In the recruiting whirlwind ahead of today’s opening of the offseason program, the Hawaii football team secured commitments from five transfers this past weekend.
Each will begin strength/conditioning workouts this week, the first of UH’s spring semester, and will participate in the Rainbow Warriors’ spring training that begins Feb. 3.
The Warriors expanded the pipeline with Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman High; added two defensive lineman, including one whose father played 11 NBA seasons and won a championship with the Boston Celtics; and signed a combo/punter named after a New York Yankee legend.
Joining the Warriors are:
— Cornerback Jeremiah Hughes, who played a season at LSU and the past two at Michigan State. Because he played in only four games the past season, he can count 2025 as a redshirt year, leaving him with two seasons of UH eligibility.
— Running back DeVon Rice, who initially committed to UH in 2024 before deciding to sign with Kansas State.
— Defensive tackle Ozzy Pollard, who had eight tackles for loss and five sacks in his lone season with Marian University in Indiana. His father Scott Pollard, who played for five NBA teams, was known for his gritty play, eclectic hairstyles, and a heart transplant that was chronicled in the “Heart of Pearl” documentary.
— D-end Spencer Elliott, who amassed 12 backfield tackles and 6.5 sacks for Portland State last season.
— Kicker/punter Gehrig Heil, who redshirted as a freshman at Texas last season. He was named after Lou Gehrig, who earned the nickname “the Iron Horse” for playing in 2,130 consecutive games, a durability record that stood for 56 years.
Hughes and Rice bring to 16 the number of Bishop Gorman alumni on the Warriors’ 2026 roster. Associate head coach Chris Brown — who was an assistant head coach, linebackers coach and strength/conditioning coordinator with Bishop Gorman — is the engineer of the Gaels-to-Manoa pipeline.
As a Bishop Gorman junior in 2021, Hughes was a wide receiver when 5-star cornerback Justin Rhett was injured. At Brown’s urging, Hughes moved to defense and started in place of Rhett. As a senior, Hughes received a 4-star ranking from ESPN. He played 13 games on special teams for LSU in 2023 before transferring to Michigan State.
Rice, also a Bishop Gorman alumnus, redshirted as a freshman and had limited touches as a running back with K-State this past year. After entering the portal, he warmed to the idea of reuniting with UH quarterback Micah Alejado. Both guided the Gaels to a national title in 2023.
Pollard suffered a knee injury as a Carmel High senior in 2024. Although he still received Division I offers during his recovery, he opted to attend Marian, an NAIA Division II school, “to get a year under my belt and just get back from that injury. I was planning to transfer after that (2025 fall) semester.”
After entering the portal, Pollard received a call from UH assistant coach Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson, who coaches the D-ends. Following Jeff Reinebold’s resignation as coach of the interior line, Pu‘u-Robinson has been handling the entire D-line.
“As I really got to talk to the coaches, I had a really good connection with them,” Pollard said. “The ‘braddahhood,’ I really liked that. It’s true. They’re a really tight unit.”
Pollard, who was not named after Ozzy Osbourne, is 6-4 and 285 pounds.
Elliott was seeking a fresh start after the Portland State coaching staff was released in November. He announced his intent to transfer, but NCAA restrictions prevented him from contacting other schools in December. Soon after the portal opened on Jan. 2, Elliott filed his application. Pu‘u-Robinson was the first to call. UH coaches would make daily calls.
“To me, that was really important,” Elliott said.
PSU quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele, a Punahou graduate who played two UH seasons before transferring last year, endorsed the Warriors.
“He had awesome things to say (about UH),” Elliott said. “He said, ‘it’s a great fit for you. They run a tight ship, but it’s really a lot of tough love.’ He only had good things to say about that program.”
Elliott visited Washington State last week. But after a UH-hosted visit this weekend, Elliott pledged to the Warriors.
“Hawaii felt like home,” Elliott said.
Heil embraced the opportunity to compete at punter or kicker. Punter Billy Gowers transferred to Indiana and All-American placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa applied for the NFL Draft. Heil also said he wanted to play under Thomas Sheffield, UH’s special teams coordinator.
The hang time on Heil’s punts have reached 5.1 seconds.
