The world can be a small place, even during a pandemic.
That remains true even for a quarterback who has not been a regular starter at the varsity level yet. Saint Louis sophomore AJ Bianco netted his second scholarship offer on Thursday afternoon. Washington State made the offer in a not-so-surprising twist.
“I think I'll fit good because we run the same offense here at Saint Louis. I feel like I’ll have a good understanding of the playbook,” Bianco said.
Bianco isn't the first Crusader passer to get major attention before becoming a regular starter. Marcus Mariota was offered a scholarship by Oregon as a junior, then became a regular starter as a senior.
The Wazzu staff led by former Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich had actually made an offer to Bianco, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback, when he was an eighth grader. Craig Stutzmann got an up-close look at Bianco and soon an offer came from the Warriors.
“They came over and watched me throw because I had a guy I trained with, Coach Frank Muagututia, who had a relationship with Coach Stutz. Coach Frank was coaching at Maui High. Now he’s at a college (Missouri Southern),” Bianco recalled. “They had other guys to look at. It was good. I was a little nervous. That one, I was throwing to Devon (Sa-Chisholm) from Lahainaluna and some other guys. Devon was my guy.”
The following year, Bianco and family moved to Oahu and he repeated eighth grade at Saint Louis. Fast-forward two years, and Rolovich and staff are at Washington State.
Last summer, Nebraska made an offer to Bianco, who was en route home from a camp at Cal. Former Kalaheo coach Tony Tuioti, now the Cornhuskers defensive line coach, was the point of contact.
“That was before the season. Coach Tony, that’s who called me, then I talked to Coach (Scott) Frost and (quarterbacks) Coach (Mario) Verduzco. They came down for spring ball and took some video of me. I got a call from Coach Cal (Lee) when I was flying back from a Cal Berkley camp. I was boarding the plane, walking into the plane. He said to call Coach Tony,” Bianco said.
The offer from the Huskers came on June 2.
“That was good. Crazy,” Bianco said.
Under a new coaching staff, Hawaii has not re-offered Bianco since Rolovich and staff departed for Washington State.
Bianco has kept busy, training with Marcus Kimura, getting throws in with former Crusader and current Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro. In March, Bianco competed at the Elite 11 in Los Angeles.
The COVID-19 lockdown is keeping teams home, unable to get in precious throwing and catching reps. Now, he gets the online homework assignments done and gets busy each day.
“We have a park above our place and I’ve been throwing with Chevan on weekends. His brothers Nalu and Braden catch passes,” Bianco said. “I haven’t been lifting as much. With my trainer, Marcus Kimura, and we usually go run a hill and do cardio work.”
Bianco hasn’t done specific work for the collarbone he injured.
“I had to do different things, not as much upper body, but more now. That was just a crazy accident the way I landed,” he said.
Four-time defending state champion Saint Louis will lose its starting pass catchers and quarterback to graduation. Bianco will compete for the starting QB job.
“I think we got some good guys returning. We would be fine with being an underdog. All of our receivers didn’t play a lot last year. All five of our guys in the rotation — Makena (Ramos-Kamaka), Keanu Wallace, Trech (Kekahuna), (Prince) Solomon and Jason de Laura — they’re some playmakers,” Bianco said.
Bianco also played basketball and showed flashes of becoming a consistent scorer. He plans to play again next season. He also has a 4.1 grade-point average.
Beyond Wazzu and Nebraska, one other program has stayed in consistent communication.
“I’ve been talking to Syracuse the most. For sure, ACC. Coach Blair (Cavanaugh),” Bianco said.
Growing up in West Maui, Bianco began playing for the Lahaina Chiefs tackle football team as a first grader.
“That was Tiny Mites. I was playing quarterback, line. I was playing more middle linebacker. I liked quarterback and linebacker, both. I was all right. It was nothing. We ran the power sweep,” he said.
A few years later, his future as a signal caller began to solidify.
“I’d say I really started playing quarterback only in fourth grade. Definitely, more running plays. We started throwing more once I got to Midgets. That was sixth, seventh, eighth grade with Coach Kali Casco. We’d bring in plays every year, but it was nothing crazy,” Bianco said.
The Chiefs won titles in each of his three seasons at the Midgets level. Bianco was 5-10 as a sixth grader playing football and basketball.
“My seventh-grade year we started coming over here. Coach Kali heard about the passing camps with Coach Vinnie (Passas). We’d come over once or twice a month and throw,” he said. “I came over to Saint Louis in eighth grade and mind about repeating. I knew either way, I would have to repeat so it wasn’t a big deal.”
Bianco could not play intermediate football during that repeat year, but absorbed a whole lot anyway.
“I practiced with the varsity. It was a shock. That was Chevan’s (senior) year. Everything was different. The weight room, that was the biggest thing,” he said.
He continued as a freshman, getting ample reps at practice, improving year-round. As a sophomore last fall, he injured a collarbone against Kamehameha. He returned for basketball season as Saint Louis cracked the Top 10 under new coach Dan Hale.
Lockdown status
Top 3 TV shows/movies
1. All-American. I finished the whole thing.
Top 3 Video Games
1. Madden. "I play with the (Kansas City) Chiefs. My favorite play is Play-Action Shot Wheel. I use the Miami Dolphins playbook because they have a really good trips set. The Chiefs have a good playbook, but I like Miami. I’ll play a couple games every day against my friends. Definitely, Jonah Savaiinaea, he’s our right guard. That guy’s the best guy I’ve played. I think we’re pretty even, honestly. In the beginning I was getting more wins, but he’s won the last couple. I think his favorite team is the Chiefs, but I think he likes the Packers, too."
2. Fortnite. "Fortnite’s hard. There’s some good guys on Fortnite. I play more Madden."
3. NBA 2K. "If I can use one team, probably the Clippers. The Lakers are good, but they don’t have as many shooters. My favorite player on 2K is Paul George."
Top 3 foods/snacks
1. Homemade enchiladas. "My sister (Julia) makes them with the green sauce for dinner."
2. Fried rice. "My mom (Momoko) makes it. I never tried to make it."
3. Pasta."Pasta, for sure. Meat sauce and Italian sausage."
Top 3 music artists
1. Drake
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