Hawaii football signs prized quarterback recruit

In the end, Hawaii got its guy.

Four-year Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) starting quarterback Micah Alejado, who committed to the University of Hawaii football team back in April, solidified his membership in ink on Wednesday, signing his national Letter of Intent with UH on the first day he was permitted to do so.

“It was a lot of stress in the recruiting process but being able to go home and be a Rainbow Warrior, put on for the state, it’s definitely a blessing,” Alejado, who is originally from Ewa Beach, said during his signing ceremony on Wednesday. “Me and my family are really excited to get down there and show what I can do.

 

“Born in the islands, growing up there, it’s the place I love. With Hawaii on the chest, you take pride in that, take pride in the state, representing the state. … Going home, putting it on my chest, gonna rep it and put on for the state. I’m really excited.”

Alejado recently wrapped up his high school football career at Gorman, where he led the Gaels to an unblemished 12-0 record and a MaxPreps national championship. He threw for 2,714 yards, 35 touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 77% of his passes. On Tuesday, he was named the Nevada Player of the Year by MaxPreps as well.

Although Alejado had been committed for eight and a half months, the path to signing day was not a linear one.

Alejado was a visitor during UH’s season finale on Nov. 25, a 27-24 walk-off win for the Rainbow Warriors. Alejado was there with Bishop Gorman running back DeVon Rice, who had also committed to Hawaii over the summer.

Rice received a scholarship offer from Kansas State of the Big 12 Conference in early December and took an official visit to the school prior to signing day. On Dec. 14, he announced he was flipping his commitment from the Rainbow Warriors to the Wildcats.

After incumbent starter Brayden Schager announced his entry into the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 6, Alejado appeared to reaffirm his commitment to Hawaii on his personal X account.

Multiple schools had inquired with Alejado since his commitment to UH, but it is believed UNLV in particular made a strong push leading up to signing day. The mettle of both schools as players in the NIL (name, image and likeness) game has been tested since its legalization on July 1, 2021.

Over the weekend, Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang and linebackers coach Chris Brown made an in-home visit to Alejado, who officially signed with the Rainbow Warriors less than a week later. UNLV ended up flipping UTEP commit and El Paso native Gael Ochoa instead over the weekend, while Schager remained unsigned with a school as of Wednesday afternoon.

“It started with the coaching staff. Every visit I had took down there and every talk I had with them, they were always there for me,” Alejado said of UH. “The environment down there is a family environment, no matter what, where you come from, the family environment is really big there. They all take care of you and stuff and down to the offensive part. Coach Timmy’s run-and-shoot offense has established its own name for itself. Coach Timmy’s been able to break records in the offense and is a college football great in that offense. I’m really excited to get down there and be a part of the offense.”

When asked about Alejado on Wednesday, Chang spoke positively about his outlook.

“Micah’s been solid with us since June. We spent a lot of time because he’s very valuable. We think he’s gonna lead our program one day,” Chang said. “He’s a great quarterback. Anytime you got great quarterbacks, the probability of winning the games goes up. We really believe in him and his skillset. We wanted to give him the attention that he needed so that we can get him landed here.”

Alejado will enroll at UH-Manoa in January and is expected to compete for the starting job immediately, regardless of who else resides in the quarterback room.

“The dream, obviously, is to bring the wins back to Hawaii,” he said. “I grew up in a time when the stadium would be sold out, to hear it from miles away, the stadium, being able to go there and being able to do that, bring pride back to the islands and stuff, hopefully trying to break coach Timmy’s records too and put my name in that kind of book, too.”

 

Source: https://www.khon2.com/sports/hawaii-football-signs-prized-quarterback-recruit/