Tim Chang: Cool under pressure
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Needing extra money for a deposit on a new apartment, University of Hawai'i quarterback Tim Chang accepted a job as a waiter for a catering company. Unfortunately for Chang, one of his assignments was to work at an Aloha Stadium luncheon attended by the UH football coaching staff and the media.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
But Chang, as usual, remained unruffled when surrounded by the hecklers.
After watching Tim Chang work his first two-minute drill, UH coach June Jones went into a team meeting and told the other coaches: “This guy is special.”
"He's always cool," said Dan Morrison, who coaches the UH quarterbacks.
Even as a freshman last year, Chang appeared to have Freon in his veins.
"It can get to you," Chang said of both the media attention and the pressure of playing the most visible position as a first-year player. "But if you don't let it get to your head, I think you'll be all right as a person. I try to keep things to myself and keep working hard."
His growth is apparent in his appearance. In his last football game as a St. Louis School senior in November 1999, the 6-foot-2 Chang weighed 170 pounds. He played last season at 190 pounds. Now, he said, patting his six-pack abdomen, "I'm up to 205."
He added strength through a six-days-a-week schedule of bench presses, squat lifts, sprints and distance runs.
After watching Chang walk to unsupervised workouts this summer, the coaches decided to expand the playbook, crafting longer pass routes to take advantage of Chang's improved arm strength and accuracy.
Chang also believes he has developed more patience, an asset for someone with one of the quickest pass releases in the Western Athletic Conference. In most offenses, it takes up to 3.5 seconds from the snap to the pass release. But Chang's snap-to-release time has been clocked between 2.5 seconds and 3.0. Only one of his 469 attempts was knocked down by a defensive lineman.
The coaches insist that if Chang takes another half-second before passing, a few more options will open.
Morrison said Chang also can buy time because of his elusiveness and ability to "sense pass-rushers."
That "sense," in football parlance, is referred to as "feeling the pressure." Chang compares it to "feeling somebody staring at you. You just know that person is there without seeing him."
Said UH coach June Jones: "The great ones have it. It's innate."
As a former pro coach and quarterback, Jones said, "I've been around the great ones. I sensed it with him in his first two-minute drill. I knew right then. I went into a team meeting and told the other coaches, 'This guy is special.' "
Morrison said Chang can read the passing lanes without turning to search for pass-rushers. "If you look for (pass) pressure, you'll lose your vision downfield," Morrison said. "Timmy doesn't get distracted."
Chang is helped by several escape traps. The pass pocket is designed to be seven yards wide at the mouth. If defenses collapse the perimeters, he can step up into two "air bubbles" within the pocket.
"By the end of (last) season, he had a better understanding of where to go," Morrison said.
As a result, the Warriors yielded 10 sacks in 630 pass plays last year.
"We love him," said Mike Cavanaugh, who coaches the blockers.
