10 TO WATCH IN 2004:
Tim Chang
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
The UH quarterback eyes records
Chang can be head of
the class as quarterback
The "warm-up" Heisman Trophy campaign is over. And as far as University of Hawaii football coach June Jones is concerned, it was a success. Tim Chang has fans nationwide and his own Web page, and there's even a bobblehead doll in his image.
That didn't keep Chang from being booed and benched last season as a junior, but on Christmas Day he was back on top, named most outstanding player of his team's bowl game. Now everyone around the country who follows college football knows he is the Warriors' quarterback.
The Star-Bulletin is spotlighting 10 people who may have a big impact on Hawaii this year.
The season began with Chang sidelined because of an incomplete class and ended with nary an incomplete pass as he came off the bench to throw for 475 yards and five touchdowns in the Warriors' 54-48 triple-overtime victory against Houston in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Many viewers will only remember the postgame brawl, but enough will recall Chang's storybook return to glory -- including a fourth-quarter drive in which he eluded a torrid Houston rush play after play and willed the Warriors into the end zone.
Now the 23-year-old from Waipahu and Saint Louis School is poised to break the all-time NCAA Division I-A record for career passing yardage this fall. Many say his gaudy numbers are a product of Jones' pass-happy run-and-shoot offensive system. Still, If Chang breaks the record and plays as well as he did in the Hawaii Bowl throughout his senior season, he could be a legitimate contender for college football's most prestigious individual award.
The UH quarterback is the highest-profile athlete in the state, and Chang starts his fifth and final year in that spotlight in September. The glare will become brighter with every pass even in mainland media, and Hawaii football gets an opportunity to be thought of nationally for something other than fighting with visiting opponents.
