Spring Day 12 Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai has an update on Tyler Graunke's injury.

"It still hurts," Graunke said last night. "It feels the same as when it happened. It's not good at all. I can move my fingers a lot more than this morning, but I can't make a fist and I can't shake a hand or do the things you need to do to throw a ball."

...

Graunke said the doctor did not "see a certain break, but he saw something. He wasn't sure if it was a bad picture of the X-ray."

He said his right hand is "not really black and blue (anymore). It's swollen, but not that severely swollen."

Tsai writes Graunke will go under an MRI today or tomorrow. Let's hope it's not too serious.

The second half of the article is a profile of safety Desmond Thomas.

Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin praised Thomas.

"He goes to the football," McMackin said. "He's really good at knowing where the ball is. He's a fierce competitor."

Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive secondary, said Thomas "made a whole lot of plays last week. He's conscientious."

Thomas acknowledged that the job will not be solidified until the week leading up to the season opener.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity I have right now," Thomas said. "But it could turn around tomorrow. I'm trying to live for today."

Miano said the battle among Thomas, Keao Monteilh and Kealoha Porlas "will continue."

Jason Kaneshiro writes about the progress of the offensive line.

Two juniors -- Keoni Steinhoff and Keith Ah-Soon -- have been first in the rotation at the tackle spots. The center spot has rotated, with Lafu Tuioti-Mariner, Aaron Kia and Larry Sauafea seeing action. Sauafea has been one of the team's more versatile linemen, playing both guard spots as well as center.

"We're still experimenting with guys playing left or right, see who feels comfortable and can fit in and play multiple positions," McKnight said. "The last couple of days we had (Steinhoff) play left tackle and Keith play right. They're kind of back and forth and bouncing around."

Good luck to them. I'm sure UH will be fine along the O-line once the season rolls around.

And finally, Stephen Tsai writes in his blog about how Ikaika Alama-Francis went from skinny and lanky to big and ferocious in his time at UH.

Almost everyone who watched his first football practice three years ago would agree. He was too thin, too inexperienced, too polite. Now he might be drafted as a defensive end, outside linebacker, tight end or, even, an offensive tackle.
Alama-Francis' growth as a player can be attributed to hours spent in the weight room, video sessions and on the practice field.

Check out Ikaika's blog on the right, or in the post below. And look, I can link to The Warrior Beat again! Thanks to Stephen and especially Scott Morifuji for taking some time out to fix the issue. They didn't need to, so it's much appreciated.