27 Jackie Battle 6-2 250 Fr. 32 Matt Schirmer 6-0 240 Jr. 36 John Teeters 5-9 220 So. 39 Travis Griffith 6-5 260 Jr. 1 Bennie Swain 6-2 175 Fr. 2 Harrison Arceneaux 6-2 190 Sr. 3 Chad McCullar (WR/PR) 5-10 170 So. 8 Brandon Middleton 5-11 185 Sr. 9 Leonard Gibson 6-1 205 Fr. 17 Vincent Marshall 5-7 170 So. 29 Perry McDaniel 5-8 170 Fr. 80 Josh Carethers 6-2 205 Fr. 83 Donnie Avery 5-11 175 Fr. 86 Mark Hopkins 6-4 208 Jr. 34 Chioke Lazarus 6-6 250 Sr. 81 Jacob Jones 6-1 225 So. 82 Stephen Cucci 6-4 270 Sr. 87 Jonathan Pritchett 6-4 245 Sr. 7 Dustin Bell 6-2 230 Jr. 14 Justin Laird 6-2 195 Fr. 47 Brock Johnston 5-10 170 Fr. 85 Nick Sharp (K/P) 6-0 187 Fr. 39 J.J. Wyatt (H) 5-11 210 Jr. 43 Jimmy McClary 6-6 225 Sr. 52 Taylor Cobb 6-1 315 Fr. 54 Drew Zaromsky 6-4 275 Fr. 57 Jeff Akeroyd 6-3 290 Fr. 61 Byron Alfred 6-2 280 Fr. 63 Willie Thomas III 6-3 360 Jr. 64 Cody Johnson 6-8 312 Fr. 65 Beau Tuft 6-5 290 Fr. 67 Jaron Barganier 6-0 310 Sr. 68 Brandon Evans (RG) 6-4 340 Sr. 69 James Hong 6-5 300 So. 70 David Douglas 6-3 335 So. 71 Roy Swan (LG) 6-2 350 So. 72 John McGilvray 6-5 285 So. 73 Dustin Dickinson 6-3 280 Fr. 74 Jason Wagner 6-5 290 Fr. 75 Phil Hawkins (LT) 6-5 312 Jr. 76 Rex Hadnot (C) 6-2 330 Sr. 77 Matt Mattox (RT) 6-4 295 Sr.
Defense
Shade denotes starter (subject to change):
NO NAME HT. WT. CL 13 Farouk Adelekan 6-2 275 Sr. 48 John Harrell 6-1 280 Fr. 57 Chris Roy 5-9 230 Fr. 62 Kade Lane (RT) 6-2 260 So. 79 Gerard Richard 6-3 300 So. 88 Kendrick Goss 6-4 270 Jr. 90 Joe Clay (LE) 6-1 260 Jr. 92 Carlos Garces 6-1 265 Fr. 93 Eddie McCray (RE) 6-3 231 Fr. 94 Matthew Bentley 6-2 280 So. 98 L.C. Kirkpatrick 6-2 275 Fr. 99 Marquay Love (LT) 6-0 300 Fr. 1 Wade Koehl 6-2 215 Fr. 33 Damien West (MLB) 6-2 245 Sr. 39 Andrew Reese 6-1 205 So. 40 Austin Griffith 6-2 200 Fr. 41 Trent Allen 6-1 220 Fr. 44 Lance Everson (OLB) 6-2 230 Jr. 45 Bryant Brown (OLB) 6-2 220 So. 47 Ji Yun 5-11 235 Sr. 51 Micah Kellum 6-4 200 Fr. 54 Gus Zavaletta 5-11 245 Sr. 55 Ashley Subingsubing 6-0 225 Jr. 2 Roland Cola (CB) 5-10 180 Sr. 3 Jermain Woodard (S) 6-0 215 Sr. 4 Roshawn Pope (KR) 5-10 190 So. 10 Willie Gaston 5-10 185 So. 14 Ricky Wilson (CB/KR) 5-10 180 Fr. 15 Courtney Sterling 5-7 170 So. 16 Courtney Brooks 6-3 220 Jr. 18 Will Gulley (S) 6-4 205 So. 21 Stanford Routt 6-1 190 Jr. 21 Gerard Price 5-9 170 Fr. 23 Byron Carter 5-10 185 Fr. 26 Marcus Ross 5-11 175 Fr. 31 Gerard Daniels 5-8 170 Jr. 34 Jonathan Fantroy 5-9 195 So. 37 Rocky Schwartz 5-11 180 Fr. 42 Corbin Mozisek 6-1 220 Sr. 38 Thomas Gafford 6-2 215 Jr.
