Backup Hawaii freshman quarterback Eugenio no longer with Warriors

Freshman quarterback Maika Eugenio is no longer on the University of Hawaii football team’s active roster, head coach Timmy Chang confirmed to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Chang said Eugenio’s omission is based on “personal and team” issues. Chang declined to elaborate.

Eugenio is a former standout quarterback from Bishop Gorman High School, a football and academic powerhouse in Las Vegas. Fifteen alumni of the Gaels are on the Rainbow Warriors’ 2026 roster.

During spring training, Eugenio and Virginia transfer Bjorn Jurgensen were competing to be the top understudy to starting quarterback Micah Alejado. With Alejado recovering from an ankle injury, Eugenio and Jurgensen split the reps during spring training. Alejado, who has fully healed, was announced as the Mountain West’s preseason Offensive Player of the Year at the conference media days in Las Vegas last week.

The Warriors will enter Tuesday’s opening of training camp with three quarterbacks. Incoming freshman Hazyn Botelho, an all-purpose back for Kamehameha in 2025, will compete at quarterback with the Warriors. Chang expects the Warriors to add a fourth quarterback ahead of the Aug. 29 season opener against Stanford.

Eugenio was born on Oahu and lived in Kapolei through the fifth grade before his family moved to Las Vegas. Eugenio played youth football and Little League baseball in Manoa.

As a Bishop Gorman freshman and sophomore, Eugenio was the primary backup to Alejado. After Alejado graduated in December 2023, Eugenio took over the starting job in the fifth game of the 2024 season, throwing six touchdown passes against Orange Lutheran High. In June 2025, Eugenio committed to UH. He added three classes to his 2025 fall schedule to accelerate his time line toward a diploma.

In 2025, Eugenio played six games with injuries to his ribs. In that span, he completed 74.5% of his passes while throwing for 26 touchdowns. He also averaged 10.7 yards a rush. The Gaels won those six games by a combined 303-13.

Eugenio completed work on a diploma in December 2025. The next month, he enrolled at UH, then competed in spring ball and the Warriors’ offseason conditioning program.

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