Lolotai Commits

UPDATE: Updating one of the stories below, Stephen Tsai writes that Robert Marve turned down UH today.

Robert Marve of Plant High School in Tampa has turned down a scholarship offer from UH. He notified the UH coaches this morning.
He cited the distance as the major obstacle.

So somebody has to invent one of those teleportation machines, stat! Anyway, it would've been nice to get Marve, but we still got Graunke, Kepo'o, Brogan and Funaki. Thanks Stephen for the heads up.

Stephen Tsai writes that Mana Lolotai will become a Warrior.

Ending all doubts, former Kamehameha Schools linebacker Mana Lolotai yesterday formally accepted a University of Hawai'i football scholarship.

"I made it official," Lolotai said. "I wanted to make the best decision for me and my family. Staying home is a plus for me. My family is here, and the football program is very good. I'm happy with my decision."

Lolotai, who was named to The Advertiser's 2005 All-State second team, signed a letter of intent with Oregon State in February 2006. But he did not meet the requirements to play for the Beavers last season.

He said he is attending Hawai'i Pacific University, where he will earn enough credits to transfer to UH in the fall.

Hey, a local player chose UH instead of the Beavers. Let's hope this streak continues! Congratulations to Mana and UH.

Speaking of recruits, today's the day highly regarded QB prospect Robert Marve from Tampa makes his announcement on whether he'll go to Miami, Bama or HAWAI'I. Most think he'll stay with his home state and sign with Miami, but like Stephen Tsai said earlier, and I'm paraphrasing here, STILL GET CHANCE! We'll find out later today.

The Warrior Beat also hosted a live chat with Adam Leonard on Monday. You can read his answers among the 380 comments. Holy crap. No worries, they're all at the beginning, I think.

And yesterday, Stephen Tsai had a Warrior Beat post giving us an update on C.J. Hawthorne.

C.J. Hawthorne confirmed he is moving back to right wideout, competing for the spot vacated by Ian Sample, who graduated in December.
Hawthorne joined the Warriors in January 2006, and competed in spring practice — as a wideout for 10 days and cornerback for five. He started UH's first two games at cornerback last year.
While remaining as a valuable special-teams member, Hawthorne slipped on the depth chart at cornerback. By the end of the season, Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry were the starting corners.
Hawthorne said wideout is "my most comfortable position." He said the switch back was by mutal agreement.
Malcolm Lane, Greg Salas and Dylan Linkner are the other top candidates at right wideout.

We'll miss Ross Dickerson, Ian Sample and Chad Mock, but man, the UH receiving corps will still be unbelievable next this year!

And below are some Warrior football videos that have been posted online recently. The always awesome Sportshawaii.com is hosting two versions of the Warriors doing the haka during the halftime of Monday's UH basketball game. Here are the links. The second link looks better but you may need a codec.

mpeg1 version - 320x240 20fps

xvid version - 640x480 15fps

And here's a video of Nasti Nate Ilaoa video highlights as put together by Kapoleicoug.



And finally, here's a video edited together by chasethedragon for the Michigan State fans and (former) coaches who are still whining that MSU got cheated by the refs in 2004. It's 8 minutes long, but it's excellent. Enjoy.