ASU staff directors happy to have honed their craft at Hawaii

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A significant part of Hawaii football history can be found in the desert.

At Arizona State, Jason Cvercko is the Sun Devils’ associate athletic director and chief of staff. Josh Omura, an ‘Iolani School alumnus, is the executive director of player personnel and recruiting for ASU. Both are welcoming Saturday’s reunion when the Sun Devils play host to the Rainbow Warriors at Mountain American Stadium in Tempe.

A decade ago, Cvercko and Omura were involved in constructing the Warriors’ roster. Cvercko was in charge of recruiting and retention for two years before being promoted to the Warriors’ chief of staff in 2018. Omura worked in UH’s recruiting department, although for bookkeeping purposes he was listed as a quality-control coach.

“For me and my family, we loved our time in Hawaii,” said Cvercko, who was on head coach Nick Rolovich’s UH staff for four years. “That’s where our son Nash was born. We loved it there. It felt like a family. We fell in love with the culture, and just everything about Hawaii in general.”

Omura said: “Rolo gave me an opportunity to come home (after coaching at high schools on the continent). It was some of the best years for me.”

Omura spent time with his 96-year-old grandmother in her final days. “It’s time I won’t ever get back, but time I treasured,” Omura said.

Under Rolovich, there was collaborative recruiting among assistant coaches and Cvercko. During that four-year period through Rolovich’s departure to Washington State in 2020, the Warriors signed quarterbacks Chevan Cordero, Cole McDonald, and Dru Brown; receivers Cedric Byrd, JoJo Ward, and Jonah Panoke; offensive linemen Ilm Manning and Kohl Levao; D-lineman Jonah Laulu, and linebackers Jeremiah Pritchard and Darius Muasau.

Cvercko had the most convincing argument to sign Nick Mardner, a wideout from Canada. UH also secured a commitment from Cordero before he took a snap as Saint Louis School’s starting quarterback. Cordero was a backup to Tua Tagovailoa.

“We found certain traits,” Cvercko said. “They might not have been the most heavily recruited. But they all had something in them, and were all competitive. And when you meet them, you just know. They all had that chip on their shoulder.”

Omura started off in college football’s metaphorical version of the mail room. In addition to his analyst work, he organized recruiting visits, chose the musical playlist for practices, and went on Costco runs to pick up ingredients for sandwiches that UH was allowed to provide for players. But Omura learned the business under Cvercko’s mentorship. When Cvercko was named chief of staff in 2018, Omura became more involved in recruiting.

“Jason formed everything I know how to do in this industry,” Omura said. “It kept growing from there. I kept getting more responsibilities.”

After the 2019 season, Rolovich accepted the head coaching job at Washington State. Cvercko decided to follow Rolovich. Prior to joining UH, Rolovich was Nevada’s offensive coordinator. Rolovich hired Cvercko at Nevada.

“That was a difficult decision because we loved our time in Hawaii,” Cvercko said. “I was with Coach Rolo for a lot of years. He always took care of me. I trusted him. … I’m fortunate he brought me out (to Nevada and then Hawaii). He gave me a chance and helped start my career.”

After two years at Washington State, Cvercko worked at Boise State. And then ASU recommended Cvercko.

“I love Arizona State,” Cvercko said. “It’s very family oriented. (Head coach Kenny Dillingham) lets me miss certain things so I can do stuff with my family. He’s very personable and player-oriented. It’s been a lot of fun to work here.”

Omura remained at UH during what was supposed to be a transition from Rolovich to his successor. Todd Graham, who replaced Rolovich, retained Omura as director of on-campus recruiting. Omura said he learned “an absolute ton” from Graham and his staff.

That proved helpful when he was hired as Washington State’s director of recruiting in February 2021. He held that title at ensuing stops at Arizona and Washington. In February 2025, ASU offered Omura the executive director’s job overseeing personnel and recruiting.

Cvercko and Omura are enjoying working together again. Cvercko’s family has expanded with the addition of daughter Brook. She was named after Stoney Brook University, where Cvercko and his wife met.

Omura and his wife recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. They have a 1-year-old daughter. Omura also looks back fondly of his time at UH, where he interacted with some of his football heroes.

“It was kind of the fanboy in me, too, to be around guys like Rolo and Stutz,” Omura said of the QB-receiver duo of Nick Rolovich and Craig Stutzmann. “I remember Stutz punting the ball into the stands (after scoring a TD against BYU). Then to be around Colt (Brennan) and Tala (Esera) and Isaac Sopoaga. It was an incredible opportunity to come back to Hawaii and represent the university in a way I never imagined being able to do. So many good families and so many good players.”

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