After opening the season with a statement win over Stanford, the University of Hawaii football team returned to the practice field Tuesday with attention focused squarely on the health of starting quarterback Micah Alejado.
Alejado, the reigning Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, was sidelined from football activities as he continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered in the second half of the Rainbow Warriors’ 23-20 victory.
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver handled the bulk of the snaps Tuesday, though head coach Timmy Chang said he expects Alejado to play when Hawaii (1-0) visits Arizona (0-0) on Saturday.
“Micah is trying to heal that ankle injury that he’s going through,” Chang said. “It’s day to day right now, but he’s expected to go. He’s been aggressive in his rehab process and has been here all day the last few days. As long as it continually gets better, we’re expecting him to go.”
Senior offensive lineman and co-captain Zhen Sotelo said the team is confident in its depth at quarterback.
“We’re truly confident in all our quarterbacks,” Sotelo said. “They all are mentally prepared. With Luke stepping up as a leader, he’s doing a good job of being vocal. It’s still early in the week, and we’re adjusting to a different look than Stanford, but we’ll be ready.”
Chang added that Weaver will continue to get increased practice reps. “The more reps that we can give Luke, we just plan on him continuing to get better,” he said. “We’re going to help him, make sure he’s comfortable, and give him the best chance to succeed.”
Also receiving work Tuesday was UCLA transfer Demarcius Davis.
Hawaii and Arizona are scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. HT on Saturday.
The game will be televised nationally on TNT, with radio coverage on ESPN Honolulu.
As of Tuesday, the Wildcats were listed as 17-point favorites.