Hawai’i defensive back Michael Graham, son of head coach Todd Graham, entered the transfer portal Thursday.
Graham appeared in nine games and recorded two tackles as a freshman this season. Hawai’i’s season ended last week when it withdrew from the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl against Memphis because of COVID-19 issues with the team. Michael Graham is the younger brother of Hawai’i offensive coordinator Bo Graham.
Hawai’i has had 14 players enter the transfer portal since the end of the regular season, including starting quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, All-Mountain West linebacker Darius Muasau and several other starters. SFGATE published a story in early December quoting several anonymous Hawai’i players who criticized the program’s culture under Graham, who is 11-11 in two seasons at the school.
Todd Graham and athletic director David Matlin both released statements Tuesday about the transfer portal after several prominent players entered.
“As a staff, we realized the transfer portal would bring challenges to our team,” Todd Graham’s statement reads. “The portal has been a challenge to many teams this season. We are disappointed to lose any member of our Warrior family to the transfer portal. … Moving forward, we are continuing to listen, learn and improve daily. We are focused on developing the players on our 2022 squad.”
Matlin said in his statement: “The amount of transfers is disappointing however not unusual compared to many other schools around the country, and even within our own conference. We can’t ignore that there are areas we need to improve on. Coach Graham and I are in constant contact and are always looking for ways to make the program better.”
Todd Graham is signed with Hawai’i through the 2024 season.