Exodus continues: Hawaii star linebacker Darius Muasau enters transfer portal

The transfer portal wound that’s left Hawaii football reeling continues to bleed. On Tuesday, linebacker Darius Muasau, who has led the Warriors in tackles back-to-back seasons, and finished first-team all-conference in 2021, has put his name in the transfer portal.

Entrenched starters like quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, running back Dae Dae Hunter, cornerback Cameron Lockridge, and recently wide receiver Nick Mardner have also left the program. Cordeiro is now at San Jose State, Hunter at Liberty, and Lockridge transferred to South Alabama.

Muasau might be the biggest blow of them all. Muasau had 108 total tackles, 7 sacks, and 5 forced fumbles to his name in 2021. He was the heart of the Hawaii defense, a real find for the Warriors despite being underrecruited out of Mililani High School on Oahu. He’s thrived under head coach Todd Graham, making his transfer decision all the more concerning.

Muasau wasn’t alone in this decision. Defensive linemen Jonah Laulu and Justus Tavai also put their names into the transfer portal. Both were starters in 2021.

Needless to say, this is all very bad. Hawaii simply doesn’t have the funds to buyout Todd Graham at the moment if they desired to do so, and there’s no telling when the bleeding will stop. The transfer portal offers Hawaii a chance to fill these enormous losses, but obviously replacing the likes of Cordeiro, Muasau, etc. will be incredibly difficult.

The arrow is pointing downward for Hawaii in 2022. Whatever is happening behind the scenes, it’s resulting in key talent deciding to play elsewhere. The damage is done, and frankly I’m unsure what realistic options Graham, or even Director of Athletics Dave Matlin has at this point. Can he afford to make changes? Can they afford not to? All questions to which I do not have the answers to, but this is all very sad and Hawaii fans deserve better.

I’ll continue to update this post if more key players elect to transfer in the coming days.