UH coaches bring 808 BIGS lineman clinic to Hilo's Wong Stadium

University of Hawaii coaches brought an 808 BIGS lineman clinic to Wong Stadium in Hilo on Saturday, giving Hawaii Island offensive and defensive line prospects a rare chance to work face-to-face with Rainbow Warriors staff without leaving the Big Island. While many of their peers were off at Keaukaha, the linemen stayed in the heat for a workout that was as much about visibility as it was about technique.

UH associate head coach and linebackers coach Chris Brown and tight ends and special teams analyst Jeremy Kerr joined 808 BIGS organizers on the field. Brown entered 2026 in his fifth year on the Hawaii staff after arriving before the 2022 season, and his background includes back-to-back national championships at Bishop Gorman in 2015 and 2016, plus five state titles. Kerr joined the staff in August 2025, and the 2026 coaching list also includes recruiting-focused jobs such as director of recruiting and director of player personnel, a sign of how much the program leans on identifying talent beyond Honolulu.

Brown has said the program needs to be visible on every island to find players and to show them that they can stay home and still compete at the college level. That pitch is easier to make after Hawaii finished 9-4 in 2025, went 7-1 at home and 2-3 away, and beat California 35-31 in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 in a comeback that tied the largest in program history. The matchup was the first postseason meeting between Hawaii and Cal, and Timmy Chang was named AFCA Region 5 Coach of the Year after leading the Rainbow Warriors to their first nine-win season since 2019.

The line-focused clinic mattered because linemen do not always get the same showcase opportunities as skill-position players in 7-on-7 settings. Sessions built around technique, one-on-one work and fundamentals can have an outsized effect on players who may not get noticed as quickly in camp circuits centered on speed and passing.

UH’s own season review offered a local example of why that development matters. Guard Zhen Sotelo allowed zero sacks in 936 snaps, the third-most among Mountain West linemen, underscoring the level of play the Rainbow Warriors want to keep building. For Hilo athletes hoping to follow that path, a Saturday visit from Brown and Kerr made the road to Mānoa feel a little shorter.