2022 Hula Bowl Review

As the college football season has come to a close, most fans have turned their attention to the NFL Playoffs. But that wasn’t the only thing to look forward to this past weekend. For those that love player evaluation, we got our first All-Star game in the form of the Hula Bowl. While played with more relaxed rules like no blitzing, no kickoffs, and no rushing on field goals or punts; the game was still very entertaining. Team Aina jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Team Kai would then score 21 unanswered points off of three turnovers. However Team Aina would continue to fight, closing the gap down to 21-20. Although they had the ball with less than two minutes to go, Team Aina’s fourth turnover would lock up the win for Team Kai. If you want, you can check out the highlights here.

While the game was entertaining from a fan’s perspective, there were a number of players that stood out.

Best Overall – Charles Williams (RB – UNLV)

In a game where the running backs as a whole looked like the best position group on the field, Williams looked like the best running back. He showed good vision and speed, and looked to be the most explosive of the running backs. He also displayed some nice change of direction skills with a couple of runs as well.

Best Defender – Tayler Hawkins (CB – San Diego St.)

Tayler says that he models his game after Jalen Ramsey, and it shows on the field. Hawkins is a hard hitting DB that flies around the field looking for contact. His coverage skills aren’t too shabby either. He has a good ability to quickly breakdown the play and routes. This was on display when he jumped a quick out route and took it all the way back for six points.

Best Quarterback – Levi Lewis (QB – Louisiana-Lafayette)

In my opinion, quarterback play as a whole wasn’t that great. But that’s understandable considering that the players only had a few days to get to know their teammates who they’ve never played with. While his final numbers weren’t amazing, Lewis displayed his live arm and great mobility. Ron Jaworski, who was calling the game, raved about his experience with Lewis during film study leading up to the game. He stated that Levi was a sponge, asking a ton of questions and trying to learn as much as possible.

Honorable Mentions

Isaih Pacheco (RB – Rutgers)

If Williams was the best running back, Pacheco was a close second. He isn’t a shake and bake guy. Instead, Isiah likes to get north and south, and doesn’t shy away from contact. I also like the burst he was able to display on his runs.

Arron Mosby (DE – Fresno St.)

Mosby showed a good mix of speed rush and straight power on bull rushes throughout the game. It didn’t matter who was rotated into the game at the tackle positions, Mosby gave everyone trouble. But this isn’t a surprise to us, as Draft Dive was on Arron before the season started.

Andrew Ogletree (TE – Youngstown St.)

While the receivers struggled to really display their skills due to the inconsistent quarterback play, Ogletree was on the few that managed to shine. Andrew has good size and nice, long arms to reach over defenders to snag passes. He displayed good route running throughout the game. But his highlight came with he twisted his body to grab a poorly placed pass. This help set up his touchdown catch a few plays later.

Nick Sciba (K – Wake Forest)

Yes… I know, this is a kicker. But Sciba was perfect on his kicks on the day going 2-2 on extra points (NFL distance) and 2-2 on FG attempts. His first FG was from 52, and looked like it could have been good from closer to 60. I wasn’t too surprised to learn that Sciba is Wake Forest’s all-time points leader and most accurate kicker in NCAA history.

 

Wishlist

I wish that we got to see more of Southeast Louisiana quarterback Cole Kelly. He only played the first couple of series before giving way to Levi Lewis, and never saw the field again. Standing at 6’6”, Cole certainly looked the part of NFL quarterback. Sadly, he only got about half a quarter of action.

Hula Bowl review by Brandon Claburn.