Partial Qualifying

Stanford Leti, a 2005 Moanalua grad, will enroll at UH as a partial qualifier this year, meaning he can't play until next year. Quinton Tang, who along with Leti, verbally committed to Hawaii in December, will enroll in Palomar College in California, hopefully coming back to UH when he gets enough credits. Perhaps this will free up a couple scholarships for some grayshirts? Or maybe Ian Sample? In the same article, Stephen Tsai writes that if Ian Sample is granted a medical exemption to play this year, he won't be on scholarship, partly because of the NCAA APR rule, which took away 5 UH football scholarships due to collective academic underachievement and/or players leaving the team. Speaking of which, receiver Adam Linwood is leaving the team, but I'm not sure if it will affect the APR since he's a walkon as opposed to a scholarship player. Although in the article it says that he's leaving because it's too expensive to live in Hawaii, so maybe he can be put one of the freed up scholarships? But then again, we have like 20 receivers who could start, so maybe he can't get a scholarship. The logistics coaches must deal with. Good luck to Adam.

Instant Replay

Starting this fall, instant replay will be a part of Division I-A football games, with coaches allowed to challenge once per game. This ESPN article says 9 of 11 I-A conferences used some form of replay last year. I wonder if the WAC will implement it this season? Will they be forced to? Gotta find out. I like this quote from Georgia coach Mark Richt:

"I'm sure there will be a time or two that I'll be glad that it's in place," Richt said Tuesday. "The thing I don't like about it is not really knowing for sure when to throw it. I haven't lived through it. The fans may be booing or a player may be like, 'Throw the flag,' or I might in my heart want to throw the flag. But if I throw it at the wrong time, I lose the possibility of that for the rest of the game. I wish I had a good way of knowing when I ought to throw the darn thing. But I guess we all have the same problem."

If anything, it'll make the games a little more interesting. I hope it helps Hawaii in a few games. Now all we need is the 4 point field goal from NFL Europe and we're set!

Unstoppable Force

Scott from Sportshawaii.com made a really cool Reagan Mauia-Juggernaut picture. I've posted a small version of it below. I hope this is okay! Click on the pic to see the full sized version, along with the first animation, at Sportshawaii.com. If they ever present an award to Reagan, I think this should be the plaque! It a pretty accurate depiction, I must say.

Interview with Jerry

Stephen Tsai interviews Jerry Glanville. Here's an excerpt:

On the return of free safety Leonard Peters, who recently was granted a medical exemption that allows him to play as a sixth-year senior in 2006:

"That's going to be big. He looked so good in the preseason (in 2005), I was protecting him in the calls. And I lost him (to an injury) in the first game, anyway. June and I both agreed, we're going to play him wide open. We're not going to protect him. If he can play 13 games — you can write it down in concrete — we're going to build a new highrise. If he plays 13 games, we're going to be a good football team."

More Nate

Dave Reardon points out how this is the latest in a series of good news for the Hawaii football team:

The return of Ilaoa and Peters continues a string of questions answered in the positive for several of the Warriors' top performers. The others are defensive end Melila Purcell, offensive lineman Samson Satele and wide receiver Jason Rivers.

"Now that you mention it, those are five of the best players on the team," Jones said. "I guess that's really good news."

» Last November, a UH official said Purcell -- listed as a senior last season -- was "on track" to have the 80 percent of the credits needed for graduation by the end of this summer. That would mean Purcell would regain the season of eligibility lost as a partial qualifier when he enrolled in 2002.

» Satele said last June he would consider leaving school after the 2005 season (his junior year) to make himself available for the NFL Draft. But he told Jones in January he would remain at UH. The All-WAC left guard will play center this fall.

» Rivers -- 14th on UH's career receiving-yardage list in just two seasons -- sat out 2005 with academic issues and an ankle injury. He returned to school and participated in spring practice in March and April. Rivers is eligible to play in the fall, as a junior with two seasons left to play two.

Hell Yeah

Nate Ilaoa has received a medical exemption to play this year!!!!!! I'm very very very happy now, as I'm sure all Hawaii football fans are. We're gonna rip it up this year, I tell you what. Now we wait for news on Bryan Maneafaiga and Ian Sample. This is really good news!

More Leonard Peters

Dave Reardon and Stephen Tsai have full articles on Leonard Peters getting a medical exemption. I really like Jerry Glanville's reaction:

Told by telephone call of Peters' successful appeal, UH defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville, screamed: "Whooo-eeee!"

Glanville, who was at his family home in Georgia, added: "If I heard otherwise, I would have jumped in the lake. I would have been very disappointed. I'm so happy right now. This gives us a chance to build (the defense) and become a good football team."

And here's a quote from Peters:

"My goal for this year is to stay healthy," said Peters, who also had a knee injury in 2001 and a scary abdominal injury in 2002. "Every year as a team, our goal is to win the WAC. I think we have the kind of team this year that can do that and possibly win every game we play."

Things are looking up! To quote Jerry Glanville: WHOOO-EEEE!

Really Really Good News

Hawaii free safety Leonard Peters has been granted a medical hardship by the NCAA, so he'll get to play this year! Right on! Woo hoo! He'll be the leader and anchor of the defense, and we'll definitely need it against Alabama. Now we wait for news on Nate Ilaoa, Ian Sample and Bryan Maneafaiga, but this bodes well!

Interview with June

Stephen Tsai interviews June Jones. He talks about UH, Colt Brennan, Ashley Lelie, Nate Ilaoa, etc. Go read it!

Timmy Chang, Week 10, Rhein vs Cologne Live

Not sure if I can watch the whole game, but I will try! If not, you can always visit the NFLE website, visit Sportshawaii.com's Hawaii Sports Forum for commentary and/or live coverage, and then visit TimmyChang.net for video clips later on. It's the second quarter, so Timmy should be in soon...

All times Game Clock!

2nd quarter

4:39 - Late in the 2nd quarter, Rhein gets the ball back, but Drew's still in. Hmmmm.

3rd quarter

Okay, start of third quarter and Drew Henson is still in. I have to go, so what the hell! Check the resources I listed above for updates.

UPDATE: Timmy didn't play! Or so the boxscore says.

Jake Ingram

Long snapper Jake Ingram has earned a scholarship for his long snapping abilities. Also, June Jones is getting frustrated with the lack of feedback regarding the medical redshirt situation. No kidding.

June won't be cutting any football players for another two months due to unresolved situations. More items of interest in this article include:

Jason Rivers is academically eligible to play in the fall. Sounds like he wants it! Just keep him away from the mopeds.

Spunky, scrappy, full of moxie, Louis "Lou-Dog" Santos will stay with the team as either a player or student manager. I hope it's as a player so he can sack somebody!

Bits and Pieces

UH has added cornerback Ryan Perry, who's transferring from Sac State, but he'll have to redshirt this season.

Mike Shanahan is annoyed with Ashley Lelie. Trade him already!

And former Hawaii offensive lineman Wayne Hunter has been released by the Seahawks after allegedly getting into a bar fight.

Still no news on the NCAA medical hardships...

Timmy Chang Q & A

I know there's been a lot of Timmy posts here lately, but there's not much current Hawaii Warriors news, so here's a Q&A of Timmy responding to fans questions on the NFL Europe page. Here's a sample:

Hi Timmy,
After Nick Rolovich, you are the second Alumni from Hawaii to play quarterback for the Rhein Fire. Did you follow his career in Europe and if so, did it influence your willingness to come over to NFL Europe?
Eiko Pate, Neuss, Germany

Nick and I are good friends. When he heard that I got signed to the Rhein Fire he was the first one to give me a call. He called me last week, but I just haven’t gotten back to him. He’s a great friend of mine and it just so happened that both of us ended up on the Rhein Fire. I played behind him my sophomore year and he’s just one of those great guys. Hopefully we can keep the Hawaii tradition going.

So You're Saying There's a Shot

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, via the Honolulu Advertiser, we find the Eagles are gonna give former University of Hawaii QB Timmy Chang a shot at the number 3 QB position this fall. Eh Craigie... way to go!

Timmy Chang Week 9 Final Stats

So Timmy was 14 of 26 for 163 yards, according to this wrap-up, with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He wasn't as crisp as last week, but he was up against a better defense, or at least a more motivated defense, this week.

Timmy Chang, Week 9, Rhein at Hamburg Live

Happy Mother's Day. For goodness sake, it's early. Anyway, today Timmy gets the start! It should be fun! Be back when Timmy's in.

All times Game Clock!

1st quarter

14:54 - Rhein gets the ball on their own 28. First play, he overthrows the receiver on the sideline. He looked a little hesitant.

14:31 - After a penalty, from the 23, Timmy completes a screen pass which goes to back to the original line of scrimmage.

13:55 - 3rd and 10, Timmy completes it to the 32, not enough for the first down. Gotta punt. 2 of 3 for 9 yards on that series.

12:53 - Hamburg turns it over on their very first play! Rhein gets the ball on their own 36. Timmy underthrows on his first play. Yikes!

12:44 - 2nd and 10, Timmy hands off and the RB gains 16 yards to the 20 yard line. 1st down!

12:07 - Timmy completes a pass, but it's out of bounds! 2nd and 10 on the 20.

11:34 - Timmy completes a pass to the 7! But there's a peanlty flag which brings the ball back, dammit. 2nd and 20 on the 30 yard line.

11:13 - Damn, Timmy is nearly intercepted. 3rd and 20 on the 30.

10:38 - After a false start, 3rd and 25 on the 35.

10:32 - Timmy completes a pass for four yards to the 31. Field goal attempt...no good. 1 of 3 for 4 yards on the drive.

6:08 - Ball on the Rhein 10, Timmy hands off for a 2 yard gain. 2nd and 8 on the 12.

5:35 - Timmy completes a 3 yard pass to the 15. 3rd and 5.

5:00 - Timmy is sacked back on the 5. Gotta punt. 1 of 1 for 5 yards on that drive.

1:02 - Rhein gets the ball back on their own 9 yard line. Timmy hands off for a 1 yard gain. 2nd and 9 on the 10.

0:28 - Timmy completes a 22 yard pass to the 32. Nice pass, but the yards was mostly YAC! End of 1st quarter.

2nd quarter

15:00 - Running play to the 35. 2nd and 7.

14:30 - Running play to the 43 for the first down!

13:57 - Running play, but there's a penalty. Ball back to the Rhein 38.

13:45 - Running play, ball to the 39. 2nd and 14.

13:05 - Damn, the screen play is sniffed out. Pass completed for -3 yards

12:22 - Damn, underthrown and deflected. Gotta punt. So far, Timmy is 6 of 10 for 37 yards, unofficially.

3:19 - Rhein finally gets the ball back on their own 35 after one long series that was intercepted and taken for a touchdown, and then another series. 1st play is a handoff for no gain.

2:45 - Timmy is sacked back at the 29. 3rd and 15.

2:15 - He's sacked again. Geeeez! Gotta punt.

0:00 - Timmy takes a knee for the end of the half. The announcers say he will probably come back for the third quarter. I got a feeling he'll turn it up after halftime.

3rd quarter

7:45 - Timmy comes in for the third quarter on the Rhein 25 with Rhein leading 7 to 6. Lead em on a drive!

7:40 - Screen pass is nullified by penalty. 1st and 20 on the Rhein 15.

7:37 - Running play for 11 yards. 2nd and 10 on the 25.

6:43 - Timmy completes a 13 yard pass to the 38 for a first down!

6:20 - Hand off to the 42 for 4 yards.

5:35 - Timmy completes a 43 yard pass to the Hamburg 15! A penalty at the end of the play. Ball on the Hamburg 25.

5:10 - Handoff to the 10 yard line.

4:55 - Handoff to the 3 yard line.

4:20 - Handoff for -3 yards. Ball on the 6.

3:48 - Timmy is sacked back on the 15. 4th down, gotta try the field goal.

3:10 - Field goal is good. Rhein leads 10 to 6. Not too bad, but they gotta protect Timmy more! He was 2 of 2 for 56 yards on that drive.

4th quarter

14:18 - Okay, Hamburg is leading 13 to 10 in the 4th quarter. Let's do this!

14:13 - Ball on the Rhein 34. Screen pass to the Hamburg 46. 20 yard gain!

14:00 - Hand off to the Hamburg 37.

13:30 - Hand off to the 36. 1st down!

12:50 - Hand off for no gain. 2nd and 10.

12:10 - Ball off the hands of the receiver. Slighly overthrown. 3rd and 10.

11:45 - Pass complete for two yards. Gotta punt.

9:31 - After a punt, Rhein gets the ball back on the 50.

9:27 - Pass incomplete over the middle. 2nd and 10.

9:10 - Hand off for no gain. 3rd and 10 on the 50. Convert!

8:35 - 25 yard pass over the middle for the first down!!! Ball on the Hamburg 25.

8:05 - Hand off to the 17 yard line. 2nd and 3.

7:35 - Hand off for a loss. 3rd and 5 on the 19.

6:55 - Timmy completes a 4 yard pass. They are short, but I think they're going for it.

6:35 - Well, that sucks, they get stuffed. Ball turned over on downs.

4:39 - Rhein gets the ball back on the Hamburg 38. Pass incomplete, but there's a holding penalty. 1st and 20 on the 48.

4:27 - Short pass complete over the middle for 5 yards. 2nd and 15 on the 43.

3:55 - Timmy Chang gets sacked back on the 50. 3rd and 22. Timeout.

3:26 - Pass incomplete out of bounds. Gotta punt. So far, according to the TV, Timmy is 13 of 21 for 148 yards.

1:51 - After the punt, Rhein gets the ball back on their own 39 trailing by 3 points. Drive, Timmy, drive!

1:48 - Pass incomplete because the receiver bobbled the ball out of bounds.

1:36 - Pass complete to the Hamburg 45 for a 16 yard gain!

1:30 - Chang is sacked. 2nd down on their own 48.

1:10 - Pass incomplete. 3rd and 19. Come on Timmy!

1:00 - Pass incomplete over the middle. 4th and 19.

0:55 - Pass incomplete. The game is over. Timmy's final stats, unofficially, 14 of 26 for 164 yards with 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He was pressured all game, and was throwing into double, triple and quadruple coverage on that last drive. Sort of a shaky game, especially compared to last week, though the stats are similar. Seems like Hamburg had a good defensive game plan.

Timmy Chang Gets the Start

Not under the best circumstances, because Drew Henson is hurt, but Timmy will be the starting QB for the Rhein Fire this Saturday Sunday. He deserves to start even if Drew wasn't hurt, so let's hope he makes the most of it. I'm gonna try to be home to live blog it. By the way, if you want more Timmy news, visit TimmyChang.net. They've been posting clips of Timmy's performance in Europe, as well as classic clips of T to tha C rippin it up for the University of Hawaii! Bus' it one two!

Colt Brennan, WAC Player of the Year

Okay, preseason WAC Player of the Year, but an honor nonetheless. Well maybe.

"Preseason honors don't mean anything except it gives you closure for last season," Brennan said. "Preseason rankings are for the fans. It gets them ready and thinking about the season and what they're going to look for..."

Damn right!

"I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country, if not one of the top two," Jones said. "He was learning our system last year, and he was No. 1 in a lot of areas. I would anticipate he'll take a great jump. His confidence is much higher than it was last year. He'll have another great year."

If he can top 4301 yards passing and 35 TDs, it'll be an amazing year. Can't wait!

Fall Camp Coming Soon!

Well, if three months is soon. Nonetheless, Dave Reardon has a talk with June Jones about the coming fall. Not much news to report, except that June will meet with Reggie Torres, the new Kahuku head coach, and then June and Jeff Reinebold will fly to Samoa for a recruiting trip. At the end of the article is a link to to the fall practice schedule, leading to kickoff in Alabama on September 2nd!

Timmy Chang, Rhein Fire, Week 8 Final Stats

Woops, I must've missed an incompletion in the live blog, but here's the final stats from the NFL Europe website.

13 of 19 for 170 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception.

Timmy Chang, Week 8, Rhein vs Frankfurt Live

The Rhein Fire and Frankfurt Galaxy are battling for second place in Week 8 of the 10-week NFL Europe season. But who cares because it's all about how Timmy Chang does today! Just joking. But not really. Hope they let him play more than one quarter. I'll be back when he's in the game...

All times Game Clock!

2nd quarter

11:09 - Timmy's in the game now. He completes a 32 yard pass over the middle on his first pass! Ball on the 41.

10:28 - Timmy passes incomplete.

10:12 - Timmy throws an interception. Dammit!

6:44 - Back in for his second drive and hands off. The announcer is bad-mouthing his under-center skills!

6:25 - Under center, Timmy hands off cleanly! So there!

5:38 - Another hand off, and it looks like a first down.

5:04 - Another hand off. 2nd and 5 on the 25.

4:31 - Another hand off. First down on the 30.

4:00 - Looked like Timmy leaped to complete a 12 yard pass! First down!

3:25 - Hand off for 6 yards.

2:55 - Hand off for no gain. 3rd and 4.

2:15 - Timmy completes a short pass for a first down! And it looks like they took a commercial, but they were still going! We'll see when they come back.

2:00 - Okay, it was the two minute warning. Come on Timmy!

1:55 - Timmy completes a pass over the middle under pressure! 12 yard gain.

1:20 - Timmy zips the ball over the middle for 18 yards! Ball on the 6!

0:44 - Timmy completes a short pass for 3 yards. Ball on the 3.

0:12 - TOUCHDOWN! Timmy Chang throws it to the back of the end zone for the score!!!!!! Nice. He was 6 of 6 on that drive.

0:03 - Now the announcers are heaping big praise on Chang, saying he always ignites the offense when he comes into the game. Anyway, so far this game, Timmy is 7 of 9 for about 88 yards, but that's not official, with a touchdown and an interception. Please let him play some more!

3rd quarter. Looks like Drew Henson will be back in the game when Rhein gets the ball. Maybe Tim will play the 4th?

12:02 - Yep, Drew's back. But revised official stats for Timmy Chang: 7 of 9 for 95 yards! Where'd I miss 7 yards? Oh well.

4th quarter.

12:46 - Timmy's still not in the game. But he is warming up on the sidelines with his helmet on.

8:23 - Timmy's back in the game, down 6 points. Come on Timmy!

8:20 - Screen pass for 8 yards!

7:45 - Hand off for a 2 yard loss. Ball on Rhein's 44.

7:09 - Errr, 5 yard penalty on a false start. 3rd and 9.

6:59 - Wow, Timmy converts on third down and more!!! 21 yard pass to the Frankfurt 40.

6:32 - Timmy passes, but the ball is dropped.

6:06 - Timmy is hit as he throws, incomplete. 3rd and 10 on the 40.

5:29 - Timmy completes a 5 yard pass, but that isn't enough for the first down. 4th down.

5:04 - Wow, Timmy went for the LONG PASS, and drew an interference call! Ball on the Frankfurt 8.

4:58 - False start penalty. Ball on the 13.

4:54 - Hand off for a 3 yard loss. Ball on the 16.

4:14 - Delay of game penalty. 2nd and goal on the 21.

4:06 - Pass incomplete in the endzone. 3rd and goal on the 21.

4:04 - HOLY CRAP!!! TOUCHDOWN!!!! Timmy, under pressure, throws it over the middle to a wide open receiver!!! Really nice! Rhein leads 14 to 13!

3:50 - Timmy's stats so far: 11 of 15 for 150 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception.

3:10 - Back in the game, Timmy hands off for a 1 yard loss. 2nd and 11 on the Rhein 21.

3:04 - Pass complete to the sideline for 9 yards. 3rd and 2.

2:59 - Pass complete for 11 yards the first down!!!

2:44 - Hand off for 1 yard. Ball on the Rhein 40.

2:35 - Pass incomplete.

2:26 - Yikes. Chang didn't anticipate the snap. It goes over his head, but he was able to fall on it. Gotta punt.

0:00 - Frankfurt drives down the field and kicks a field goal. So Timmy doesn't win the game, but he had a great game nonethless. His final stats: 13 of 18 19 for 170 yards, 2 touchdowns, one interception.

Depth Chart

Stephen Tsai has an article on the Warriors post-spring depth chart, which was just released. Read the article for some of the details, but here's the chart:

... (with starters listed first):

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Colt Brennan, Tyler Graunke, Inoke Funaki, William Brogan.

Running back: Nate Ilaoa, Reagan Mauia, David Farmer.

Left wideout: Chad Mock, Jason Rivers.

Left slotback: Davone Bess, Michael Washington.

Right slotback: Ryan Grice-Mullins, Aaron Bain.

Right wideout: Ross Dickerson, Ian Sample.

Left tackle: Tala Esera, Keith Ah Soon.

Left guard: Hercules Satele, Laupepa Letuli.

Center: Samson Satele, Marques Kaonohi.

Right guard: John Estes, Larry Sauafea.

Right tackle: Dane Uperesa, Rafael Ieru.

DEFENSE

Left end: Melila Purcell III, Keala Watson.

Nose tackle: Michael Lafaele, Lawrence Wilson.

Right end: Ikaika Alama-Francis, Fale Laeli.

Left outside linebacker: C.J. Allen-Jones, Tyson Kafentzis.

Left inside linebacker: Solomon Elimimian, Timo Paepule.

Right inside linebacker: Adam Leonard, Rustin Saole.

Right outside linebacker: John Fonoti, Brashton Satele.

Left cornerback: A.J. Martinez, C.J. Tausaga.

Free safety: Leonard Peters, Dane Porlas.

Strong safety: Brad Kalilimoku, Desmond Thomas, Michael Malala.

Right cornerback: C.J. Hawthorne, Guyton Galdeira.

Lelie Getting Futless

Former UH receiver Ashley Lelie just fired his agents, or so the last paragraph of this article says:

Receiver Ashley Lelie's situation has taken another turn with news he has fired his agents, Michael Sullivan and Doug Hendrickson. It will be his next representation's chore to work out a trade or convince Lelie he would be better served playing out the final year of his contract instead of following through on a holdout threat. The Broncos say they expect Lelie to honor the contract . . .

For his and everyone's sake, I hope he gets traded and is able to prove himself in a more pass-oriented offense. But maybe Denver will hold onto him, and let him sit out, just so he doesn't go out and prove himself in a more pass-oriented offense. I hope they aren't bastards like that though. Let's hope a new agent will solve the whole thing. It would be nice to see Lelie play for the Colts, or at least some team with a decent quarterback!

Eaton & Manners

Former University of Hawaii offensive lineman Brandon Eaton has been invited to attend the Redskins rookie camp, while former UH safety Lono Manners will attend the Chargers rookie camp, according to Stephen Tsai.

Let's hope they impress!