brayden schager

We're baaaack. The 2022 edition of Fee Fi Foe Film makes its grand return this week with a pair of pieces that are going to be pretty ugly. By many measures, Hawaii is one of the worst teams Michigan has played in some time, perhaps all the way back to UMass in 2012. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-2 with two blowout losses against teams that projected to be not great or even very bad this season. And yet, this piece is the better side of the football. Strap in, and get ready. 

The Film: Hawaii has played two games already this season, having played in Week 0 and Week 1. That left us with two options, the former against Vanderbilt and the latter against Western Kentucky. Though WKU may be the better team (time will tell), Vanderbilt is (allegedly) a Power 5 school and has a more talented roster. Neither team is remotely analogous to Michigan but Vanderbilt is probably closer, even if just on the margins. Besides, the decision was made for me due to availability of the film: the Vandy game took place on CBS Sports Network, a cable channel that a number of people have, while the WKU game was broadcast on "Spectrum Sports Pay-Per-View", a streaming service that no one has. Getting a quality version of the WKU game that I could clip was not going to be easy, so Vandy it is. 

Personnel: The return of the chart. Click to enlarge. PDF is here.

Hawaii is engaged in a QB rotation for the opposite reason Michigan is: both guys are really bad. Brayden Schager is in his second year in the program after getting some run last season. He has been largely overmatched, starting against Vandy, getting yanked, then coming back in to finish that one. Joey Yellen came in in relief and then started the WKU contest, before being yanked for Schager. I am expecting Schager to start but it could be either one and it probably won't matter. We will delve more into that later. 

The RB position also has a rotation. Dedrick Parson was a guy I had high expectations for and is still the nominal Dangerman for this piece, but fumble problems have beset him and led to the rise of Nasjzaé Bryant-Lelei, who got a lot of snaps in the WKU game. Jordan Johnson is the #3 back, while the bite sized Air Force transfer Tylan Hines is a tiny receiving back type. 

At WR, there is a rotation of guys. Hawaii runs a pass-heavy offense and normally plays with three WRs on the field, which are typically three of outside receivers Jonah Panoke and Jalen Walthall, as well as slots James Phillips and Dior Scott. Zion Bowens was projected to have a major role in the offense as a lead outside receiver entering the season, but an injury very early in the Vandy game has left him sidelined. I do not know his status for Saturday. 

Hawaii typically plays in 11 personnel, with the TE most often being Jordan Murray, a Missouri State transfer. He is a receiving TE who flexes out often. Caleb Phillips comes on in 12 personnel or replaces Murray on running plays out of 11 personnel, being a blocking-first TE. The Rainbow Warriors have a pretty set offensive line, with returning starters Ilm Manning and Micah Vanterpool at LT and RG, while LG Stephen Bernal-Wendt, C Eliki Tanuvasa, and RT Austin Hopp have slid into starting roles. Sergio Muasau has played some snaps as the 6th OL, but the line is the most concrete area on the offensive depth chart.