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Good morning, ohana!
Our Hawai'i Wayfinders finished the 2049 season with a strong 11-5 record, winning the NC West to secure their first playoff berth since 2043, back when they were still known as the Pearl Harbor Defenders. The Wayfinders managed to win in the wild card round even without the services of stud RB Shawn Middleton, who was placed on IR during the late stages of the regular season. The Wayfinders finally fell in the division round to Columbus, a team which undoubtedly had Hawaii's number last year, beating them by over 30 points in each of their two meetings.
The offseason began on a bittersweet note with the widely expected retirement of QB Heath Morton, who had just finished his strongest season in Honolulu. The Wayfinders front office was hoping he would stay on another year to provide a bridge to the next young QB, but Morton decided that now was the time to hang 'em up. Less expected were the retirements of LG Mitchell Hernandez, who retired suddenly in his prime on the advice of his doctor, and FS Emmitt Lake, who was the quiet leader of the Wayfinders secondary. To make matters worse, despite their best efforts, Hawai'i was unable to secure a deal to move up to the top of the draft to select their next franchise QB, who wound up going fourth overall to New Orleans. All things considered, it was definitely not the smoothest start to the offseason for the Wayfinders.
But the front office bounced back quickly. While the early setbacks complicated matters, the Wayfinders were in a solid position to begin with, having both a modest amount of available cap space and a largely intact roster (48 players from last season remained under contract going into the offseason). The three biggest areas of need have now been at least somewhat addressed: a fan favorite and local hero born and raised on Maui, QB Sawyer Rogers, was signed in free agency to replace Morton. While Rogers is in the latter stages of his career and is also coming off a difficult knee injury, he is beloved in the islands and should, if healthy, provide much-needed stability at the sport's most important position. Hawai'i also traded a fifth round pick for LG Bryant Pearsall, an all-league caliber guard, to fill the shoes of the departed Hernandez, and signed long-term deals with both Pearsall and pass rushing DE Xavier Sims.
Then, when their number finally came up in the draft, the Wayfinders were pleasantly surprised to find Colorado State's standout S Kris Page still on the board. "We almost didn't even talk to him," said GM nexttwelveexits, "because while we liked his measurables, we weren't sure he'd be a perfect fit for what we want to do. But some of the scouts pushed hard for him, so we brought him in for a private workout and we were totally blown away. This kid is the real deal. I was certain he'd never fall to us at 27; we had him as the #1 safety in the class, graded him top 10 overall, and four other guys went before him. We are extremely, extremely lucky to have Kris join our ohana." Page possesses outstanding instincts and coverage skills and is just as comfortable playing in the box as he is dropping into a deep zone. The Wayfinders expect him to develop into one of the type of player who keeps offensive coordinators up at night with his ability to be seemingly everywhere on any given snap.
The Wayfinders also added S Nicky Howard at the safety position. Howard is a veteran with proven leadership skills who should be an effective, stabilizing locker room presence following the departures of Lake and Claude Dugger. Between Page and Howard, the Wayfinders believe they have found some quality answers in their defensive backfield.
Only a handful of questions remain about the 2050 training camp roster. The team still needs to add another running back to the stable, and with uncertainty surrounding Rogers' Week 1 availability, they will need to find another option or two there as well. The Wayfinders have plenty of depth at guard, but not necessarily at any of the other positions along the offensive line. However, as it stands the 2050 Hawai'i Wayfinders football roster is becoming settled, and it's got plenty of talent for the coaching staff to work with.
Our Hawai'i Wayfinders finished the 2049 season with a strong 11-5 record, winning the NC West to secure their first playoff berth since 2043, back when they were still known as the Pearl Harbor Defenders. The Wayfinders managed to win in the wild card round even without the services of stud RB Shawn Middleton, who was placed on IR during the late stages of the regular season. The Wayfinders finally fell in the division round to Columbus, a team which undoubtedly had Hawaii's number last year, beating them by over 30 points in each of their two meetings.
The offseason began on a bittersweet note with the widely expected retirement of QB Heath Morton, who had just finished his strongest season in Honolulu. The Wayfinders front office was hoping he would stay on another year to provide a bridge to the next young QB, but Morton decided that now was the time to hang 'em up. Less expected were the retirements of LG Mitchell Hernandez, who retired suddenly in his prime on the advice of his doctor, and FS Emmitt Lake, who was the quiet leader of the Wayfinders secondary. To make matters worse, despite their best efforts, Hawai'i was unable to secure a deal to move up to the top of the draft to select their next franchise QB, who wound up going fourth overall to New Orleans. All things considered, it was definitely not the smoothest start to the offseason for the Wayfinders.
But the front office bounced back quickly. While the early setbacks complicated matters, the Wayfinders were in a solid position to begin with, having both a modest amount of available cap space and a largely intact roster (48 players from last season remained under contract going into the offseason). The three biggest areas of need have now been at least somewhat addressed: a fan favorite and local hero born and raised on Maui, QB Sawyer Rogers, was signed in free agency to replace Morton. While Rogers is in the latter stages of his career and is also coming off a difficult knee injury, he is beloved in the islands and should, if healthy, provide much-needed stability at the sport's most important position. Hawai'i also traded a fifth round pick for LG Bryant Pearsall, an all-league caliber guard, to fill the shoes of the departed Hernandez, and signed long-term deals with both Pearsall and pass rushing DE Xavier Sims.
Then, when their number finally came up in the draft, the Wayfinders were pleasantly surprised to find Colorado State's standout S Kris Page still on the board. "We almost didn't even talk to him," said GM nexttwelveexits, "because while we liked his measurables, we weren't sure he'd be a perfect fit for what we want to do. But some of the scouts pushed hard for him, so we brought him in for a private workout and we were totally blown away. This kid is the real deal. I was certain he'd never fall to us at 27; we had him as the #1 safety in the class, graded him top 10 overall, and four other guys went before him. We are extremely, extremely lucky to have Kris join our ohana." Page possesses outstanding instincts and coverage skills and is just as comfortable playing in the box as he is dropping into a deep zone. The Wayfinders expect him to develop into one of the type of player who keeps offensive coordinators up at night with his ability to be seemingly everywhere on any given snap.
The Wayfinders also added S Nicky Howard at the safety position. Howard is a veteran with proven leadership skills who should be an effective, stabilizing locker room presence following the departures of Lake and Claude Dugger. Between Page and Howard, the Wayfinders believe they have found some quality answers in their defensive backfield.
Only a handful of questions remain about the 2050 training camp roster. The team still needs to add another running back to the stable, and with uncertainty surrounding Rogers' Week 1 availability, they will need to find another option or two there as well. The Wayfinders have plenty of depth at guard, but not necessarily at any of the other positions along the offensive line. However, as it stands the 2050 Hawai'i Wayfinders football roster is becoming settled, and it's got plenty of talent for the coaching staff to work with.
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