Returners, Veikune, Leonard, Etc

Stephen Tsai writes that Davone Bess will be the punt returner for the upcoming season, while Jason Rivers will be one of the kickoff returners.

Jones' usual policy is to restrict a starting player from serving as a full-time punt returner until his senior year.

But Jones said Bess, a junior, will be an exception.

"Davone is the most natural punt returner I've seen," Jones said. "I'm going to let him do that."

Until this summer, Rivers, a fifth-year senior, had not returned kicks since he was a senior at Saint Louis School in 2002.

"He has a future in the NFL," Jones said. "He can return kicks. He's a real strong guy. I want to give him an opportunity to get on film doing that."

June Jones, helping out his players, right on. Also from that article, ST writes that freshman center Sila Lefiti, junior left tackle Ray Hisatake and junior defensive tackle Chris Leatigaga will redshirt this year, while freshman linebacker Po'okela Ahmad, who grayshirted last year, will play this year, a lot of it on special teams.

Dave Reardon has a Utah State preview.

Dave also has a profile of defensive linemen David Veikune and Josh Leonard.

The versatile linemen will fill several roles in UH's various defensive packages. Their smarts -- as well as their strength and quickness -- make them valuable.

"David showed us last year that he has the physical tools to play a variety of spots and the mental capacity to fill multiple roles. His role will expand," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said.

Leonard -- a highly-decorated defensive end at Sierra College (Calif.) -- could have gone to Nevada, Boise State, Wyoming or Washington and had a better chance of moving right into a starting spot. He elected to join what he knew to be a crowded defensive line at UH.

"I was expecting it. I knew Hawaii had great athletes," Leonard said. "I chose to come here for the competition. I wasn't going to get it anywhere else."

I was actually hoping UH would retain the 3-4 when Glanville left, but just reading about the depth and talent along the defensive line, going to a base 4-3 seems like a great move, and goes to show you how much I know. Also from that article:

• A mini-profile of running back Jason Laumoli.


• Injury updates on Jacob Patek, Solomon Elimimian, Adam Leonard and Blaze Soares

And finally, some details about the parking changes being implemented at Aloha Stadium this year.