HONOLULU -- Backup Hawaii quarterback Jason Whieldon not
only earned respect from fans, teammates and coaches for his
stellar play against Alabama, he also earned a start.
Warriors coach June Jones said Whieldon will start in Saturday's
regular season finale against No. 18 Boise State (11-1, 7-0 Western
Athletic Conference), replacing struggling Timmy Chang.
"I don't have a quarterback controversy on my hands," Jones
said. "Jason certainly deserves to start and play. Timmy will get
his shot to get back in and he'll carry us to victory when he gets
his shot again."
Whieldon threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the
Hawaii Bowl-bound Warriors (8-4, 5-2) rallied to defeat the Crimson
Tide 37-29 last Saturday. He threw touchdown passes of 47 and 20
yards and scored on an 18-yard run in the decisive fourth quarter.
He finished the night 15-of-25 for 237 yards.
"You have to play with emotion and you got to play with pride
and that's what we did," Whieldon said.
Meanwhile, Chang had one of his worst games ever. He missed
several receivers, even on short routes. Chang, who averaged 357.6
passing yards coming into the game against the Tide (4-9), was
7-for-23 for 38 yards.
Chang, the homegrown hero groomed by Jones to lead the Warriors,
was loudly booed by the crowd several times before being benched.
The crowd cheered every time Whieldon took the field.
"It's unfortunate for Hawaii fans to boo a young kid," Jones
said. "That's frustrating for me. But I think a lot of it comes
from the negativity of the media."
Jones said he noticed Chang was off on his first three tosses of
the game, but wanted to keep him in.
"I was going to play Timmy and have him try to battle
through," Jones said. "Guys have to play through this kind of
deal. He was fighting himself a little bit so I put Jason in there
and he did a great job."
Whieldon said he was surprised how the crowd reacted to Chang.
"You never want anyone on your team to get booed," he said.
"That was an unfortunate situation. Fans are tough, I guess. They
want to win."
Moments after the game, Whieldon sought out Chang in the locker
room.
"The first thing I told him was, 'You're a great quarterback.
You're going to bounce back from this. This is just one game,"
Whieldon said.
Receiver Jeremiah Cockheran, who led the Warriors with five
catches for 124 yards and two TDs, said Whieldon was confident and
relaxed, giving the offense the boost it needed.
"He was in a zone," Cockheran said. "You knew he was in a
zone right when he stepped into the huddle."
Whieldon said he had extra incentive to throw to Cockheran.
"He's my roommate so I'm scared if I don't pass him the ball he
might rough me up in my sleep," he said.
Whieldon's ability to run also gave the Warriors another
dimension to their run-and-shoot offense. He has 73 yards on 10
carries the past two games.
The career performance couldn't have come at a better time. Even
though the game was televised nationwide, Whieldon's parents flew
in from California in hopes of seeing their son play in a few
series.
"They've been to our games before, but never when I played,"
he said.
It was the second week in a row Whieldon outshone Chang. In the
Nov. 22 victory over Army, Whieldon was 16-of-17 for 178 yards and
a touchdown. Chang had 356 passing yards in the game, but threw
three interceptions.
Now with Chang benched, all of the attention will be focused on
the curly-haired quarterback from Orange, Calif. Whieldon hasn't
started since the season opener on Aug. 30 against Division I-AA
Appalachian State.