JAMM AQUINO / 2024
Hawaii defensive back Caleb Brown (13) breaks up a pass intended for UNLV wide receiver Ricky White III (11) during the first half of an NCAA football game. Brown is rejoining the University of Hawaii football team.
After a semester at Virginia Tech University, cornerback Caleb “C-Bo” Brown is rejoining the University of Hawaii football team.
Brown, who entered the NCAA transfer portal last week, will begin UH classes on Monday, the start of the spring semester, and participate in the Rainbow Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring training.
Brown said his decision was based largely on his ties with UH head coach Timmy Chang and defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman.
“I feel more comfortable ending my (college) career with Coach Chang and Coach Thurman, and coming back to Hawaii,” Brown said.
Brown played in 23 games in two seasons with the Warriors. He participated in the Warriors’ senior night ceremonies in November 2024. But the next month, he was granted an NCAA exemption that allowed former junior-college players an extra Division I season. Brown played the 2022 season with Butler Community College.
Brown, who grew up in Georgia, entered the 2025 transfer portal with the intent of playing his final college season in the Eastern time zone.
Don’t miss out on what’s happening!
Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It’s FREE!
“I was trying to end it closer to the crib so my family could see me play,” Brown said.
He played in three games, starting two of them, before aggravating a rotator-cuff injury he initially suffered with the Warriors. He underwent a procedure for the season-ending injury. Brown said the shoulder is “fully fixed” and “I’m ready to go.”
Brown and former UH wideout Dekel Crowdus attended the Warriors’ victory over California in the Sheraton Bowl on Christmas Eve.
“Most of the guys I came in with were graduating,” Brown said of the UH cornerbacks collectively known as the 300. “That was their last game until they went off to the real world in pursuit of their dreams. I felt it was the best time to visit. There’s no better place to spend Christmas than Hawaii.”
Brown said that reunion “kind of persuaded me to think about (returning) a little more. … Just watching that, I remembered how much I loved playing at Hawaii. Now it’s full circle.”
Brown also wanted to play under Thurman again.
“He’s all about business,” Brown said. “If you’re not about business, man, just get out of the way. … When he (joined UH in 2024), he showed me what type of player I could be rather than what I was. He’s like a second father figure to me, just with his knowledge in life and to the game. I feel I couldn’t go wrong with that decision (to return).”