Fall Practice - Day 6: JJ, Paepule, McMackin

Dave Reardon writes that June Jones was not at practice yesterday because he was at Bill Walsh's funeral.

Quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison handled the offense, along with Ron Lee (receivers), Wes Suan (running backs) and Dennis McKnight (line).

"Things went smooth, it was pretty easy to step in," Morrison said. "We've watched it for so long we kind of know what to do. But you always miss him because he's such a force on the field. It was real important for him to go up there. The players and coaches wanted for him not to worry."

Kalani Simpson profiles senior linebacker Timo Paepule.

It's been a long run. It's been a good run. The UH media guide says he's had one career start, but he's always hitting somebody, on special teams. He's always right there. He has everyone's respect.

He's the old lion, the veteran. He knows everything; he's seen it all.

He's a leader now. The young guys come to him for guidance, and he gives it, even though as a backup he's vulnerable to being jumped on the depth chart.

"I remember I was in their shoes and I just humble myself," he says. "They're just getting better, that's the main thing. That's what we had last year, the unity. Now we got all these new guys, we gotta keep it going."

Stephen Tsai writes about defensive coordinator Greg McMackin and his playbook.

"It doesn't just show you what to do, it tells you why you're doing it and the situation it's used," middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. "It's a big book, and there's a lot of terminology, but it's not complicated."

"He has that teacher's approach," Leonard said. "He wants to make sure we learn the plays and the reason we're running them before we practice them. He's a teacher and a coach."

McMackin is like Dr. Frankenstein, building a MONSTER. Also in that article:

• Cornerback Calvin Roberts should be arriving soon.


• Aaron Kia and Jason Rivers are recovering from injuries suffered when teammates stepped on their foot, while Blaze Soares recovers from a shoulder bruise and John Estes from a sprained elbow.


• Cameron Allen-Jones might be practicing once again at tight end later in fall camp. Gonna love seeing all the new wrinkles in this year's offense.

Dave Reardon writes that today is the start of two-a-days. Also in that article:

• McMackin talks about tackling strategy in practice.


• Keao Monteilh talks about the battle between him, Desmond Thomas, Dane Porlas and some newcomers at the free-safety position.

So be on the lookout for the liveblogs, maybe two each, today.