Freshman Phenom honored by 247 Sports
Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado stole the show on the Rainbow Warriors' Senior Night in Saturday's 38-30 win over New Mexico. After completing 37 of 57 passes for 469 yards and five touchdowns, the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman product is the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week.
Senior nights are usually all about, well, seniors. That wasn't the case this weekend in Honolulu, where Hawaii true freshman quarterback Micah Alejado stole the show en route to becoming the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week for Week 14.
Alejado made his first career start as Brayden Schager, who had made 33 straight starts entering Saturday evening, dealt with a sprained knee.
It turned out to be a passing-of-the-torch moment from senior to freshman, because Alejado made the most of his moment. He finished the evening 37-of-57 passing for 469 yards and five touchdowns. Alejado added 54 yards rushing on 10 carries in a season-capping 38-30 win for the Rainbow Warriors (5-7) over New Mexico.
That performance — the most passing yards by any true freshman this season — was more than good enough for Alejado to earn the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week.
"Preparing for the starting job, I felt really excited," Alejado said. "I've been waiting for this moment for the whole season, and it felt like I was back to my old self."
Alejado set Hawaii's single-game passing mark by a freshman in a win, passing program legend — and his current coach — Timmy Chang's mark from the 2000 season.
"Really excited for him," Chang said. "You never know how a true freshman is going to come out here and play. But he's different. He's really different."
Perhaps it shouldn't be all that surprising to see the left handed quarterback dealing on the college level. He was, after all, remarkably productive at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.
Alejado helped Bishop Gorman to three consecutive state titles from 2021 to 2023, finishing his high school career with 9,223 yards and 125 touchdowns against just four interceptions while completing 74.8% of his passes.
After winning 2022 MaxPreps National Junior Player of the Year, Alejado was comically productive as a senior in 2024. He finished that year with 2,714 yards and 35 touchdowns with zero interceptions and a 77.4 completion percentage.
"I saw it in him from early on at Bishop Gorman," Chang said, "We recruited the smack out of him. His mentality is different and he's great player. It's his first start and you're able to see what he can do. We're redshirting him, so he'll be able to come back for four years. Those are the type of guys we want to keep around and make sure they're here. When you have a good quarterback in this offense the sky's the limit."
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Alejado was born in Honolulu. He picked the Rainbow Warriors over offers from Nevada, Old Dominion, UNLV and Utah State.
PREVIOUS TRUE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK WINNERS
Links to 247 Freshman of the week stories.
Week 1: Dylan Stewart, South Carolina EDGE
Week 2: Nick Marsh, Michigan State WR
Week 3: Caden Durham, LSU RB
Week 4: Isaac Wilson, Utah QB
Week 5: Ryan Williams, Alabama WR
Week 6: Koi Perich, Minnesota safety
Week 7: Isaac Brown, Louisville RB
Week 8: Jadan Baugh, Florida RB
Week 9: Jay Crawford, Auburn CB
Week 10: CJ Bailey, NC State QB
Week 11: Jordan Seaton, Colorado LT
Week 12: Emmett Mosley, Stanford WR
Week 13: Cam Coleman, Auburn WR