Peak Perspective: Did the Run-and-Shoot help Hawaii in 2023?

When most college football fans think of Hawaii football, they think of an entertaining pass-happy offense known as the Run-and-Shoot. Like former head coach Nick Rolovich before him, current coach Timmy Chang ran a more traditional offense in his first season until deciding the best course of action was to return to the offensive style that he blossomed under as a player.

The Run-and-Shoot is must-see TV when things are going right, but did it help Hawaii improve its offensive from the 2022 season to the 203 season? In this post, we examine four different categories (team offense, player performance, game scores, and offensive recruiting) in order to find the answer to that question.

Team offensive statistics

Points per game

• 2022: 19.8
• 2023: 21.4

Passing Yards

• 2022: 205.5
• 2023: 276.4

Completion Percentage:

• 2022: 53.3
• 2023: 62.8

Touchdowns per game

• 2022: 1
• 2023: 2.1

Turnovers per game

• 2022: 1.5
• 2023: 1.8

Looking at these big-picture numbers, and the results weren’t as eye-popping as one would think transitioning to a full-time, pass-happy offense. The good news is everything increased, although to varying degrees. Overall passing yards went up about 70 yards per game, which was good for third in the conference, but it was a bit disappointing to see them behind Fresno State, which is a more balanced offense.

Hawaii should be thrilled that the completion percentage improved significantly, considering they attempted about four more passes a game. There is still room to grow, but that is a number the offense can live with. Examining the touchdowns, and it depends on how you want to look at it. The pessimistic side of things would say that barely averaging over two passing TDs a game isn’t going to cut it with this offense, but the optimistic viewpoint is they doubled their touchdowns from last season, which shows the improvement. The interceptions went up as well, but not significantly, and that is to be expected in this style of play.

Player performances

Quarterback

• 2022: Brayden Schager 2348 passing yards, 55.3 completion percentage, 13 TDs
• 2023: Brayden Schager 3542 passing yards, 63.2 completion percentage, 26 TDs

Wide Receiver #1

• 2022: Zion Bowens 494 receiving yards, 14.1 ypc, 4 TDs
• 2023: Steve McBride 1024 receiving yards, 16.3 ypc, 9 TDs

Wide Receiver #2

• 2022: Jalen Walthall 333 receiving yards, 12.3 ypc, 1 TD
• 2023: Pofele Ashlock 832 receiving yards, 10.0 ypc, 9 TDs

Wide Receiver #3

• 2022: Caleb Phillips 317 receiving yards, 10.2 ypc, 3 TDs
• 2023: Koali Nishigava 322 receiving yards, 8.3 ypc, 1 TD

This is where the offensive transition truly comes alive on paper, as the top offensive skill players took huge leaps forward in their production. It all starts with QB Brayden Schager, who is the only person to appear in these categories both years, making it easy to compare him year to year. He threw for nearly 1200 more yards, doubled the number of touchdowns thrown, and raised his completion percentage 8 points. That’s how a quarterback can improve in this offense.

On the receiver side of things, the Rainbow Warriors saw two top pass-catchers thrive after they were developed by the coaching staff. Steve McBride exploded for over 1000 yards, and freshman Pofele Ashlock was a sensation with 800 yards of his own. They both scored 9 touchdowns. Koali Nishigava was the leader of a group of wide receivers who all put up some solid numbers. It is clear a strong group of WRs has emerged following the transition to the run-and-shoot.

Game Scores

2022:

• Wins: 3
• Close losses (7 points or less): 4

2023:

• Wins: 5
• Close losses (7 points or less): 2

During the 2022 season, things started off terribly for the Rainbow Warriors, and it went downhill from there, as they looked outclassed most games. But then, after the bye week, they came out looking like a new team and play competitively much of the second half of the season. This past year, they started off competitive, although there were still some awful losses mixed in.

After implementing the run-and-shoot in 2023, there’s no question there was improvement, as the team went from three wins to five. It does make sense that more wins equals fewer good losses, meaning Hawaii found a way to win. However, it was somewhat of a disappointment that the total number for both remained the same for both years. It’s still an improvement, but does seem to come with some limitations.

Offensive recruiting

2022:

• QB recruit: 83 rating, 80 rating
• WR recruits: 81 rating, 79 rating, not-rated

2023:

• QB recruit: 83 rating
• WR recruits: 83 rating, 83 rating, 81 rating

While the rating itself did not change at all for the quarterback commit, the number may not tell. the entire story. For the 2024 cycle, the Rainbow Warriors found their quarterback from powerhouse Bishop Gorman. While the overall rating may not be all that impressive, getting the starting QB from a top high school program shows how attractive the offense is for quarterback recruits.

Likewise, the wide receiver recruits didn’t see a huge jump in recruiting ratings, but there was definitely an increase. Regardless, it’s worth noting that the highest-rated receiver in the 2023 class is rated the same as the lowest-rated receiver in the 2024 class. It may not be a drastic change, but when it’s looked at from that perspective, it shows the benefits of the switch.

It seems like an indication that Hawaii was able to use their offensive scheme as a recruiting tactic to lure players to the islands. Being able to make a pitch to players that they will be in a system that will allow them to play and put up huge stats has to be appealing to those who fit their scheme and this is probably an area that will continue to increase over the next year or two.

Overall, Hawaii improved in each one of the four categories presented above. That’s the good news. The mild news is that most of the gains were a small step forward rather than a giant leap. It’s fair to say that year one in a new offense will always have kinks to work out, but playmakers at quarterback and wide receiver did emerge. It can also be argued that the offense relies heavy on strong chemistry between a quarterback and his receivers since the routes are based on split-second reads, so both parties need to be on the same page. Hopefully that means another jump forward is coming in 2024, but it can’t be said quite yet that the run-and-shoot offense will turn Hawaii into a perennial bowl team all on its own.