Hawaii actually began the new college football season with four players at quarterback. It also sounds like the door is open for Maika Eugenio to return to the program at a later date.
His mysterious departure remains unexplained.
The college football program did not provide a reason for Eugenio’s sudden exit. Nor will it rule out a return.
Hawaii has four players at quarterback.
The Rainbow Warriors opened fall camp on Wednesday with exactly one month until the season-opener between Hawaii and Stanford. They had four quarterbacks on the roster, including two new additions.
Preseason Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year Micah Alejado returns as the incumbent starter. The redshirt sophomore signal-caller completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,106 yards and 24 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season. He led Hawaii to nine wins in 2025. There expectations are just as high, if not higher, in 2026.
Behind Alejado on the depth chart is former three-star recruit Bjorn Jurgensen. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Virginia transfer took a redshirt last season. He is expected to be the backup.
This is where things start to get interesting. The Rainbow Warriors went through spring practice with three quarterbacks. One of them was recently removed from the team, which created a severe quarterback problem. What happened if Alejado and Jurgensen were both unable to play?
That’s where Hazyn Botelho and Isaac Jaramilla Phe come in. They were both added to the roster for fall camp.
Botelho is a true freshman who played at nearby Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama on O’ahu. He played three seasons of varsity football at quarterback and wide receiver. Hawaii is obviously very familiar with the local kid. It will use him on the scout team.
Phe is going to serve as QB3. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound fifth-year senior transferred in to the program from West Virginia Wesleyan after three seasons at Mary Hardin-Baylor. He did not take a snap for the Bobcats in 2025 due to a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. The Rainbow Warriors first reached out to gauge his interest on Father’s Day and added him to the roster earlier this month.
“A spot opened up (two weeks ago). They asked if I was still open to the opportunity of joining […] I’m half-Filipino, half-Cambodian. I have a lot of family on the island. Right now, I’m staying with some of my family (on Oahu). For all our breaks, when we lived in California, every vacation we’d come here and stay with family. I enjoyed that.”
Head coach Timmy Chang and Alejado are glad to have depth at the position.
It also sounds like Hawaii is not going to rule out a return of the quarterback who just left.
What happened to Maika Eugenio?
The Rainbow Warriors needed to add Phe and Botelho to the roster to fill the void left by OT7 standout Maika Eugenio’s unexpected and unexplained departure. The true freshman quarterback spent the entire spring as QB3. He was removed from the roster earlier this month. Nobody seems to know exactly why.
There are a number of rumors that continue to swirl surrounding the departure of Eugenio. Nothing has been confirmed.
However, Timmy Chang has not ruled out a return. It is too early to tell.
#HawaiiFB HC Timmy Chang was asked by @c_shimabuku about a potential return of Maika Eugenio to the program:
— Michael Lasquero (@MichaelLasquero) July 30, 2026
“It’s too early to tell right now. But we do wish him the best. In our program, when we bring guys in, we want them to be into our family, and into the Braddahhood… https://t.co/Xhu1AMh2mz pic.twitter.com/oVZVLhuBWS
Based on how the head coach talked about his former quarterback, it sounds like Eugenio is dealing with some personal issues. If he is able to get things figured out, he could rejoin the team in the future. That has yet to be determined.
In the meantime, Hawaii continues to keep the reason for his exit under wraps. We still don’t know why he left.