In Defense of the D-fence

I think the defense is gonna be vastly improved this year. UH has some great players who have had time to absorb Jerry Glanville's system. They're bigger, stronger and there's more competition. Kalani Simpson has a great column highlighting the D.

"He knew the problem," Glanville said of June Jones. "He said, 'We will fix that problem. That problem will get fixed right now.' And because of his commitment and he being the head coach, that's what we were doing. I got in the car and started driving."

And before you knew it, Hawaii was bringing in 37 cornerbacks.

(Dear Reader: Obviously that last statement is untrue. It's a joke, an exaggeration to make a point. That number is obviously too high. Everyone knows with Chris Camacho leaving the team it's actually 36 cornerbacks.)

You should definitely read the whole column. It's good.

Dave Reardon profiles sophomore Khevin Peoples, who's making the switch from linebacker to running back.

Peoples played running back four years in high school, two as a fullback at Blake High School in Tampa, Fla.

"I know all about blocking, I know that's the most important part of playing running back in this offense," he said.

Coach June Jones said the 5-foot-11, 202-pound Peoples' combination of speed and strength will be an asset at his new position. He was gridlocked among several other solid young players at outside linebacker.

Glad to hear he has no problem with blocking. He's the future!

Stephen Tsai has more on Jazen Anderson's decision to leave.

"He felt there were a lot of bodies back there, and we're a one-back system," UH coach June Jones said. "He came and talked to me. You have to fight through adversity, but I guess he wanted to make this decision."

Mouse Davis, who coaches the running backs, acknowledged "we've got so many guys at running back, it didn't look like he was going to get any reps. If he's not going to get any reps, he wanted to try somewhere else. You can't blame a kid. That's fine."

Anderson said he does not have any immediate football plans.

Anderson, who will return to Los Angeles on Tuesday, has only one season of NCAA Division I eligibility remaining.

Good luck to Jazen. And updating yesterday's entry, even though he's a junior, I think he only has one year to play D-I because he would have to sit out a year if he transfers to another D-I school, but wouldn't if it was D-II. Of course, he could have played two years of D-I if he stayed a Warrior. If any of that's wrong, blame Wikipedia. Incidentally, every time I hear the word "Wikipedia" I think of Rap Reiplinger's Puka Shell Tour Guide. Not really sure why. Anyway, I need to get me an NCAA rulebook.

Dave Reardon has an injury report, and so does Stephen Tsai.

Nose tackle Michael Lafaele has a neck strain.

Back-up nose tackle Lawrence Wilson has an ankle sprain.

Cornerback A.J. Martinez has a pulled groin.

Wideout Malcolm Lane also has a pulled groin.

Samson Satele has a sore Achilles tendon.

Luckily, none of these injuries appear to be serious.

"Sometimes we're a little more cautious than we should be," Jones said. "But if we had to play a game, every one of them would play."

And finally, Kenny Patton plans on having a great no-holds barred senior year at corner after experimenting at wideout this spring.

Patton said he does not regret the wideout experiment.

"Never, because I learned so much," he said. "There's always something good you can take from every situation. When I played receiver, I learned so much about the defense. Now that I'm back on defense, I know what the receivers are trying to exploit. I see (pass) routes, and I recognize what they're trying to do. It helps out a lot."