Jett Jasper / JV Coaches / Withy-Allen

Receiver Jett Jasper is excited to be headed to Warriors fall camp. He talks about it in this Garden Island profile by Lanaly Cabalo.

“It was always my dream to be on the team,” he said. “Being born and raised in Hawai‘i, going to the basketball games or the football games, it was a big deal. Anything UH was a big deal.”

Derek Borrero, one of Jasper's high school coaches, talks about Jett's desire.

Jasper didn’t miss a single work out, practice or informal afternoon throwing session. He always woke up early to lift weights and study plays. Jasper was training all year long.

According to Borrero, a player can learn all the plays, learn how to catch and read plays, but Jasper posses something that can’t be taught.

“What you can’t train is heart and desire and that’s what he’s got,” Borrero said. “I’m really proud of the guy because he wasn’t supposed to be there. But he had a dream. He always wanted to wear the green and white and from the bottom up, he did what he needed to do to make that team.”

The article states that he'll probably be redshirting this year. And still, he's working hard, striving to be better. Awesome.

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Russell Yamanoha did a story (with video) on the St. Louis School junior varsity coaches, which include former Warriors Craig Stutzmann, Alapai'i Andrews, Ricky Lumford, John Kauka, Chris Brown, La'anui Correa, and Matt Wright. They talk about "regurgitating" a lot of what they learned from June Jones and the other UH coaches.

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And from a couple weeks ago, turns out former UH quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen led his team to victory in the Indoor Football Championship Bowl, though reading the message boards, it appears the NIFL is in disarray and that might not have been the actual championship game after all. I don't know, I'm not going to sort through it. Congratulations!

Jacob Patek Chat

At the Warrior Beat, RIGHT NOW!

UPDATE: Chat's over, but here's the transcript.

#1 / Bill Walsh

Kalani Simpson writes how the Warriors will have to handle the pressure now that they're preseason #1 in the WAC.

It's mental toughness, a grind. It's a unique pressure, and how Hawaii handles it will probably have a lot to do with the cues the guys take from Colt Brennan. Brennan seems born for this stuff, shrugging off the hype and taking all this Heisman craziness in stride. He is the great star who shows you his humility -- his best leadership decision may be that he is smart enough to have the linemen run the team.

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June Jones, Elroy Chong and Keith Amemiya remember Bill Walsh and the impact he had on athletics in Hawaii, from this Dave Reardon article:

"He did a lot to change the game," Jones said. "And he had a real unique group of guys who cared about him a lot and played hard for him. He was committed to them not just as football players but as people, helping many of them get set up in things after they were done playing."

Walsh waived his $25,000 speaking fee several times for engagements in Hawaii. Most recently, he was the keynote speaker at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association's annual banquet in 2006.

He also conducted a well-attended workshop for Hawaii high school football coaches in 2005.

"He had a huge impact on Hawaii high school football," HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said. "The workshop here was a great success, and many of our coaches also attended his events on the mainland.

More from June as well as Jesse Sapolu in this Liz Chun article.

"We always talk offense when he came. We'd sit down go to dinner, play golf," Jones said. "The thing that I think listening to his players talk about him that impressed me is that he was really concerned about their lives and make them better people when they were done with the game. I think for the most part in San Francisco the runs that he had, pretty much all the people will say the same thing. He was quite a man."

Pro Warriors Monday Update

Some notes from training camps around the league:

Looks like Ashley Lelie is doing well recovering from his quad injury.

Receiver Ashley Lelie looked sharp on a deep ball grab from quarterback Trent Dilfer during seven-on-seven in the morning practice.

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Nate Ilaoa talks about dealing with the crazy heat in Eagles camp.

"You try to get yourself up, but you're never really ready for something crazy like this," Ilaoa said after the morning session. "You just try to run, get yourself ready. The weather is really what sur prised me. I knew about it, but when you get out here, it's a totally different story."

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Samson Satele talks about learning all the positions on the O-line.

"The coaches have told us, 'Don't keep your mind on one position. You have to learn all the positions,"' said Satele. "They aren't kidding."

Despite being a rookie, Satele has seen most of the first-team action at center, which has bumped Rex Hadnot to right guard. Hadnot, who started all 16 games at center last season, is on the second team behind Mormino.

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Reagan Mauia's hard work is showing dividends.

Reagan Mauia had a great block on Derrick Pope on a Jesse Chatman run.

A Dolphins fan who attended morning practice had this to say:

I would also like to make mention of Reagan Mauia's ability to deliver a pop at the line of scrimmage. He was the lead blocker on two of the succesful run plays that I saw in the "inside drill". He get's a solid initial contact on the LB and shifts his feet to maintain that contact and leverage, Reagan will be solid in the Goal Line packages for us this year.

Juggernaut!

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And Ikaika Alama-Francis has a new entry in his Lions rookie diary.

“It’s being a rookie. It really is. It’s being a rookie but you just have to take the good and the bad. You can’t get too down; can’t get too hot. You’ve just got to stay on that level because, (with) the coaches, you think you’re doing good – it’s not good enough. But I’ve just got to keep pushing and keep working. Stay mentally tough – that’s the key thing.

Maisel on Colt

In this short College Football Live clip posted by UHBows, ESPN's Ivan Maisel talks about the ways Colt Brennan has been connecting with his teammates, learning the Samoan language and getting the braids.

Arizona State Denies It

I hate dredging stuff regarding the schedule back up again, but Arizona State is saying they WERE NOT offered a cool million to play UH this year.

Arizona State did not turn down a $1 million guarantee to return to Hawaii for a football game on Oct. 20.

Karl Benson, Western Athletic Conference commissioner, told the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that ASU, Oregon State and Washington State rejected offers from Hawaii, made in conjunction with the WAC and ESPN for national television coverage.

"None of that is true," said Mark Brand, ASU associate athletic director who puts together the football schedule. "I never talked to Hawaii." The WAC did approach the Pac-10, Brand said, to see generally if any teams were interested in a game.

Certainly Herman Frazier, Hawaii athletic director and former long-time ASU athletic administrator, would have contacted Brand to make a serious pitch to ASU.

So either Herman didn't actually talk to them, which is hard to believe... or they're just covering their ass. In any case, we probably won't be playing them for a while, which is too bad.

Not Tyler Graunke Chat

Stephen Tsai's Warrior Beat is hosting a live chat with Tyler Graunke and/or Coach Dan Morrison RIGHT NOW! Be there!

UPDATE: Blaze Soares is filling in now.

UPDATE 2: Blaze did a great job filling in for Tyler. Here's the transcript.

Ayat / Owens

First, the bad news.

Justin Ayat's stint as a kicker for the New York Jets lasted less than a week. Yesterday, the NFL team waived the Kamehameha alumnus whom they had signed as a free agent on July 24.

Let's hope he can hook up with another team. Sounds like he's been working hard on his kicking since graduating.

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Anwar S. Richardson of The Tampa Tribune profiles Chad Owens, who's working hard to make the most of his chance with the Bucs. A couple of excerpts:

"I've had to work hard my whole life. Nothing was ever given to me," Owens said. "I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me because I'm not the only guy who had to do it this way. There are free agents who have come in and ended up being superstars.

"I had an opportunity to walk onto Hawaii, play in front of my friends and family, and when I got an opportunity to play, I made the best of it, excelled, and the rest is history. Here I am in the same boat."

"For a lot of the vets, preseason is kind of like, 'Ah, let's just get through this already. Let's get the regular season started,'" Owens said. "For me, it's a game. A chance to get out there and prove myself. To show these fans what I can do, and give myself an opportunity to make this team and be able to help during the season."

Mighty Mouse!

Pisa / Samson and Tala

Good news for Pisa Tinoisamoa, who's been recovering from multiple injuries.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason and still was limited in minicamp last month, has had no problems in contact drills.

"He's a hundred percent," Linehan said. "I don't see any reason that he's not going to be just like he was before he hurt it."

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Samson Satele has a learning experience during one-on-ones.

On the first play, 340-pound DT Keith Traylor absolutely abused rookie center Samson Satele and then knocking Brown on his back 4 yards behind the line. It’s little surprise Brown was tentative on the next play and gained nothing.

The writer also judges who won the one-on-ones, with Samson losing that one and tying another. Tala Esera had the same results. They'll only get better from here.

Colt Profile / June / Rolo / #22 / Mock

Dave Reardon writes a great profile of Colt Brennan, who looks to the future while not shying away from the past.

"The biggest thing (learned) is probably humility. Walking away from that ... you can't embarrass me, you can't humiliate me," he said. "I have nothing to hide. There's no doubt what happened, the position I put myself in, I've got no one to blame but myself. But a lot of things that followed just weren't right.

"You're meant to experience misfortune. You're meant to deal with stuff that's just not right. It's just how you deal with it and how you move on with your life. I think people who want to talk about my character, should look at what I've done since then. Let the actions speak for themselves."

The article also has a funny exchange between Colt and Ian Johnson. There's also an opportunity for Star-Bulletin readers to submit questions and comments for their upcoming Warrior football feature. Be there!

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June Jones has a new Ask Coach feature.

Q.) Thanks coach for always being generous with your time. I'm wondering if possible what happened with that direct snap to the RB play when we had Bass? Did that morph into the shovel pass? What were the positives and negatives of that play? I used to get a kick out of it when we ran it. Go Warriors.

A.) Over the years, ever since we have used the shotgun, I have used different ways to run the draw. The shuffle pass and the direct snap draw are blocked the same way but the shuffle pass has evolved because it is harder for the defense to pick up early and stop. Defenses almost have to guess right to stop it so we run more shuffle passes now.

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Nick Rolovich also has a new article. Here's some insight into the QB using his eyes.

How do you feel about June’s teaching about hips, eyes and/or footwork? How did that change the game and how you performed?

I got the most out of June talking about eyes, and using them to either make defensive players stay where they are or to move them to where you want them. It makes such a difference. In the beginning of my career I was a little confused when he would tell me to "use your eyes." At the end, I would laugh just before I let the ball go because it is sometimes comical what you can make a guy on defense do by using your eyes. The footwork of the drop is a little unorthodox but so crucial to the timing. The drop truly orchestrates the play in June's offense.

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The Fort Worth(?) Star-Telegram ranks Hawaii #22 in their preseason countdown.

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And finally, Chad Mock had 1 catch for 6 yards in his debut for the BC Lions.

Position Breakdown

Stephen Tsai writes an excellent pre-training camp preview, breaking down each position. Some choice excerpts (but read the whole thing):

Bad news for opponents: After having the best statistical season in NCAA history, Brennan has improved his knowledge of the four-wide offense. "It was apparent in the spring that he's seeing things so much faster," quarterback coach Dan Morrison said.

(Leon) Wright-Jackson also welcomes the opportunity to block.

"If you're going to be a running back, you have to be ready for the whole job," he said. "Pass-blocking is my job. My main job is to take care of the quarterback. He's the key to the offense. I don't mind going in there and hitting the linebacker."

Every club needs a bouncer, and in football, every bouncer needs a club. Lafaele, who will be the point defender in the new 4-3 scheme, has as vicious a club move as any interior lineman. The club resembles a boxer's uppercut, with the forearm striking an offensive lineman's shoulder, and is used to create an open path into the backfield. "That's Michael's signature move," line coach Jeff Reinebold said. Last year, Lafaele used the club to floor an Oregon State offensive lineman. "You really need that kind of physicalness at the point," Reinebold said. Lafaele also was used as a pass defender on screens last year. He should be even more effective this year after losing 20 pounds.

Lots more to read. Excitement mounts.

NFL Warriors Start Camp

Below are some notes from the start of NFL training camp:

Tampa Bay coach sees the potential in former UH receiver Chad Owens.

Keep an eye on Jacksonville free-agent receiver Chad Owens, who has a shot to make it as a kick returner. At 5-foot-8, it's hard for Owens to stand out. But he has turned a few heads this offseason.

"You know, he's from the University of Hawaii, so a lot of us haven't seen him because we're in bed when they're playing," Gruden said. "But he's had a knack for making huge plays in the kicking game. Struggled hanging onto the ball. It's been well-documented at times in Jacksonville. He's got a real compact build, he's got power and instant acceleration and quickness and he'll be a guy that will make the kick return game interesting. And as a luxury receiver, a guy who can come in and play three or four positions, he has a knack for making plays."

I really hope he gets a shot at receiver, which he didn't really get in Jacksonville.

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Nate Ilaoa impressed a few fans in Philly.

First big cheer: With the team running through drills at the start of Saturday's morning practice, there wasn't much for a swelling crowd to cheer about.

That is, until "Nasti" Nate Ilaoa lit the fans up.

The Eagles' seventh-round draft choice out of Hawaii and a 5-9, 245-pound running back, Ilaoa wowed the crowd by hauling in a 30-yard Kolb pass along the left sideline.

This is going to be the perfect offense for Nate. He gotta make the team!

Nate is also profiled in this Free Lance-Star article.

But even with all his worldliness, Ilaoa admits to being a bit overwhelmed when he stepped on the field for an Eagles mini-camp earlier this summer.

"When you come out to practice and you take hand-offs from Donovan McNabb and you have to block Takeo Spikes, you realize you aren't playing with these guys on a video game anymore," Ilaoa said in a telephone interview last week. "These guys are actually real, and you're actually out there playing with them."

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Reagan Mauia is working hard on his fullback skills.

Long after players had left the field following morning practice, rookie fullback Reagan Mauia could be seen working on his blocking technique

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Ikaika Alama-Francis has a new diary entry on Detroitlions.com.

Honestly, I feel like I’m getting better every day. I didn’t know what to expect coming into camp; how it was going to be, the tempo and all these things, but it’s up-speed. You’ve just got to get used to it every day. I get more confident every day and when you get more confident, you feel better about yourself and that’s what I try to do every day: learn my plays, be on top of things. It’s been frustrating learning everything so fast, so quick, but I’ve just got to slow down and just let everything come to me.

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Ashley Lelie is ready to come back from his quad injury.

Asked if he was now "100 percent," Lelie said, "It feels close to that. I expect to practice. I can't wait to get out there and just play football."

Hawaii Football Camp Wrap-Ups

Dave Reardon and Stephen Tsai have wrap-ups of the just completed Hawaii Football Camp. Tsai writes about an amazing youngster.

It seemed like it was only yesterday when 6-foot-1, 245-pound Reeve Koehler was a 12-year-old entering the seventh grade.

OK, it was yesterday.

"He's 12?" UH coach June Jones said in astonishment. "That's incredible."

Koehler was among 400 players of all shapes, sizes and purposes who attended the Hawai'i Football Camp.

"My older brother (Solomon) wants to play for UH," Koehler said of Castle High's highly regarded defensive tackle. "I want to play for UH. I wanted to come out here and impress the (UH) coaches."

It was a rare opportunity for Koehler to receive instruction from some of the top coaches in the state. Koehler is too heavy to play in youth football leagues.

"I learned a lot," said Koehler, who plans to play high school football at Damien or Castle.

Chris Fetters of Scout.com was there, and had an assessment of some of the talent.

Fetters said he gave high marks to defensive linemen Aaron Tipoti of Pac-Five, Haku Correa of Damien, Geordon Hanohano of Saint Louis and Solomon Koehler; offensive linemen Mykenna Ikehara of Kamehameha and Sean Tesoro of Baldwin; and running backs Kama Bailey of Damien and Dalton Hilliard of Punahou.

"Sean Tesoro was a big boost," Fetters said. "And when Mykenna showed up, it really upped the level. There were some guys who obviously stood out."

Ikehara, who is 6-3 and 275, said he has received offers from UH, San Diego State and Nevada-Las Vegas.

Dave Reardon's article details a matchup between Ikehara and Tipoti.

During the final rotation of the four-day clinic, the offensive and defensive linemen squared off for physical 1-on-1 battles. The finale featured Pac-Five defensive end Aaron Tipoti and Kamehameha tackle Mykenna Ikehara - both of whom have already received scholarship offers from the Warriors.

They worked each other hard, with a collision worthy of Aloha Stadium in October. But Ikehara kept Tipoti under wraps as UH defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold and Damien coach Brian Derby, one of the state's most noted offensive line tutors, verbally motivated them.

"I liked it. I learned a lot," Ikehara said afterward.

Tipoti said going up against one of the clinic's best offensive linemen was a fun way to end it.

"It's awesome. He's a great tackle and I'm looking forward to playing against him (in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu) this year," Tipoti said.

Sounds like it was an excellent camp.

Reagan Mauia Profile

Ted Mero writes a biography of Reagan Mauia in this Lodi News-Sentinel article. From his days growing up in American Samoa, to high school in Stockon, to his emergence in Hawaii, all the way to the NFL, it's a great article. Here's an excerpt:

"Coach Jones told me I had a chance (to make the NFL)," Mauia said. "I just had to think speed and agility."

Mauia spent hours learning blocking schemes and studying one-on-one with coaches on his way to a standout senior season, but just like college, no one was calling. No team was interested in seeing a 290-pound running back at the NFL combines, which was how Mauia was listed.

Mauia's saving grace was an invitation to the Hula Bowl, an all-star showcase for college seniors. It was here that Mauia technically played fullback for the first time. While most players were looking to impress the NFL scouts, Mauia had more pertinent issues.

"I wasn't worried about (the scouts)," he said. "I was worried about learning to play fullback."

He apparently played the position well enough, as numerous scouts approached him.

Said Mauia: "Scouts would come up to me and ask, 'Where'd you play? We don't have you listed as a fullback.'"

The Miami Dolphins were the only team Mauia visited, and as it turned out, he was one of four Samoans selected by the Dolphins on draft day, a group no referred to by the local media as the "Polynesian Wrecking Crew."

Great article, and there's a lot more to read.

Vasconcellos / Mock / Wilson / Ikaika

Damien safety/receiver/corner Christian Vasconcellos has committed to becoming a Warrior.

"I'm really surprised and excited," Vasconcellos said after giving UH an oral commitment today. "My goal was to play Division I football and play here, but I wasn't getting noticed by UH. All I got was a questionnaire when I was a sophomore, so I started thinking mainland. Now I'm happy because I don't think I can leave my grandma (Nancy Vasconcellos), and I can play in front of my family."

And from the Advertiser:

Vasconcellos, who is 6-feet-1 and 181 pounds, will be a senior this year. He will sign his national letter of intent in February, and join the Warriors in August 2008.

"I like the hype," Vasconcellos said of his decision. "This is my home. I have to protect my home."

Right on. Congratulations to Christian.

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Chad Mock is mentioned in this Vancouver Sun article as he gets ready for his first start for the BC Lions.

Mock is sure to be a favourite of television cameramen for his 1970s afro. Still, Mock is hoping to make a name for himself for more than his 'do.

"I want to make the most of this opportunity and show the coaches I can play," said Mock, who will be used when the Lions go to a five-receiver set. "I'm looking to go out there and see what I can do. Go out there and play football the way I know how to play football."

The article also has a picture of Mock and his afro.

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Some bad news -- former UH defensive lineman Lawrence Wilson was cut by the Ravens. Best of luck to Wilson. Hope he can make it with another team.

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And Ikaika Alama-Francis impresses MLive.com blogger Tom Kowalski.

In watching rookie second-round pick Ikaika Alama-Francis in a few one-on-one pass-rushing drills, the defensive end looks very quick. Very raw, but very quick. He has excellent hand speed and he's still learning how to best utlilize his hand placement. I'll stick with my earlier assessment of this guy -- he looks like a young Robert Porcher.

WAC / SJSU / Naming Opportunities / Tsaikos

Stephen Tsai breaks down the WAC and has short previews of the teams around the conference. Lots of optimism among all of them, which is great.

Dave Reardon profiles SJSU's Dwight Lowery, who is the WAC preseason defensive POY and a preseason All-American. He's looking forward to this year's game against Hawaii.

"He's always looking for some way to improve his game," San Jose State linebacker Matt Castelo said. "He does all the extra things. He makes our receivers better every day in practice, every down."

Lowery can't wait for the Oct. 12 game at Spartan Stadium against Hawaii and quarterback Colt Brennan, the WAC's Offensive Player of the Year. UH torched San Jose State 54-17 last season.

"All of us got burned at Hawaii. Looking forward to it is an understatement. But if we're not at our best, we could get beat the same exact way," Lowery said.

Should be a great game in San Jose.

If you're a rich Warrior fan, there are some naming opportunities for you.

Donor recognition opportunities include the following:


Named UH Football Office Complex

Named individual offices (10)

Named Head Coach Office

Named Offensive Conference Room

Named Defensive Conference Room

Named Football Video Room

If I had a million dollars, I'd be all over that!

And finally, the Warrior Beat Tsaikos had what sounds like an awesome get-together yesterday. Here's a link to Stephen Tsai's post about it, and here's a link to a video covering the event, which has interviews with Coach Jeff Reinebold and Tsaiko fans Al and Da Punchbowl Kid. They are some of the best and most dedicated UH football fans. Say, if they pooled their money together..... "The Tsaiko Football Video Room" anyone? Woot woot!

Ikaika Writes

Garret from UH Warrior Quotes points out this new "Rookie Diary" that Ikaika Alama-Francis has on the Detroit Lions website. Here's an excerpt:

“(Compared to) OTAs, training camp is the same thing, just a little more intense and a little more up-tempo – but I love it. I love it. Just to be out here with the guys going through what they go through and just working hard. It’s my rookie year, I’m going to have to battle through a lot of things but I’m going to have a smile on my face and I’m going to enjoy it.

“We usually go helmets the first three days of college, (but) now it’s just full pads. That’s the way it is: whatever they ask us, that’s what we’ve got to do. So, Coach Marinelli wants pads so we’re going to do it. (But) it was good to be out there again. It really was. I haven’t hit in almost half a year now – I enjoy every minute of it.”

And Ikaika wrote an update to his Yardbarker blog a couple days ago. It sounds very familiar, but he's told this story a few times before. He writes about how he worked hard to earn his scholarship from June Jones.

After playing basketball my first year I decided I did want to play football and Coach Jones welcomed me to the team. He still had the scholarship for me but I wouldn't take it. I was a walk on until my junior year. I'll never forget the day when I did earn the scholarship. Coach Jones announced it in front of the team and it was the same emotion I felt when I got the call from the Lions. It was really unbelievable.

Sounds like the Lions fans really like his attitude. Hope he gets a lot of playing time his rookie year.

Chad Mock Profile / Miami / Effin Ess

Here's a profile of former UH receiver Chad Mock, who will be starting for the BC Lions of the CFL this weekend. An excerpt:

Once tagged as the best pass-catching corps in the CFL, the Lions will now start two rookies in a five-receiver grouping with Mock, a grass-green 24-year-old with just a couple of seasons of experience at the University of Hawaii, joining Cory Rodgers. Small wonder both Josh Boden and Bret Anderson had extra work this week.

An engaging Hawaiian who came back home after two seasons playing at a small Catholic junior college program in Kansas City, Mock overcame long odds and a four-week stay on the developmental roster to get his chance this week.

"I had a little doubt about things at training camp," said Mock, signed out of a Lions' tryout camp in Los Angeles this spring. "But I know how to run routes."

He'll be indoctrinated as a slotback in five-receiver packages Saturday.

Awesome that he's getting a chance.

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This Miami Herald article has a few brief mentions as to how Samson and Reagan fared in rookie camp.

Coaches also saw center Samson Satele do nothing that would lead them to change their plan to make him the starter at the beginning of camp. ''I think he's ready to take on that role,'' offensive line coach Hudson Houck said of the rookie.

Coaches also saw fullback Reagan Mauia show surprising instincts running the football, which almost made up for his obvious need to upgrade his blocking technique.

Is absolute destruction not a good enough technique? Anyway, glad to hear they're both doing well. No mention of Tala today. We'll see where he and the others are after the veterans report on Friday.

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Here's one Oregonian blogger's opinion as to why Oregon State didn't take a cool million to play UH this season.

OSU does indeed have a bye on Oct. 20, and could have added a game at Hawaii as a 13th game. ... but did we mention that Hawaii is the WAC favorite this season? ... that QB Colt Brennan is back? That the odds of any team - even a Pac-10 team - beating the home boys on the islands in consecutive years are off the charts? ... no, the schedule is difficult enough in 2007.

Which is why these kinds of things are usually planned years in advance. Here's Ferd's hope for the future.

Given the allure of the Islands — not to mention the Hawai'i exemption — the Warriors can do things other members of the WAC can only dream about. They have the means and opportunity to carve out a pretty good schedule year in and year out.

Well, in years in which they don't get caught napping at the rolodex.

That's a thought you hope hit home with its schedule-maker for future reference.

What a lesson to learn this far along in one's athletic directing career. It's amazing.

Ikaika Profile

Detroit Lions practice is underway, and here's a profile of Ikaika Alama-Francis, from the Detroit News. An excerpt:

"My dad played for Green Bay so he's given me the horror stories," Alama-Francis said. "I'm just going to go in, have my mind focused and do the best I can."
He'll get that chance in the final game of the regular season on December 30 when the Lions travel to Green Bay.
Before then, Alama-Francis knows he has a lot of learning to do.
First of all, to get aligned correctly," Lions head coach Rod Marinelli said. "He couldn't get aligned. Not getting off the ball well enough and he's a little bit high. That's my expectations right now, just do the little things. But he's a big, good-looking athlete with a great willingness. He's got to get the basic stuff right now. He'll be fine."
The other defensive linemen have taken Alama-Francis under their wing.
"They're all veterans, they've all been here," Alama-Francis said. "I'm the only rookie this year so I'm just trying to learn as much from them as I can. So I've got my ears wide open to the coaches, to the players and hopefully I get to their level."

No mention of Ikaika moving to the PUP list. Not sure if it was speculation or a misprint yesterday. In any case, great news.

And Stephen Tsai has some details of his 4-year contract, as well as a fond farewell to Lois Manin, who's leaving the UH media relations department.

More Samson Articles

A couple more great articles profiling Samson Satele, who is working hard to be the starting center for Miami. The first article is from Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald, starting with what teammate Tala Esera has to say about Samson.

So when Dolphins guard Tala Esera dishes out compliments about his fellow rookie and friend, center Samson Satele, it's typically going to be genuine. Maybe even a bit blunt.

''He always acts like he knows all of his stuff,'' Esera said Wednesday, reclined on a plush leather couch in the Dolphins locker room. ``Even though sometimes he might not.''

A backhanded gesture? Not at all. Because at this position -- and at this age -- that kind of quality isn't only important for a center like Satele. It's imperative.

And from Samson himself:

Satele, who appears to be the early favorite to start at center from the start of training camp, has the total package. And that early projection as a rookie starter has caused him to want to improve even more.

''That motivates me a lot,'' Satele (pronounced Sah-TELL-ay) said. ``They weren't just going to hand me the spot. I've got to work for that spot. Now, I'm there. Somebody has to take it away from me, and I'm not going to let that happen for as long as I can.''

The second article is from Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Here are some words of praise from backup QB John Beck.

Rookie quarterback John Beck, who has seemingly mastered the complicated playbook, said Satele has the smarts and hands to handle the center position.

"He's the one recognizing everything, recognizing the fronts quick and making a decision on how he wants them to block," Beck said. "I know the guy did a lot of shotgun snaps in college, but he's extremely easy to get a snap from. I don't think he or I have had one fumble on a quarterback-center exchange, and I think that just shows his talent."

Awesome.

Good News for Ikaika, Samson, Tala, Chad Mock

But first, the bad news for Ikaika.

Tom Kowalski, of Mlive.com, reports the Detroit Lions could place DL Ikaika Alama-Francis (chest) on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Unless I missed it, I actually haven't seen that report on MLive.com, so maybe it was fleeting speculation. But what I did find on MLive.com is the good news for Ikaika.

According to Rod Marinelli's training camp press conference, the Lions have inked deals with second-round picks Drew Stanton and Ikaika Alama-Francis.

No terms or details yet. Congratulations to Ikaika!

UPDATE: Garret finds this Detroit News article stating that Ikaika signed a 4-year deal. Thanks again G!

======

Samson Satele is profiled and talked about as the probable starting center for Miami.

The Dolphins' second-round pick enters training camp as the odds-on favorite to become just the second rookie to open a season as the Dolphins' starting center.

The other guy obviously wasn't Langer. And it wasn't Dwight Stephenson, either. No, the two greatest centers in Dolphins history, both Hall of Famers, didn't get their chances until their third seasons.

And Samson talks about what he needs to work on.

"I told coach Hudson straight up that I'm not a vocal guy," Satele said. "But if he wants me to be, I'll be. I'm a leader by actions. That's what I've been living by since I played Pop Warner.

"I want to get everybody's respect through my actions first and then be a vocal guy. I can't just be a vocal guy and not show these guys what I can do before I tell them what to do."

Houck said Satele is making progress.

"People believe in him as a leader," Houck said. "Right now, I don't think he's a very verbal leader, but he's certainly a leader in terms of work ethic and caring about his job.

"If you're a rookie, it's hard to really speak up and control the group. But considering he's a rookie, he's doing a pretty damn good job of it."

That's just awesome.

======

Samson's teammate Tala Esera was, surprisingly, practicing at first team left guard today.

Although rookie guard Drew Mormino was believed to be vying for the starting left guard spot with Chris Liwienski, there he was playing right guard in practice today. Huh? Also, rookie Tala Esera was playing left guard next to his former Hawaii teammate and fellow Samoan starting center Samson Satele. Satele seems confident that he will hold onto the starting spot. Cam Cameron commented on the kid's smarts after practice.

Excellent sign for Tala. Thanks to Garret from UH Warrior Quotes for the link.

======

And finally, Chad Mock has been activated from the BC Lions practice squad. And Stephen Tsai writes that Chad may start this weekend.

Former UH wideout Chad Mock has been promoted to the B.C. Lions' active roster and he is set to start this weekend, according to Canadian Football League consultant Jon Nielsen.

Great news all around!

Bottom / Turf / Idaho / Mana / Ayat

Dave Reardon writes about the need for the bottom of the WAC to improve.

Commissioner Karl Benson knows that the have-nots must improve for the league to attain true respect. He said the schools have committed to the WAC's strategic plan of increased spending on athletics.

...

While Idaho, LaTech and Utah State won't figure into the equation at the top of the WAC standings, they will likely factor into Hawaii's national-respect quotient.

And, compounded by two I-AA opponents on the schedule, that's not a good thing for the Warriors.

Oh right, and the two I-AA opponents. I had blocked it out of my mind.

Dave also has some great quotes from the Media Preview. Here are a couple:

» Idaho's new coach, Robb Akey, is overjoyed that the Vandals' Kibbie Dome is finally getting a new FieldTurf-like surface and players no longer have to worry about staph infections and other injuries.

"The AstroTurf is history. It crawled out on its own."

» Hal Mumme of New Mexico State is an unashamed fan of Jones' offensive style.

"When we do things we try to emulate Hawaii a lot. June and I have a lot of the same ideas offensively. We study and admire them a lot."

Excellent news regarding Idaho's turf, especially since UH plays there this season. Ferd Lewis has more on this subject:

It has been replaced by an artificial surface called "Real Grass," used by the Dallas Cowboys and others. And the Idaho players, who host UH Sept. 29, say it was about time.

"That stuff killed your knees," said linebacker David Vobora. "It was part of the home-field edge, but, good riddance. It was a bad rug."

Cornerback Stanley Franks said, "you'd hear clicking at the bottom. It was bad. If you slipped and got scraped up you had to go get alcohol on it before it got infected."

Wait, is he talking about Cooke Field? Eh, I'm jus kidding.

Ferd has more about Idaho, specifically their revolving door coaching situation these past few years.

Idaho once dominated the instate series with rival Boise State, but has come to be known as Stepping Stone Tech, Revolving Door U. and the like. They'd just like a coach to be there long enough not to have to wear a "My name is..." name tag.

Tom Cable was gone after 2003. Nick Holt hightailed it back to Southern California as an assistant coach after two seasons. Dennis Erickson, after promising to rebuild the program, bolted for Arizona State after less than a year. Talk about being Vandal-ized.

Ferd contrasts that with the continuity of the UH coaching staff. We've been very fortunate.

======

Stephen Tsai has an article with several different players from around the WAC praising Colt Brennan.

Fresno State defensive end Tyler Clutts said Brennan, who is the Warriors' leading returning rusher, is an artful dodger.

"From a defensive line perspective, it's tough, because he's a double threat," Clutts said. "He can run and he can throw. He's quick. He's deceptively elusive. He changes up your pass rush. You're a little more hesitant because you don't want to lose contain. He's much harder to defend than a guy who's a pocket passer."

The article also states that Oregon State defensive back Keanemana "Mana" Silva is requesting a release and wants to transfer to UH. Good luck to him.

======

And finally, congratulations to former UH kicker Justin Ayat, who signed with the New York Jets.

Videos from WAC Media Preview

Below are some videos of news stories covering the WAC Media Preview. This first one is from Boise's KTVB. Colt Brennan and Ian Johnson discuss the Heisman hype. Here's a screenshot of Colt's "dreads" from that interview.



Errrr, those aren't dreads!

KTVB has another video, this one mostly about Hawaii, with lots of praise for UH from Ian Johnson, BSU coach Chris Peterson, and a few words from June Jones.

This news story from KBCI in Boise also profiles Colt and Ian, with interview with both of them, as well as June and Chris Peterson.

Enough of the Boise news, here's a video from good old KHNL. Reid Shimizu talks to Colt about the upcoming season. Unfortunately the interview is over the phone, but they show some sweet highlights, and they also talk about the Colt Following DVD.

And finally, not video, but audio interviews of the coaches from the WAC preview, including one from June Jones, who has a lot of praise for this year's Warrior defense. He also talks about Colt and the other teams around the WAC.

Media Days

Stephen Tsai writes how Colt Brennan and Ian Johnson handled all the attention at the WAC footbal media preview.

Ten feet away, Johnson often turned, watching Brennan navigate through interviews.

"He's a great guy," Johnson said of Brennan. "Anytime anyone asks about him, I tell them nothing but good stuff, because it's the truth. ... He's come from a tough situation. Also, he's had a whole lot of adversity that he's overcome. I'm proud to say he's a member of the WAC."

Dave Reardon has various stories from the media preview, including Mike Lafaele's awkward moment with reporters.

Hawaii senior Mike Lafaele watched with an amused look yesterday as three reporters sat around an empty chair next to his with the name card of Colt Brennan in front of it. Every now and then a guy wanting to interview the quarterback would wander over to Lafaele, the blue-collar defensive tackle. Many of the questions would be about Brennan. Lafaele didn't mind, providing intelligent and usable quotes about his high-profile teammate, as well as insight on what the defense would be like without Jerry Glanville ("better") when asked.

Dave also writes about how the WAC's success has led to some great things, and also has also let to some scheduling difficulties.

The irony is that the success of the Warriors, who went 11-3 last year, including a 41-24 Hawaii Bowl victory over Frazier's alma mater, now of the Pac-10, and Broncos, makes it even harder for them to schedule games, especially against big-name schools. As a result, Brennan and Johnson have fewer opportunities to make their cases, and UH will have to rely in part on circumstantial evidence, even if it wins all its games in its bid to be this year's BSU.

Not that it should excuse the whole fiasco, but it's been a factor. And as Tsai and Ferd Lewis write, the scheduling fiasco was a "hot topic" at the media preview.

"It came up — a lot," in interviews with WAC area and national media," Brennan said. "I was asked about it all day."

The Tsai and Lewis story also reveals that new Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley grew up as a fan of June Jones.

Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley, the son of former Georgia coach Vince Dooley, said he has been a longtime fan of June Jones, who played and coached for the Atlanta Falcons.

"I certainly have a lot of respect for what he's done and what he's accomplished," Dooley said. "His teams always could throw the ball. I never worked with him, but his influence has probably traveled through other coaches to me. That's the effect of really good coaches. ... Anytime people get in four-wideout (formations), there's some kind of June Jones influence."

Whether that's BS or not, that's a nice thing to say.

And Ferd Lewis writes that Colt Brennan is looking forward to November 23.

"The last two years I've had good (statistical) games against Boise, but we haven't walked away with a win," Brennan said. "This year I don't care how I play individually. I mean that. All I want is that win. Especially at our place. If both teams take care of what they have to do we can give the nation quite a show between two great teams from the WAC."

Around the WAC

Here are some Media Preview quotes and stories from other WAC newspapers.

From The Salt Lake Tribune.

Meanwhile, at the top of both polls, Hawaii edged BCS-busting Boise State to inherit the title of WAC preseason favorite.
Hawaii, led by quarterback Colt Brennan, finished 11-3 last season and led the nation in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense.
"Expectations are always that way when you win," said coach June Jones. "Having Colt back fosters all those things. But I don't feel any different. It's the start of the season and you have to get lucky, you have to win on the road and all that. I really don't put too much into polls."

From The Idaho Statesman:

"If we expect to be anybody, we have got to beat Boise State," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "That's the key."

Teddy Feinberg of The Las Cruces Sun-News writes a profile of Colt Brennan. An excerpt:

"He's a great player," NMSU coach Hal Mumme said. "I thought that the first time I saw him play and I still think that today. He's got a great arm and all the physical tools. He's one of the marquee players in our conference."

And what June Jones says about Colt's abilities:

"You can improve a quarterback's technique, his fundamentals, all that," Jones said. "But when your under pressure, you go back to what comes natural to you. You either hit the guy or you don't. And he does. He's a very gifted player."

More from The Las Cruces Sun-News:

"We're excited about the team we have coming back this year," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "The thing that concerns me as a coach is the leadership of some of the kids we lost. But we think we have some players that can play pretty well behind them."

June also has high praise for New Mexico State.

"The sleeper to me I really do believe this because Hal has a quarterback is New Mexico State," Jones said. "They lost two or three, maybe even four really close games last year. If they won those, they would have been like San Jose last year - 8-4, 8-3. They seem to have taken a step up."

I agree, they're gonna shock some people this year.

From Jon Wilner's San Jose Mercury News blog, former UH and current SJSU coach Dick Tomey talks about his team's upcoming season.

San Jose State was picked to finish fifth in the Western Athletic Conference media poll.

Hawaii, not Fiesta Bowl champion Boise State, was slotted for first place.

“There are two prohibitive favorites, Hawaii and Boise State, and everybody else is scrambling,'’ SJSU Coach Dick Tomey said. “Personally, I think this will be our best team.'’

That the Spartans were picked for the middle of the conference seemingly has more to do with the strength of the league than any expected drop-off in SJSU’s performance.

It's gonna be a very competitive conference. Lots of talent coming back. As Boise coach Chris Peterson says:

"I got the spring prospectuses from the different schools and I was depressed for a week (saying) ‘I thought that guy was a senior,' " Petersen said.

By the way, here are the polls.

Media Poll

Rank Team (1st place votes) Points

1. Hawaii (32) 494

2. Boise State (26) 490

3. Fresno State 361

4. Nevada 337

5. San Jose State 321

6. New Mexico State 233

7. Louisiana Tech 157

8. Utah State 110

9. Idaho 107



Coaches' Poll

1. Hawaii (6) 62

2. Boise State (3) 59

3. Nevada 45

4. Fresno State 40

5. San Jose State 39

6. New Mexico State 31

7. Louisiana Tech 25

8. Utah State 13

9. Idaho 10

LP Waived

The Jets waived Leonard Peters. From the Advertiser:

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — The New York Jets on Monday signed free-agent center Joseph Villani, and waived safety Leonard Peters and guard Dominic Moran.

Let's hope another team in need of a big hitter picks him up. Good luck to Leonard.

Awesome

After watching all nine segments of A Colt Following, a few things come to mind.

1. Robert Kekaula is a genius.

2. UH did a great job with the website presentation, and there were no stuttering/bandwidth problems.

3. How the hell did Colt not win the Heisman last year?!? As Heisman Pundit says, Colt's gonna have to bench press the world to top what he did in 2006.

4. Whether he wins the Heisman or not, this video shows how awesome Colt has been on and off the field, while showcasing the school and the state. Definitely a must see.

UPDATE: Here's the UH Athletic Department's official Colt Brennan for Heisman page.

Colt's DVD on the web

Sorry to scoop you on this one tombo, but I had to share it...

The long awaited Heisman campaign video is available to view online at this url. I really wish someone could get a copy of the DVD they handed out to the media at the WAC football preview. I would love to see it on my tv, rather than this small laptop screen.

Enjoy! Gonna go watch it for myself now.

http://www.hawaiiathletics.com/Candidates/Brennan/colt-2007.html

Ask Coach: Individual Players

This week's Ask Coach Q&A is up on the Warriors' Haka site. He answers questions about individual players like Davone Bess, Kiran Kepo'o, Eric Shaffer and Mike Lafaele. Here's an excerpt about Bess:

Q.) Coach Jones, with Bess returning punts next season do you plan on having him sit out a play or two after a long return? It could give the backups some experience but I don't know how significant the drop off is between Bess and the backup slots. By the way, I think that Bess is the most dangerous punt returner UH has had since Chad Owens, so I love that he's going to get to have that job all season!

A.) Bess is a great punt returner. He will not sit out unless it is a really significant return. Our receivers are in the best cardio shape of anyone on the team. They run more than anyone in practice. If they get tired or they did not work hard enough in practice that week they won’t work special teams.

Jones also says that UH has been trying to schedule Notre Dame, but they've been avoiding us.

Johnson and Brennan

WAC Heisman hopefuls Ian Johnson and Colt Brennan have a friendly rivalry going. Stephen Tsai writes:

"Why is Colt bigger than me?" Johnson said, pointing to a Photoshop-enhanced poster of the two players displayed in front of the media room.

At 5 feet 11, Johnson is 4 inches shorter than Brennan, whose biceps appear to be way larger in the poster.

"That's just not right," Johnson said, laughing.

But Johnson has bragging rights when it comes to the Broncos' storybook 2006 season, which had a happily-ever-after ending with a BCS upset of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. That game earned the Broncos recent ESPY Awards for best game and best play.

"I went to the ESPYs, though," Johnson said of the fun competition against Brennan. "That was great. He can't have that. I've got an ESPY. Colt, where's your ESPY? Thank you, thank you. Chalk that as one to nothing."

Johnson talks to Dave Reardon about the rivalry Boise has with pretty much all the WAC teams.

Johnson is aware many prognosticators think Hawaii will finally upend Boise State this year and win the WAC championship. He's not offended by such talk, but also said that in some ways, the Warriors are just another team in the WAC hungry to gun down the Broncos after five years of domination.

"Not to take away from Hawaii, but we totally feel like every school in the WAC is a rivalry because we have bad blood with everyone," Johnson said. "We're in a lot of people's cross-hairs. We're told San Jose State's talking about us, and the Idaho guys are talking about us. That's the way we love it. That's the way we want it to be."

They deserve the success and accolades they've received, but they will also deserve what's coming to them on November 23!

PAC-10 Back in Aloha

Not this year, but good news for future Sheraton Hawaii Bowl games. Ferd Lewis writes:

Under the deal, which is to be announced shortly, the game is scheduled to receive the sixth-place team in 2008 and seventh-place finisher in 2009, according to Jim Donovan, executive director of the game.

...

"We're very pleased the Pac-10 agreed to extend its relationship with the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl, building upon the success we had last year with Arizona State in the game," Donovan said. "We believe with a Pac-10 team in our bowl we will see increased attendance, more in-bound visitors and better TV ratings. This is another step in the right direction, building the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl into a nationally renowned event."

Right on. Jim Donovan for AD!

Warriors To Win WAC

Or at least they've been picked to do so by the WAC media and coaches. From Stephen Tsai and Ferd Lewis:

In something of a surprise, the Warriors out-polled five-time defending champion Boise State in balloting to be announced today at the WAC Football Preview here, according to people familiar with the voting.

UH received six of the nine first-place votes from the conference coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Thirty-two of 58 media ballots also picked UH first. Boise State was the only other school receiving first-place votes in either poll.

"Preseason polls are preseason polls," UH coach June Jones said. "Hopefully we'll be there at the end. They don't really mean much. We were picked last in '99 (and finished first). We were picked first one other time and finished last."

The article has a list of both the media and coaches poll. Dave Reardon also has a breakdown of the rest of the teams.

The rest of the coaches' poll goes in this order: Nevada, Fresno State, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech, Utah State and Idaho. The media ranks the teams in the same order as the coaches, with the exception of flip-flopping Fresno State and Nevada.

This is the year the hairy oracle prophesied about all those eons ago.

GO WARRIORS!!!!

Colt is WAC Preseason POY

As voted by the WAC media. From the Star-Bulletin:

Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan was announced today as Western Athletic Conference preseason Offensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row.

Brennan was the WAC postseason Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 after breaking numerous NCAA, WAC and UH passing records. He was sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Congratulations to Colt!

Hate...

is such a strong word. Like you said for Boise, they're respected because they've managed to win all these titles for the last I don't remember how many years. They're the BYU of today. I didn't realize we lost 6 times in a row to them. The last 2 years were the closest contests by far. The others weren't so pretty. I was at the 69-3 blowout in Boise where Timmy broke the INT record and not the passing yard record. The last time we beat them was when they weren't in the WAC yet in 1999, June's first year.

But this year is a different year. The game on Nov 23rd will be sold out. Aloha Stadium will be rockin'. And Boise will be (black &) blue in more areas than their uniform. Cinderella's fairy tale will end.

The only Broncos I like are in Denver.... and I never want to go back to Boise and see that blue turf ever. So yes, Hate is a good word to use in this context. And I'm usually not an angry man.

No Aloha

Guess these teams weren't hurting for money. Dave Reardon reports:

Western Athletic Commissioner Karl Benson today disclosed the names of three Pac-10 schools that declined to play at Hawaii in the upcoming football season despite a guarantee of $1 million and a national TV appearance.

"Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington State turned down the offer," Benson said. The schools did not accept 11th-hour invitations from UH (working in conjunction with the WAC and ESPN) to play at Aloha Stadium on Oct. 20.

The Pac-10 would have paid $400,000 of the amount and UH would have paid $600,000.

Wow. Of course, maybe if the Boise game hadn't already been scheduled on Thanksgiving weekend, or if the 2007 schedule had been worked on much much earlier, if if if... still, that's a lot of money to turn down, even minus travel expenses.

The Mouse Influence / Nate Ilaoa Quotes

Kalani Simpson goes off on another tangent from the June Jones Q&A, and it's pretty funny/scary/awesome. In a previous article, June Jones says he has never let an opposing team score just so he could get the ball back. Nonethless, from Kalani's column, June has anecdote about being majorly influenced by a "Let 'em score" situation from his playing days under Mouse Davis. An excerpt:

The Vikings can't stop them, and time is draining away. Montana is going to run out the clock. Montana is going to score. Montana is going to win.

The young Jones is standing on the sideline, watching, horrified, standing next to Mouse as hope fades away. He looks over, only to see that Mouse is walking toward the defensive coach.

"Let 'em score," Mouse says.

"What?!!!"

Mouse is serious. "Let 'em score."

In the retelling Jones uses italics in the tone of his voice: "They got into a physical altercation."

Read the whole column, it's a great story.

======

And Nate Ilaoa, who signed a 4-year contract with the Eagles, has various quotes spread around various articles. This one, from Larry O'Rourke of the Morning Call is about the upcoming training camp.

''I heard it's hot up there,'' said running back Nate Ilaoa, a seventh-round pick from Hawaii. ''Yeah, it can get hot in Hawaii, but there's always a breeze in Hawaii. They told me there isn't any breeze up [at Lehigh].''

From the Star-Bulletin regarding the competition in the backfield:

"Its not about competing with Moats or whoever, its about just going out there and competing period," Ilaoa said. "I just want to get there and let the tough part rest with the Eagles, make it hard for them to cut me."

And from the Advertiser, about getting used to the NFL:

Ilaoa, who served as an instructor at yesterday's Hawai'i Football Camp, is scheduled to return to Philadelphia on Wednesday.

"I'm getting the hang of things," said Ilaoa, who was admittedly nervous when he first reported to the Eagles' mini camp in May. "It was like that the first time I came (to UH). I got comfortable after that."

Previewing the WAC Preview

Stephen Tsai writes that Colt Brennan will take a quick break from coaching at the Elite 11 Camp to take part in the WAC Football Media Preview, which starts tomorrow.

Brennan will take a break tomorrow as guest coach for the Elite 11 Camp in Southern California to travel to San Jose for interviews with national media. He returns to the camp tomorrow night.

"I'm excited to go up there," Brennan said. "I've never done it before, so it's a new experience. Obviously it will be a chance to let people know what our team has been doing this summer and where we stand and what we plan on doing this year."

DVD copies of "A Colt Following," a 43 minute Heisman candidacy video edited by Robert Kekaula, will be distributed to the media there. Let's hope the video will be online for everyone to see either Monday or Tuesday, as detailed in this Advertiser article from July 11th.

Ferd Lewis writes that the WAC has plenty to be proud of and to crow about and proclaim during the media preview.

Between Boise State's inspiring Fiesta Bowl triumph, Hawai'i quarterback Colt Brennan's record-pulverizing season and San Jose State's turnaround, the WAC has plenty it wants to show off. And, with 69 media representatives, including a smattering of national media — USA Today, ESPN.com, the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle — and three bowls, it will have an audience, the proportions of which it has rarely been blessed.

Ferd also discusses one of the WAC's goals, which is very important for Hawaii's pooped-upon, but still not pooped-out-of-luck, BCS aspirations.

The WAC's avowed goal is to place two of its teams, Boise State and UH, in the preseason Top 25 and hope one of them can duplicate the Broncos' lucrative run to the BCS and pick up some major awards along the way.

Both finished in the polls in January — (Boise as high as No. 5 and UH 24th) — but the key for positioning for a Bowl Championship Series berth is to have the boost of being there when the season kicks off. "History has shown us how much of an advantage that can be," Benson said.

There's gonna be quite a few outside factors that will have to go Hawaii's way during the season as well. But UH just gotta take care of what UH can take care of.

Brian Murphy of the Idaho Statesman writes about WAC commissioner Karl Benson's excitement for the upcoming season.

In 1999, the 16-team WAC crumbled under his feet. Eight teams bolted to form their own league, the Mountain West Conference. Five of the eight left behind are now in other leagues.

Any thought that the WAC would assume its place as what Benson calls, "the second most recognized conference in the West" behind the Pac-10 seemed preposterous. But that's where the league is today. Benson won't mention the Mountain West by name. But you can see him smiling through the phone.

He has great admiration for Hawaii and Fresno State, which held the league together while Benson found new members. The additions of Boise State (football) and Nevada (basketball) gave the league additional credibility.

And this is a great goal that I hope the league can pull off ASAP:

The WAC is pushing its strategic plan, which calls for schools near the bottom to increase spending to bolster competitiveness.

"There's always going to be a gap. We have to narrow the gap," said Benson, who along with the board of directors turned down a contract extension offer from ESPN this summer.

It is through television deals and bowl opportunities that Benson can add to the coffers of the have-nots in the league.

On the field, Boise State and Hawaii will do very well, Fresno will bounce back, Nevada and SJSU will continue to improve, and New Mexico State will surprise a lot of people. Idaho, Louisiana Tech and Utah State are in rebuilding situations, coaching and/or personnel-wise (thanks Dennis Erickson) so they may take a while to get back to competitive form. But let's hope they shock some people.

And Stephen Tsai has a post about his arrival in the Bay Area for the WAC Preview, waiting for Ferd Lewis at the airport, and Ferd possibly stealing his car. I think he'll be updating the post throughout the day.

In the meantime, I took a quick tour of the place. The interview and work rooms are on the second floor; the hospitality room is on the 17th. I guess that's the correct distance needed between writing and drinking.
One of the cool things is the WAC made personalized room keys. On the front is the WAC logo, the back has a breakdown of each conference's bowl winning percentage the past five years. The WAC is No. 1 (.611), followed by the ACC (.600). I bet the ACC doesn't have its logo on room keys.

And here's a link to the schedule of the preview sessions.

Solomon Elimimian / Greg McMackin

Dave Reardon continues his weekly player profiles with a great story on linebacker Solomon Elimimian. The article discusses Sol growing up in LA, his relationship with older brother Abraham, his work with autistic kids, and a whole lot more. Here's an excerpt of him talking about the switch from the 3-4 to the 4-3.

"I think it's coming natural for me. A linebacker's heart is a linebacker's heart, you know? It doesn't change that you've got to hit and you've got to run," Elimimian said. "A lot of the guys on our team are intelligent. Our whole defense is picking it up pretty good. As far as me, I love the transition. I think it fits our personnel better. Guys can actually play now that couldn't before. It's a joy for us. Like (defensive end) Karl Noa, he's going to have a really good year this year."

Great article.

Speaking of the defense, Stephen Tsai interviews defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, who discusses the alignment switch, his coaching philosophy, his respect for the players, and a lot more. Another great article. Here's an excerpt of Coach discussing this year's linebackers:

On the linebackers:

"We're going to play Adam (Leonard) on the outside and inside. He's going to be our joker (pass rusher) in our Okie package (3-3-5 alignment). We're putting a lot of things on Adam. He's a talent. He's a good player.

"Solomon (Elimimian) is our starting middle linebacker. We're going to roll four guys (in the three positions), so Adam will play inside, too. We're going to roll Blaze (Soares), Solomon, Adam and Brad (Kalilimoku). Cal (Lee, the linebacker coach) feels those guys are all starters, so they're all going to play. They're first-string guys.

"I think Blaze is a big-time player. If he continues to grow with Cal, he has a chance to be one of the best to ever come out of here. He has the speed. He has the instinct. He's a great hitter. He has that look in his eyes. Some of those great 'backers have that look in their eyes — (Jeff) Ulbrich, Ray Lewis — and he has that look."

Defense? MONSTER.

Purcell and Ilaoa Sign

Stephen Tsai reports that Mel Purcell and Nate Ilaoa have each signed 4-year contracts with their respective NFL teams.

Purcell, a defensive end who was picked by the Browns in the sixth round, will receive a signing bonus of $87,250. The total value of the contract is worth between $1.7 million and $2.3 million.

Ilaoa, a running back who was the Eagles seventh-round pick, will earn a signing bonus of $45,000. His contract is valued between $1.7 million and $2.2 million.

Congratulations to both of them!

June Jones Q&A Part 3 / Rolo / Dan

First of all, big thanks to my friend Chawan Cut for writing his first entry on this blog. Great post about NCAA 08 and his unmitigated hate for Boise State. I don't really hate BSU as much as I respect what they've done for the WAC's profile. They've also beaten UH six straight years, which I must -- okay I hate them. Anyway, let's hope it's the first post of many for CC.

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The Star-Bulletin has the third and final installment of their June Jones Q&A. Here's an excerpt regarding scheduling:

Q: A lot of scheduling should have been done when you were 3-9 (in 2000).

A: Thank you. That's the way it should have been. I agree. (All the big BCS teams). All of them.

Now it's harder. The only way you can -- to me, the next five years it's going to be harder if we have openings. ... Even that is going to be costly because we're going to have to pay a I-AA team, because I-AA teams are being paid on the mainland to go to UCLA, to go to Stanford, to go wherever.

But what should be done is 2012 through 2018, we should have all of them done. And they should be done now. Because even a coach would just say, 'Yeah, go ahead.' Because six years from now he might be dead or not here. Yeah, exactly.

A lot of those teams would give reasons why they don't want to, the money will change, we'll wait. Well, just put it in the contract: 'Teams will have the right to renegotiate that in 2011 for the 2013 game.' But get them on the hook. There are ways to solve that problem.

I'm still kind of waiting to see if there are any repercussions on the Hawaii exemption.

The article also has a JPEG of the full August practice schedule.

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Nick Rolovich writes his first article for the Warriors' Haka site and answers the fans' questions.

Q.) Who is the most underrated player on the current squad?

A.) There is no question that this team has talent. During my two seasons as a student assistant, I got to see and know many of the current players as they came in as freshman. Many of the current starters were on the scout teams that Brian Smith and I got to help with during those years. But out of all the current players, for me, the most underrated player has to be Dan Kelly. Going 13 for 17 last year including 4 of 6 from 40+, is very good for a kicker, especially a young one. I am not traditionally a big kicker guy, but Kelly is clutch and a great asset for this team.

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UPDATE: Woops, not sure if it was posted later or I completely missed it, but Dan Robinson also has a new article up at Warriors' Haka. He writes about the great coaching he received under June Jones and Dan Morrison.

It wouldn’t be until the ’99 season when June Jones and Coach Morrison came that finally I had someone to coach me. That’s the first time I had someone teach me a system, someone who could answer all of the “what if” questions that arose.

I believe that coaching is an opportunity to influence young kids in a positive way. You look at a lot of so-called “coaches” out there, and it’s like they are merely living their dreams through the kids, rather than allowing the kids to have fun and truly enjoy the game of football.

They yell, scream and curse at their boys in an effort to “motivate” them.

I have been at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to coaching and have never felt really motivated by a “screamer.”

Dan Morrison was perfect for me. He would talk to me and truly coach me. He never once raised his voice at me. I would do anything for that man. He earned my respect because of his actions.

UH football is truly lucky to have the coaches, players and alumni we have today.

EA Sports NCAA '08 game.

First blog here. I'm stuck here away from the island like some of you. Luckily its not Sept 1st yet. Dying for the season to start. And what usually helps ease the long summer drought of UH sports is the yearly release of EA Sports NCAA football game. This is the first year its being released on the PS3, and the graphics are supposed to be intense. I heard though that the game developers had decided that the silver helmets are our default helmets. I'm hoping someone out there can unlock or create the true green helmets that are our colors.

Here's a shot of Aloha Stadium at night from the game.


Unfortunately for us Hawaii (and Oklahoma) fans, we have to endure the mugshot of Boise's Jared Zabransky face plastered all over the cover and game disc. I bet this inflates their head even more after their miracle win in the Fiesta Bowl and the national crowning of them as the Cinderella team of the year. And it doesn't help that ESPN loves them too. Did you see the ESPYs?



Luckily there's crazy fans of the game and Hawaii like us that go and make "new" covers for the game. Here's one of Colt that I think I'll be printing out and replace in my game. Sorry Ms Cinderella Zabransky, you'll have a new home at the bottom of my trash can.

Game homepage (there's a Hawaii wallpaer too)
http://www.easports.com/ncaa08/

Custom Hawaii covers
http://eacustomcovers.com/gallery/08-hawaii

Fall Camp Schedule

Stephen Tsai has posted the 2007 training camp schedule, which I am totally stealing:

Here is the Warriors' training-camp schedule:
Aug. 2 — Players report; orientation; NCAA meetings.
Aug. 3 — Practice (with helmets), 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Aug. 4 — Practice, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Aug. 6 — Practice (first time with shoulder pads), 4-6 p.m.
Aug. 7 — Practice, 4-6 p.m.
Aug. 8-9 — Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m.; walk-through, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 10 — Practices, 8:30-11-30 a.m., 3:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 11 — Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m.; walk-through, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 13 — Practices (first time in full pads), 8:30-11:30 a.m., 3:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 14 — Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m.; walk-through, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
Aug. 15 — Practices, 8:30-11-30 a.m., 3:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 16 — Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Aug. 17 — Practices, 8:30-11-30 a.m., 3:30-5 p.m.
Aug. 18 — Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m.; walk-through, 3:30-4:30 p.m.
* On Aug. 16, players move into dorms; Murphy's Pigskin Pigout at 5 p.m.

There's also more to read from that Warrior Beat entry, including news of Jim Caviezel a.k.a Jesus, donating $500 to this weekend's Hawaii Football Camp, and news that Stephen got crapped on, and not in a metaphorical sense.

June Jones Q&A Part 2 / Manuwai / L. Gibson / Etc.

The Star-Bulletin has the second installment of the June Jones Q&A. He talks about the running backs, letting Graunke play more, incoming players, playing service academies in the future, and his defensive philosphy. A pretty long excerpt:

...Takeaways and being the top offensive team win more games than any other combination.

Q: Is it hard to get defensive coaches to subscribe to that?

A: It is, because it's been inbred in them for so long that you want to burn the clock. And I said, If you don't want to be on the field get off the field! Stop 'em in three plays. (Take the ball away.) Yeah, exactly. Get me on the field!

So the mind-set was not that way. I think any defensive coach who coached for me ... I guarantee you they'd rather coach in what we do than coach with what other coaches do. Because I don't hassle them. I say just get off the field and be aggressive and take the ball away. I don't care if they score. Just go get the ball.

Q: They like it that you want them to dictate the action, rather than letting the opponents do so?

A: Exactly. You hold onto your rear end, in every game if you make a mistake in the fourth quarter you're going to lose. I'd rather play the other way. Go blitz. Just go blitz, I don't care. If you sack 'em that's great, if you get a pick, that's great, if they score, that's OK, too.

Q: Have you ever told them, "Let 'em score"?

A: No, I've never told anybody that. But I've had games where I knew they were going to run out the clock and kick a field goal with no time. It's kind of like basketball, the philosophy of letting them have the last shot. They're running down the clock, should you foul them, let them make the one-and-one, and then you've got enough time to make the last shot, or are you going to let them go down the final second, take the shot, and you lose?

I love it. The McMackin Attackin Defense gonna be a monster this year.

Kalani Simpson goes off on a tangent, but a really great one, in this profile of June Jones raising his kids.

Yes, it turns out that even Jones was one of those harried dads -- straight out of a Chevy Chase "Vacation" movie -- who insists everybody get in the car so he can drive them to some wholesome, educational, family fun. While they would rather be doing ... well, anything else. Just anything at all. The way kids always do.

"And they used to just be funny," Jones says, "because I'm a history kind of guy and I would drive them the place, like" -- he's doing the kids' voices now -- " 'No!'

"And I would tell them the story," Jones says. "And they would be like, 'Dad, we don't want to see that again!' "

Pretty funny.

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Stephen Tsai talks to former UH offensive lineman Vince Manuwai, who's in town as a guest instructor for this weekend's Hawaii Football Camp, along with:

At least nine other former UH players — including Nate Ilaoa, Dane Uperesa, Michael Carter, David Maeva, Kelly McGill and Ma'a Tanuvasa — also will be guest coaches at the camp, which runs through next week.

This Star-Bulletin article says Garret Gabriel and kicking expert Mike McCabe will be there as well.

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Here's a recap of the high school All-Star game incoming DB LeMarcus Gibson played in last night.

"It was an honor to play in this game," Gibson said. "I didn't get picked for a lot of stuff. I went out and did my job. The Hawaii coaches wanted me to make some plays and I did that."

South All-star coach Durwood Anderson of Raleigh thinks the Big 3 will regret not landing a quality player in Gibson, who had offers from Tulsa, Houston and Buffalo.

"A lot of schools missed the boat on that kid," Anderson said. "Gibson is a good kid who wants to do well and has a lot of ability. I think he has a chance to be special."

That's awesome. Congratulations to LeMarcus.

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Timmy Chang didn't end up playing in last night's Ticat game, which Hamilton lost, 22 to 18.

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And some interesting developments regarding the WAC's TV deal with ESPN.

The Western Athletic Conference, feeling good about itself in the wake of Boise State's Fiesta Bowl victory and a highly anticipated 2007 football season, is betting that its stock will only continue to rise.

Despite a contract extension offer from television giant ESPN this summer, the league did not agree to extend its deal, WAC commissioner Karl Benson said Thursday.

...

"We have confidence that we'll continue to grow the WAC, and its value in two years will be greater than it is today. ... The WAC has to make sure we get the best possible business deal we can."

Oh no, not CSTV!

Benson said the inability to reach an agreement on an extension now does not mean that the league would be headed elsewhere after its contract expires.

"Right now, I don't sense that there is anyone else in the marketplace that we'd be interested in," Benson said.

Thank goodness. Well, let's hope the WAC continues to "Play UP!" and no one leaves the conference.

Another LP Video / Another Blinn DB / LeMarcus

KHNL has another article with another video news story on Leonard Peters, this one focusing on him getting ready for Jets camp. An excerpt:

"I don't even think I was thinking college when I came out of high school. I was just glad coach (Rich) Miano gave me the opportunity to come and play college. He gave a lot of words of encouragement that helped me through college and so its a great opportunity for me to take a big step in my life."

And nobody's worked harder to get this point than Leonard Peters.

Despite a long list of injuries, the Kahuku and UH grad proved to be resilient.

Best of luck to Leonard.

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Stephen Tsai reports that another Blinn DB will become a Warrior.

Pending certification of his transcripts, Adam Warehime will compete in training camp next month.
Warehime will be reunited with UH starting safety Jacob Patek and JC All-America cornerback Ryan Mouton. Warehime and Mouton were roommates for 1 1/2 years.
"I know a lot about Hawai‘i," Warehime said. "It's the right place for me."
Warehime, who is married and has a 9-month-old daughter, played linebacker for Blinn. But at 6 feet and 185 pounds, he is expected to compete at safety for UH.
He can run 40 yards in 4.4 seconds and bench press 325 pounds.
"He's a big hitter," Mouton said. "He was the hardest hitter on the team. He's a cool guy."

Wow. We got the Texas pipeline going, the Washington pipeline, the Mississippi pipeline...

Speaking of which, here's a profile on incoming DB LeMarcus Gibson, from the Sun-Herald in South Mississippi.

Gibson spurned scholarship offers from Tulsa, Houston, Memphis and Buffalo and appeared set on playing at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Hawaii planned to greyshirt Gibson, bringing him on campus in January, until a scholarship became available.

"Playing at Gulf Coast for a year wasn't a bad decision," Gibson said. "They have a good program, but I wanted to play D-I right now and establish myself. Hawaii has a great program and on the rise. It's a long way from home. I won't have anyone to distract me."

Red Rebels coach Ronnie Cuevas is glad that the Warriors took a chance on Gibson, who has already qualified academically. He's an honor student who had a 3.4 GPA and scored 21 on the ACT.

"LeMarcus is a good kid," Cuevas said. "He's a hard worker and was a leader for us. He was a good student who always went beyond the call of duty."

And it sounds like he's doing very well in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Football Classic.

Harrison Central defensive back LeMarcus Gibson is making a strong case for defensive MVP honors at the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Football Classic on Thursday at Mississippi College.

Gibson made three total tackles and a fumble recovery in the first half, which the North leads 13-7 at intermission.

I'll update this post (or maybe the article will update itself) when that game is over. UH is totally set in the backfield for the next few years. Unreal!

UPDATE: Ouch, looks like he separated somebody's shoulder, and ended the game with an interception.

Unfortunately for the North, Taylor - a second-team All-State running back and The Clarion-Ledger Boys Athlete of the Year in track and field - would carry just once more. A hard hit near the North sideline from Harrison Central defensive back Marcus Gibson sent Taylor to the sideline with an apparent separated shoulder.

Gibson, a Hawaii signee, also picked off a Hail Mary pass on the final play.

"He hit Anton right on the (shoulder) point and it just came out," said North coach Mike Ray of Calhoun City. "I wish we could've had him back there longer. The momentum changed when he went out because we were running successfully.

Junes Jones Q&A Part 1 / Satele / Ticats

The Star-Bulletin has the first of a three-part Q&A series with June Jones. Here's an excerpt:

Q: What's the level of concern for the offensive line?

A: I feel very good about our offensive line. I don't have any concerns. Other than that attitude that, 'We're not gonna get beat.' That's what we've gotta have. You have to have that confidence and you only get it from doing it. You have to do it and then it permeates the room.

Q: How open are the jobs on the offensive line?

A: The top five is pretty solid. (Larry) Sauafea, Estes, Hercules, Keith Ah-Soon and (Keoni) Steinhoff. Those are the top five.

I flipped those guys (tackles) in the spring and I'll continue (to look at it). I think Keith really feels comfortable on the right side. And Keoni about the same on the left side.

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Stephen Tsai talks to Samson Satele about his new contract and being first team center.

Told of his place atop the depth chart, Satele recalled: "I couldn't find the words. I was speechless. It's been my dream since I was 6 years old, playing for the Kalakaua Monarchs. I was so happy.

"At the same time," he added, "I know they're not just going to hand it to me. I still have to work my buns off. I'm going to push to start that first preseason game and then that first regular-season game against Washington. I have a lot of work to do, but I don't mind working hard."

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And the Hamilton Tiger-Cats face the BC Lions today. Timmy Chang won't start but will most likely see some playing time.

Samson Signs / Royce / More Pics

Dave Reardon reports that Samson Satele has agreed to a 4-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.

Rookie center Samson Satele agreed today to a 4-year contract with the Miami Dolphins providing $1,225,000 in guaranteed money, plus more than $1.6 million in base pay over the length of the contract, his agent said.

"It's the first deal completed for a second-round pick (this year)," said Leo Goeas, Satele's agent. "It's a very clean deal, very straightforward."

Satele, a Kailua and Hawaii alumnus, rose to the top of the Dolphins' depth chart at center in mini-camp. He reports to preseason camp Sunday.

"I'm so happy everything's done," Satele said. "I feel the same. Shucks, I guess if I look at my bank account I'll feel a little different."

Hehe, right on for Samson!

Stephen Tsai has more details on the deal, as well as news that receiver Royce Pollard is joining the Warriors.

Wide receiver Royce Pollard of University City High School in San Diego said he has been accepted to UH and will join the Warriors as a non-scholarship player.
Pollard, who is 6 feet 2 and 174 pounds, was 11th in receiving in the San Diego Section last year, with 36 catches for 772 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 21.44 yards per catch.
Pollard participated in unsupervised workouts yesterday.

And finally, SportsHawaii's BigWave has posted photos he took of today's unsupervised workouts.

J. Alexander / J. Hawkins / Manuwai / Road

Stephen Tsai has more on corner Jeremiah Alexander, who will become a Warrior in 2008.

Alexander said UH's offer "came out of nowhere" two weeks ago. After that, he used the Internet to research the Warriors. He also said he was impressed with UH defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold.

"Coach Jeff was cool," Alexander said. "He seemed real. It wasn't like he was hiding anything."

And a great quote by Jack Yates HS defensive coordinator Jeff Ceasar:

Ceasar also coached UH starting left cornerback Gerard Lewis at North Shore High School in Houston. Ceasar said he is arranging for Lewis and Alexander to meet.

"I'll get that connection going," Ceasar said. "There's a lot of talent in Houston, and Hawai'i has a great system. I hope we can get a pipeline going. This is a good start. Jeremiah has a good character with a good family background. Hawai'i will never have a problem with him. With his work ethic, I'm not worried about him."

Great to hear.

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Dave Reardon has an article with all kinds of news, with mentions of Alexander, the proposed Shrine of '99, C.J. Hawthorne impressing in unsupervised workouts, and a new corner, Jakeem Hawkins, walking on.

He was a teammate of incoming Warriors defensive end Josh Leonard at Sierra College (Sacramento, Calif.) the past two seasons and his training partner this summer. Hawkins said he is 5-11 and 180 pounds and has been timed at 4.5 in the 40 and has earned his associate's degree.
Hawkins, who originally enrolled at Alcorn State in 2003, received no Division I scholarship offers out of Sierra because he has just one year to play one season.

"I'm going to petition that with the NCAA," Hawkins said. "Alcorn State withheld my transcripts and kept me from transferring."

Welcome to Jakeem, and hope his petition goes well.

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Former UH offensive lineman Vince Manuwai talks to Ferd Lewis about how far the UH football program has come.

Manuwai, five seasons into an NFL career as a guard with the Jacksonville Jaguars, said he relishes the level the program has risen to. So much so there is a visible pride in how he relates that Jacksonville teammates, who once dismissed his alma mater, now have a growing familiarity with the Warriors' success.

He also gives advice to the current Warriors.

And he reminds them to keep their focus and hunger. "There are a lot of things in front of them (the 2007 Warriors), like the Heisman Trophy, and I tell them to work hard and just to let it come to you. I tell them you've got the program to a good place but don't think you can just win automatically now. It takes a lot of hard work to keep it going."

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And finally, the Warriors will probably be staying in Houston between back to back road games at Louisiana Tech and UNLV.

"I like it," said quarterback Colt Brennan. "It is hard to fly back (to Hawai'i) and then turn around and fly right back."

Frazier said UH will stay in Houston on the way to Ruston, La., and return to Houston following the Louisiana Tech game before going on to UNLV late in the week. UH officials have said they are looking at arrangements to practice at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans.

Frazier said he expects to save as much as $40,000 in travel costs. He said the team would travel with tutors and hold study halls to minimize the class time missed in the first month of school.

Jeremiah Alexander Commits

Dave Reardon writes that cornerback Jeremiah Alexander, from Yates High School in Texas, will become a Warrior.

Cornerback Jeremiah Alexander, who intercepted nine passes as a high school junior last year, has agreed to accept a football scholarship from Hawaii and expects to join the Warriors in 2008.

...

“The distance isn’t a problem for me,” said Alexander, who is fully qualified academically. “I like the teamwork that they show (at UH) and the NFL coaches that they have.”

Right on. Here's more from the Advertiser.

He has a 3.5 grade-point average and already has earned an NCAA-qualifying SAT score.

"It's a great school for me," Alexander said.

...

"He hits hard and he's a hard worker," Jack Yates High coach Jeff Ceasar said. "He'll out-work his opponent day in and day out."

Rolo / Shrine / Ayat / Photos

The Warriors' Haka website has a couple new articles today. First, it sounds like there are talks to build a shrine for the 1999 UH football team.

Discussions are underway to memorialize the achievements of the 1999 team, which became the only team in NCAA history – before or since – to bounce back from losing 18 consecutive games – and seven years’ worth of road games -- to winning a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship. According to author J. David Miller, the book will offer an artist’s rendering of a life-size monument that is referred to in the text as the “Shrine of ’99.”

That would be pretty cool. I think there are more details in the soon to be published book.

And former UH and current Arena Football QB Nick Rolovich will begin a weekly Wednesday column entitled "On a Roll..." to go along with Dan Robinson's weekend columns.

“I’m excited,” says Rolovich. “This is a big year for Colt, a big year for June, and a big year for the program. I look forward to splitting reps with Dan and the fans as we all get to share in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Lots of great stuff coming from the WH site.

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Stephen Tsai writes that former UH kicker Justin Ayat may be invited to the New York Jets training camp.

"My agent is waiting for some paper work," Ayat said.
Ayat said he does not anticipate any problems.
The Jets drafted kicker Mike Nugent in the second round in 2005 — he was the Jets' top pick that year — but he has struggled with kickoffs. Ayat said he was told if he makes the Jets, he would be used on kickoffs and certain field-goal situations.

Here's an article from KHON's John Veneri, who has more details.

Ayat has been going to a kickers and punters combine in Reno, Nevada for the last three years.
Scouts evaluated Ayat and the Jets flew him up for a personal tryout in late April. They said they like what he's got and in two weeks he will take part in his first NFL mini camp.

Good luck to Ayat.

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And finally, uhwarriors from Sportshawaii.com took pictures of yesterday's informal practice, and Scott has posted them up in this gallery. Lots of pictures of Colt, Tyler and many of the receivers, including a bearded Ryan "Slice" Mullins. There's a cool slideshow feature you can activate at the top right of the page.

CFN's WAC Preview / June / Herman / LP Vid

CFN's ever-prolific Pete Fiutak has a gigantic WAC preview. Here's an excerpt:

5 Bold Predictions
1. Hawaii and New Mexico State will wage a war for the ages. October 27th. Make sure you’re schedule is clear to watch two of the nation’s best offenses (if not the top two) put on a show. The Warriors won 49-30 last year with the two combining for 956 yards of total offense. Expect 100 points and well over 1,000 yards.
2. Boise State will slip a bit before roaring back in 2008. Fine, so a slip for Boise State still might mean a double-digit win season, but the team will play more like 2005 (when it went 9-4) than 2006. Next year, the program will be back to BCS challenging form.
3. No one will keep Hawaii to under forty points. Sound crazy? Only Alabama, Boise State and Oregon State were able to do it last year, and even those games were tight until the end. The offense rolled for over sixty in four games and should do that in at least six.

Read the article for the last two predictions. And there's a lot more. Fiutak also has an all-WAC team with the top 30 players, a list of WAC Unit Rankings (UH offense ranked #1, defense #5), and WAC schedules and predictions. I'm sure there's stuff there I missed. It's a lot to read, and it's good. He just doesn't realize the UH defense gonna be a monster this year.

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Stephen Tsai and Ferd Lewis write that June Jones should be receiving a pay raise in his next contract. As Herman Frazier says:

"What was the value of this program in 1998 versus now?" Frazier said. "The evolution of this program has continued since '99. When you really think about it, since I've been here (2002), we've only had one year (2005) when we didn't go to a bowl game. I think that's when people were skeptical. You can't get that way. You've got to stick with your guy and make sure everything is heading in the right direction. In that regard, that's what he's done."

Wait, is he talking about June or himself? Gong!

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Dave Reardon has a wrap-up of Herman speaking at the Honolulu QB Club. An excerpt:

Frazier's projections from the plan approved by the Board of Regents three years ago called for UH to have a $2,880,008 net surplus at the end of the fiscal year completed June 30.

After three consecutive years of losses, UH was in the black by $7,483 for the 2005-2006 year, and revenues might exceed expenses by a few dollars again this year, Frazier said.

"It will be very, very close for 2006-2007," Frazier said yesterday, speaking at the Honolulu Quarterback Club.

...

» In football scheduling, Frazier said he is having discussions with three teams for two spots to complete the 2008 schedule. He expects to complete that task by the end of next month.

Why is he setting deadlines again?

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KHNL's Reid Shimizu has a profile of Leonard Peters, in town as a guest instructor for the Hawaii Speed and Quickness Camp. The article also has link to a video of the news report. LP talks about coaching the kids. There's also video of LP working out with the Jets.

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And this article about the Kahanmoku Foundation has a picture of Colt. And his dreads!

TC Videos (w/ Update)

The excellent fan page, TimmyChang.net, has posted video of Timmy's 71-yard touchdown pass from this past week's game. Awesome throw.



UPDATE: "Ticat TV" also has a long sit-down video interview with Timmy Chang. Go to the Ticat TV web page and click on "Under the Lights with Timmy Chang" link to launch a pop-up player.

And it looks like Hamilton will go with two QBs for the time being.

Which, in turn, means that Jason Maas is the clear-cut starter at quarterback for the Tiger-Cats Thursday night in Vancouver.

But it also means that Timmy Chang is likely to come into that game a little bit earlier than he has been, for a specified series or two.

If both quarterbacks understand, beforehand, Chang will be coming in, the backup has time to prepare and the starter doesn't feel hijacked, or benched.

"We'll probably do that now," head coach Charlie Taaffe confirmed yesterday, after he'd reviewed films of Saturday's 29-20 loss to the very beatable Montreal Alouettes, which offered Cat Nation some hope but no points.

Ask Coach: Offensive Questions

This week, June Jones answers a lot of questions about the Warriors offense in this week's edition of Warriors' Haka's Ask Coach. Here's an excerpt about Gabe Tuata:

Q.) Coach,I am looking forward to a memorable season. How do see Gabe Tuata fitting into any current or future roles on your team?


A.) I think Gabe Tuata will be one of the most exciting players to come and play for me at UH.He has it all and his skills will show up in our offense more than they will at any other school. I will utilize him in so many ways once he gets here. He also will be an exciting punt returner. Ex-running backs have turned out to be the best slots for me. Ryan Grice ran for 1500 yards in high school as a running back as did most of my pro players that played slot for me. The good ones were all ex-running backs, look at Ricky Sanders and Eric Metcalf. I think Gabe can play both running back and slot.

I believe Gabe is grayshirting this year. Lots more answers from Coach at Warriors' Haka. Be there!

Kealoha Pilares Highlight Video

Kukuikolu has posted a Kealoha Pilares high school highlight video.



He makes it looks so easy, just gliding, stopping on a dime, gliding some more, spin move... And to think, he's probably gonna be even better this year. From yesterday's Star-Bulletin profile:

"In high school I never took weights seriously, and I knew I had to come over here and get in the weight room every day," Pilares said. "I was horrible coming in, I would say I was the weakest guy by far.
"Right now I think I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I can see results. I think that's what's pushing me, too."

Man, with Pilares and Leon Wright-Jackson coming in, along with Mario Cox, Jason Laumoli, David Farmer and the rest of our returning backs, I bet June is gonna add some awesome new wrinkles in the offense this year. Maybe the wishbone won't be so big-boned, but I can definitely see Laumoli, LWJ and Pilares lining up behind Colt, either rushing, blocking, or fanning out like slots. It's probably not practical, and probably won't happen, but that would be cool to see! The options, no pun intended, are limitless.

Chad Owens Profile / WAC / Adam Leonard

Buccaneers.com has a great profile of Chad Owens, who talks about wanting it.

“My work ethic, my drive – that’s my motivation; that’s all I’ve got. And I’m just excited because I want to get my career started.”

It shows. Owens is obsessed with all phases of his game, physical and mental. Nearly every day, he’s traversing the corridors of One Buc Place as he makes his way from the practice fields where he works on speed, conditioning and agility to the weight room. His lunchtime conversations revolve around the optimal nutritional approach for his goals. And he makes it a point to occasionally watch tape of his record-setting returns in Hawaii just to keep those runs at the forefront of his mind.

“I can tell you this,” Owens said. “Right now I feel great, mentally, physically and I just can’t wait to go out there and get this thing rolling. I want to get my career started. I believe it’s going to happen here, and I just can’t wait for it.”

Lots of great quotes from that article. I hope Chad shows his stuff as return man as well as receiver.

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Here's another great article, this one by Matt James of The Fresno Bee, who writes about how the WAC is now a better football conference than the Mountain West.

And here we are, eight seasons later and the WAC -- a conference that has been plundered, pillaged, jackhammered, stripped for parts and abandoned along an interstate in a Denver suburb -- is better than the conference that supposedly took its heart.

We are talking only about football, being that we are in a system where only football matters.

They say the Mountain West was better last season, top to bottom, but you have to squeeze hard to get satisfaction from knowing your worst are better than someone else's worst.

The WAC had two of the top eight Heisman finishers. It had a team in a BCS bowl. The WAC had the better record against the Mountain West, head-to-head, and that was with Fresno State taking a well-earned break from quality football.

That is just too funny. Thought they were getting away with something, but all they got was a crappy TV deal.

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And Stephen Tsai writes that Adam Leonard has fully recovered from his meniscus injury, but may miss the start of fall camp.

There will be one prominent no-show when the Warriors report to training camp Aug. 2.
Linebacker Adam Leonard, who led the Warriors with 114 tackles as a sophomore last season, will arrive from Seattle on Aug. 4. He booked his plane ticket before UH decided on the camp's starting date. Because of the orientation period and physical examinations, Leonard probably will not be on the field for the first practice.

Kealoha Pilares / Effin Schedule / NCAA 08

The Star-Bulletin's Jason Kaneshiro profiles running back Kealoha Pilares, who's working hard this offseason. Some excerpts:

When he got on the field for spring practice, the Damien graduate showed he still had the quickness and slippery moves -- which he credits to playing freeze tag in grade school -- that earned him 2005 Star-Bulletin All-State Offensive Player of the Year honors. But he knows his ability to help protect quarterback Colt Brennan will go a long way to determining his playing time this fall.

To that end, he's worked to put on some weight since arriving on campus around 175 pounds. He crept close to 200 pounds earlier this summer before dropping 10 pounds due to an illness. His goal is to be back around 195 when fall camp starts next month.

"Right now I think I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I can see results. I think that's what's pushing me, too."

One of his high school foes can already see a difference.

"He's been working hard starting from last summer," said freshman quarterback Kiran Kepo'o, an Iolani grad, who also entered the program in the spring. "He's getting bigger, but he's still got the speed. I can tell he's been in the weight room."

With all our talented running backs, I hope June hits up Nate Ilaoa for some plays from the Eagles playbook!

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Ferd Lewis, with the gloom and doom once again, regarding our awesome schedule. He talks to ESPN's Mark Schlabach:

That's the good news. But, the flip side, he notes in a phone interview, "Playing two I-AA opponents early basically eliminates your chances of a Bowl Championship Series (appearance). I really think Hawai'i dropped the ball (on the schedule) because, to have a guy like Colt Brennan, one of the best college quarterbacks, you'd like to take advantage of the opportunity."

It is not a maverick opinion and, chances are, UH will be hearing a lot about the cream-filled softness of its scheduling lineup this season. With Northern Colorado, Charleston Southern, Idaho, etc., the "softer than a roll of three-ply (tissue)," lines are just getting started. Especially if the Warriors munch through it, notably the early part, as expected.

I have to disagree with Schlabach's assessment that we're basically eliminated from BCS contention. UH will probably start the year in the top 25, or at least the top 30. All they have to do is climb about 15 spots in the course of the season. I think the 4 ESPN appearances will help UH a lot with Harris voters. And as long as the computers don't punish us too much.... well, it'll be tough.

And we are going to hear about it all year long. Just gotta let people know that Michigan and Mississippi State (and probably others) turned down home games against the Warriors. And several teams turned down $700,000 and ESPN exposure for a game at Aloha. And our AD sat on his hands and waited waaayyyy too long. But unfortunately, Herman represents UH, and voters might not be able to separate the two. Errrrghhh. Oh well, as they say, one game at a time....

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And to end it on a happier note, Stephen Tsai writes that UH is represented well in NCAA 08.

Brennan is listed as the second-best quarterback (behind Louisville's Brian Brohm) in the "NCAA Football 08" video game that will be released Tuesday.

"That's really, really cool," Brennan said. "They took care of us this year."

And Colt now has dreadlocks.

Brennan has made one noticeable change. With prodding from Bess, Brennan is sporting dreadlocks. UH's four starting receivers have the same hairstyle.

"It looks good on him," Bess said.

Brennan said: "All of the guys hounded me. I grew it out. That was the first step. They encouraged me to try and get it braided and see what it looked like, and I did that. They're encouraging me to keep going with it. I'll see how it goes. I can get rid of this haircut in a heartbeat. I thought I'd have some fun this summer and see how it turns out."

As long as he doesn't end up looking like Gary Oldman from True Romance, it's all good!

Mental Toughness / New Blogger

Dan Robinson has a new article about mental toughness up at Warriors Haka. An excerpt:

One of the reasons the ’99 season has such a special place in my memory is because we had a bunch of mentally tough players who put it all on the line, each and every game.

Of course, we had plenty of physically tough players like Tony Tuioti, but we also had a bunch of mentally tough players like Nate Jackson, Afatia Thompson and Daniel Ho-Ching. These guys were all mentally and physically tough, both on and off the field. Daniel was a cancer survivor. Nate grew up in a ghetto and overcame amazing odds. Afatia’s brother died. The toughness of these players could not be coached. They all had that special intangible that you only wished you could bottle and force the lazy, casual players to drink.

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And my friend, who recently got keys to the blog, might be posting something sometime soon. But he's been very busy, probably a lot busier than me. He's a huge fan and I think he'll provide a unique perspective and give the blog a little more flavah. Hopefully he'll have some free time soon, or at least by the start of the season.

Ticats Game (w/ Updates)

Timmy Chang just came into the game with the Tiger-Cats trailing Montreal 26 to 10 in the 4th quarter. With his second throw, Chang throws a 71 yard touchdown pass! Updates on the way.

You can follow the live stats here.

UPDATE: With 5:06 left to play in the 4th quarter, TC led the Ticats to the Montreal 20. The drive ended with a field goal. Hamilton 20, Montreal 26. Timmy is 3 of 6 for 92 yards and a touchdown.

UPDATE 2: In a do-or-die situation, on 3rd down deep in their own territory, Chang overshoots his receiver. He ends up 4 of 11 for 92 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed once for five yards. I'll link to news stories later on. Looks like the QB situation will still be unresolved going into the next game.

UPDATE 3: Here's a game wrap-up from the Ticats website.

UPDATE 4: Some analysis of the game.

But we’re suggesting — make that urging — Taaffe to go to Chang much earlier if Maas isn’t putting the points up at B.C. Place Thursday night. Even for a series or two. Judging from their pleasant, ‘Way to go Jason, Way to go Timmy’ exchange after the game, the two can handle that kind of situation.

Nobody wants to see Chang force-fed into the kind of deer-in-the-headlights problem Anthony Calvillo endured here a decade ago, but given the way Maas attacked his job more forcefully Saturday night, the Chang’s challenge seems to have a positive impact on the incumbent. Keep up the pressure.

And a couple of quotes from Timmy:

“I wanted to make the most of it and complete the Cinderella story, 16 points down, the fourth quarter comeback and all that, but we came up short,” said an unfulfilled Chang.

“Even though we’re down 0-3, I think we have a lot to look forward to. The team is young and full of energy. As coach said, there is no question about the effort out there, but it’s the mental things and we need to put everything together, all 12 guys working in unison and everybody on the same page,” he added.

Mario / Sopoaga / Pics

Stephen Tsai talks to Mario Cox about getting back in shape and competing at running back this year.

Cox has lost 25 pounds and now weighs 230. He said he wants to get down to 225 for the Aug. 2 start of training camp. "Then by September, I want to be at 215," he said.
Cox also said he took Jones' advice and stayed in Hawai‘i this summer.
"There's nothing really at home for me, just funerals and violence and crime," said Cox, who was raised in the Richmond, Calif. "I want to stay here and start my legacy."

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Several 49ers, including Isaac Sopoaga, talk about their tattoos.

DT Isaac Sopoaga
“I’ve got several but my favorite is the one on my right arm with dolphins. It’s a symbol from where I’m from. In our village, the mountain is shaped like dolphins and the reef is shaped like dolphins and we have dolphins! I did it the traditional Samoan way by having it done with shark teeth.”

Thanks to Garret of UH Warrior Quotes for sending me the link earlier.

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And finally, BigWave of Sportshawaii.com posted lots of pictures from voluntary UH football workouts yesterday. Excellent photos along with descriptions.

Adjusting to the CFL

Timmy Chang, looking like a grizzled prize fighter, talks to Frank Appleyard of Hamilton Mountain News about adjusting to life in the CFL. Some excerpts:

Aside from the game atmosphere, each has had to acclimatize themselves with the rules of the CFL. University of Hawaii product Chang noted that the so-called quarterback's league is a struggle to adjust to.

"There's a lot of things mentally that I need to be aware of, just the game in general," the rookie said. "Having three downs to get 10-yards is the biggest change. You don't have the luxury of missing a down and keeping yourself moving along."

...

Meanwhile, Chang has found himself quite comfortable in Steeltown.

"I've been adjusting well," he said. "It definitely feels like another country, but the people up here are warm and it reminds me of how Hawaii is. The people are really receptive in Hawaii, and I find the same kind of feeling and attitude out here."

I hope he gets the start this Saturday. Signs are pointing in that direction.

Leonard Peters / Hizzo / TC

Stephen Tsai talks to Leonard Peters, about being a guest instructor at the Hawaii Speed and Quickness Clinic, as well as his experience living in New York and trying to make the Jets.

Peters was admittedly nervous when he first participated in team workouts.

"It's a big step in life," he said. "The biggest thing between pro and college football is in college you have four years to learn the system. In the NFL, you've got one day to learn the system. If they don't like what they see, they'll ship you out. In a half hour, they'll have a replacement for you. It's all business now. It's been good for me so far."

In the Jets' defensive system, the safeties are divided into left or right, not strong or free.

"I like that," Peters said, noting the Warriors used a similar system. "The good thing about our defense is the safeties are included in a lot of the packages we run."

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Irisheyes.com, or maybe just Scout.com, takes a look at this year's Heisman hopefuls. Here's an excerpt about Colt:

Hawaii must have threw a huge party in the islands when the state found out Brennan was withdrawing his name from the NFL Draft and heading back to school for his senior season. Seriously, what can this guy do for an encore? Brennan tossed a Division 1A record 58 touchdowns and threw for over 5,500 yards. That adds up to 396 yards and four TD’s a contest.

The Warriors went 11-3 in 2006, including a 41-24 victory over Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl. No matter the numbers, though, Hawaii might have to run the table to give Brennan a realistic shot at winning the Heisman Trophy. The Warriors two toughest games, Washington and Boise State, are both in Honolulu. Another factor that helps Brennan are the returning players back on offense. Davone Bess and Jason Rivers both had 1,000-yard seasons and combined for 25 TD’s. Throw in Ryan Grice-Mullen’s 11 scores and Brennan should have plenty of targets to light up the scoreboard with and compete with last year’s record season.

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And will Timmy Chang start for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats this Saturday? Coach Charlie Taaffe is keeping things shrouded in mystery.

"We need to have something happen positive offensively for us."

Just who the architect of that positive offensive action will be won't be known until 7 p.m. tomorrow night.

Taaffe won't tip his hand whether it will be veteran Jason Maas or rookie Timmy Chang who will start at quarterback.

"We'll let everyone know about 7 p.m. Saturday night," he said.

Stay tuned!

Tala Esera Profile (w/ Video)

KHNL's Russell Yamanoha profiles Tala Esera, who is trying to make the Miami Dolphins as a rookie free agent.

Ex-Warrior mates, Samson Satele and Reagan Mauia are also with the Dolphins, and already the trio's making an impression in South Beach.

"Lots of people were calling us the Polynesian wrecking crew down in Florida and you know they all recognize us, the people down there are real cool. It helps us with the home sickness, even though I miss my family down here its still real good."

The article also has a link to video of the news report.

Ticats Preview

TSN has a short preview of this weekend's Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs Montreal Alouettes game.

At Hamilton, something has to give between two teams that have lost both of their games this year, and looked badly doing so. The question in Hamilton is whether veteran Jason Maas or rookie Timmy Chang will start at quarterback. Maas has started both of the Ticats' game, only to be relieved by Chang each time. As for Montreal, veteran Anthony Calvillo will draw the start once again, but he hasn't thrown a touchdown all season and the Alouettes have given up a CFL-high 15 sacks this year.

Here's what Ticat head coach Charlie Taaffe has to say about the QB situation.

Directly related to the problem scoring points has been the play of quarterback Jason Maas, who's been pulled in each of his first two starts in favour of rookie Timmy Chang, a hot-shot 25-year-old who finished his college career as the leading passer in National Collegiate Athletic Association history.

Taaffe hasn't named a starter for this week. But unless Maas shows more than he has in the first two games, it's going to be awfully tough to sell him to fans as the man to lead the franchise upward.

"I haven't given up on Jason," Taaffe said. "Nobody has and hopefully he can work through this. Timmy Chang is not a finished product, but he has confidence and throws the ball exceptionally well. I'm going to split up the [practice] reps and I'll continue to use two quarterbacks. At this point, Jason is still the starter, although we'll determine that during the week."

Meanwhile, TC has made it known that he wants to be the starter.

According to the Hamilton Spectator, Tiger-Cats quarterback Timmy Chang has asked head coach Charlie Taaffe to become the starter.

"He (Chang) made it known in no uncertain terms. He wants to be the guy. That's great. You want your guy to say that," Taaffe said.

"He is really committed. He feels that he wants to play, he wants to win. He feels that he can lead the team, which is good. I was happy to hear him step forward and want that." .

Right on for Timmy. Sounds like the team needs that kind of take-charge attitude right now.

Mid-Week In Review

I unexpectedly had to work 40 hours in the past three days, which is why I haven't been posting. Sorry for leaving you hanging. By the way, coincidentally my friend was supposed to start posting stuff starting on Sunday. Hmmmm! Hopefully this friend hasn't forgotten. Anyway, recap of the news below.

Monday:

A new Ask Coach Q&A is published on the Warriors Haka site. Here's an excerpt of June addressing the "system QB" tag:

The term system QB is something that is used by the media and scouts that haven’t done there homework. In our system Warren Moon and Jim Kelly were called system QB's. and both are in the Hall of Fame now. It really is a term used by media that really has no bearing on a QB's ability. Scouts that cannot evaluate will say the same thing. All the things are being said about Colt are often said about QB's that have played in our system. Our system makes average QB's better and the great one's, guess what, they are great one's!!!! It doesn't matter if they are under center or in the gun. It doesn’t matter what they run west coast or spread or triple option (Joe Namath). The great one's come to the top. We will do what we do and what helps us win and that is the only thing that I can address. If a scout cannot figure out that a player can play then he has the wrong job. It does not matter what he runs or how he does it., some guys have it some guys don't.

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Some fool who stole Timmy Chang's Ticat helmet after Saturday's game gets arrested.

"Apparently after the game the helmet was left accessible to a fan who took it," said east-end Staff Sergeant Glenn Bullock, who couldn't say how the helmet was nabbed. The man left the stadium with it and was spotted by an off-duty officer working at the game and arrested.

It's just a sign of the impending Timmy-mania in Ticatland.

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Stephen Tsai writes that June is still ono for football.

There are 29 full practices from the start of training camp to the eve of the Sept. 1 opener against Northern Colorado.
June Jones already has crafted every play for each of those practices.
"I'm ahead of schedule because I'm anxious for the season," Jones said.
He also said he has scripted some plays to use against future opponents.
Planning this far in advance, Jones said, "is my way of gauging my hunger to be good."

That's awesome. Can't wait to see the big-boned wishbone.


Tuesday:

jkk808 kindly posts the entire ESPN/Blue Ribbon 2007 Preview up at SportsHawaii.com. An excerpt:

If there was ever a time for Hawaii to win the WAC, this is it. Last year, Hawaii was a touchdown shy of beating Boise State on the blue field. This year, the November meeting between the schools is in Hawaii and could be the pivotal conference game for both.
Grading the Warriors
Unit Grade
Offense A-
Special teams C
Defense B+
Intangibles A-
Granted, Hawaii has some shortcomings. The offensive line is filling three spots, the running back position is open and there's no proven punter. But the upside is apparent at so many key positions the Warriors should be tough to beat.

Special teams, like the offense and defense, gonna be awesome this year. Those fools don't know.

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Stephen Tsai catches up with incoming defensive end Josh Leonard, and has news about the New Era Bowl.

An all-star team coached by UH's Jeff Reinebold and Wes Suan prevailed, 31-18, in the New Era Bowl in Japan.
Six former Warriors supplemented a roster of mostly Japanese players.
Kainoa Akina completed 27 of 33 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns.
Jeremiah Cockheran had three catches, including one for a TD.
Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole had three sacks and two tackles for losses, and Hyrum Peters and Lono Manners each had a sack.

Right on.

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The Advertiser discusses an article from Miamidolphins.com, profiling the toughness of Samson Satele. An excerpt (from the Tizer):

The article mentions Satele's six root canals a week before the team's final minicamp last month. Yet, Satele didn't miss a practice.

"I'm just a rookie and I can handle pain," Satele says. "It didn't bother me, honestly. I couldn't really talk but at the same time I was out there trying to fight for my job. It was something I wanted to get done and I'm happy it's done because it's a lifetime investment."

Wednesday:

JC cornerback Calvin Roberts ends up signing with UH after all.

Roberts, who can run 40 yards in 4.45 seconds, has two years to play two seasons.

"Everything worked out," said the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Roberts.

San Mateo coach Larry Owens said: "He did a great job for us at corner. He's a big, physical corner. He has very good man-to-man skills."

Man, we got a lot of fast DBs. The article also says Ian Sample will be playing in Japan, and his book "Once a Warrior" comes out next month. Awww yeah.

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Colt Brennan's "Colt Following" video will debut online July 23rd.

The Colt Brennan DVD will initially be made available to University of Hawai'i fans for free viewing through an e-mail blast of the athletic department's electronic newsletter, H-mail, July 23, it was announced yesterday.

Will post link when it's up.

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Coach Jones' new contract is currently being hammered out. Or so Herman Frazier says.

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Anything I've missed, I will post in a weekend wrap-up. Please comment or e-mail any article I may have missed. GO WARRIORS!!!!

Warriors Ohana / New Dan Robinson Article

The Warriors' Haka website has debuted a new feature called Warriors Ohana. Allen Cordrey explains what that is in this article.

We at Warriors' Haka are very excited to launch Warriors ‘Ohana. Warriors ‘Ohana is an on-line community for the Hawai’i Warriors fan. The key word here is community. A place for Hawai’i fans to share with each other.

You can register here and create an online profile. From there you can add photo galleries, write posts, subscribe to other people's posts, send messages to other members, add RSS feeds to your profile, etc. And looks like more features will be added as the community grows and people send in suggestions. Here's a link to my profile. I know, I still need to work on it. Woops, direct link doesn't work.

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And Dan Robinson has a new article up on Warriors' Haka. An excerpt:

Execution is what it’s going to take to beat Boise State. Now, look at Hawaii’s depth. Not only do they have incredible speed, but the back-ups are equally fast. Colt has an absolute arsenal of weapons to utilize. There will always be an open man. The match-ups they’re going to get is why they have so much potential to create fireworks this year. June, Colt and Coach Morrison will all tell you – we don’t care if the other team knows the play we are about to run, if we execute the play, they can’t stop us. The only thing that stops the Run ‘n’ Shoot is execution.

June / Graunke / Hercules! Hercules!

Stephen Tsai has a lot of quotes from Coach Jones' roundtable with reporters. Here's an excerpt:

On the possibility of an unbeaten UH team qualifying for a BCS berth:

"That's somebody else's decision. We don't ever talk in those terms. We speak only about each one at a time.

"Every year I break up the season into three phases, and the first phase is probably the most critical this year because of the two games on the road back to back (Sept. 8 against Louisiana Tech and Sept. 15 against Nevada-Las Vegas). Fortunately, we're opening at home (Sept. 1 against Division I-AA Northern Colorado). ... Those two (road) games ... I think, will really make us who we are. ...

"It's hard to win on the road, especially when you just took off of our football team 11 players that signed (pro) contracts. ... Any team that lost 11 (pro) potential players, there are some things you've got to find out about yourself."

There's a lot more from that article. June talks about the offensive line, C.J. Hawthorne, Kealoha Pilares, Leon Wright-Jackson, etc.

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Ferd Lewis writes that June will try to get backup QB Tyler Graunke a lot more playing time this year, even if it means Colt won't be piling on the stats.

So it is reassuring to hear Jones reason that the statistics and records will accumulate on their own. That if Brennan is going to have a 600-yard game, it won't be because UH poured it on some overwhelmed victim or let Brennan linger dangerously.

...

Jones maintains he is looking not only at this season but the future in deciding how long of a leash Brennan will play on. "He (Graunke) gets a lot of time, period, but he's going to be the guy next year (2008) and he's got to know how to do all those things under game conditions," Jones said.

"How do you start your first game (in three seasons) at Florida (the 2008 opener)? He's gotta be ready."

Tyler's a great QB who's thrown some really awesome passes these past couple years. Glad he'll be getting more playing time this year.

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And Dave Reardon writes a great profile of Hercules Satele, who's set to be the only returning starter at his position along the Warrior offensive line. An excerpt:

Satele and sophomore center John Estes are the only returning starters on the Hawaii offensive line. Their unit is where people look when searching for potential flaws in the 2007 Warriors.

Satele uses this as fuel as he toils in summer workouts.

"Everyone has questions about our O-line. We have to replace three starters, and the running back," said Satele, who was a regular starter for the first time last season. "But that's what makes us work harder, to get rid of those question marks, and just play football and get this offense ready to roll. Last season John and I were considered question marks. That made us work harder and by the end of the season it erased that."

And from that article, the rest of the starting O-line going into fall camp:

According to offensive line assistant Dennis McKnight and head coach June Jones, the rest of the front protecting Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Colt Brennan lines up like this with the opening of fall camp next month: Keoni Steinhoff (left tackle), John Estes (center), Larry Sauafea (right guard) and Keith Ah-Soon (right tackle).

Sounds like the front five will be solid!

Chang Playing (w/ Updates)

Not sure if Jason Maas got injured or not, but Timmy Chang replaced him early in tonight's Ticats game. Late in the 3rd quarter, Chang is 8 of 14 for 81 yards with an interception. You can catch the live stats here. And listen to the streaming audio here.

UPDATE: Game over. Chang ends up 8 of 16 for 81 yards with an interception. The Tiger-Cats did not play well at all, losing 30 to 5.

UPDATE 2: Here's a recap from CBC Sports.

Maas finished 4-for-11 for 40 yards and threw a critical interception.

"Physically as an offensive unit we didn't do enough and I'll take the blame when I was in there," said Maas. "There were three plays for sure that mentally I didn't make the right read.

"Had I done that, maybe it's a little bit different when I'm in there."

Backup Timmy Chang was more dynamic, but the end result was the same. The CFL rookie went 8-for-16 for 81 yards and an interception.

...

Chang led Hamilton on its most impressive drive midway through the third, connecting with Brock Ralph for 46 yards passing and adding 11 more on a run.

A pass in the end zone just missed, with the Tiger-Cats settling for a Nick Setta field goal.

Warriors at #21

As mentioned during Stephen Tsai's interview with Rivals.com Radio, the Warriors are ranked at #21 in Rivals.com preseason countdown. Here's an excerpt from their 2007 preview:

Impact newcomer: RB Kealoha Pilares and RB Leon Jackson: Hawaii must find someone to replace Nate Ilaoa, who rushed for 990 yards and caught 67 passes for 837 yards as a senior last fall. That opens up an opportunity for Pilares, a freshman whose impressive speed helped him stand out from the crowd of contenders during spring practice. Pilares could face a challenge this summer when Jackson enrolls in school. Jackson, a former four-star prospect, signed with Nebraska in 2005 and spent the following season as a reserve safety for the Cornhuskers before deciding to transfer.

Position battle to watch: Right guard: We already discussed the competition at running back, so we'll use this space to mention a battle at right guard that has received much less attention. There won't be a position battle at all at right guard if Estes stays at his old position. But if Estes moves to center, his old spot could be filled by a number of contenders. The top candidate to replace Estes at right guard probably would be sophomore Aaron Kia, but other contenders might include sophomore Laupepa Letuli, senior Larry Sauafea and junior Lafu Tuioti-Mariner.

There's a lot more, it's pretty good.

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And just a reminder, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats play the Toronto Argonauts in their second game of the season today. Here's a preview. Timmy Chang isn't scheduled to play today, but you never know.

Ikaika Interview

Garret from UH Warrior Quotes finds this great interview of Ikaika Alama-Francis from the Lions website. Here's an excerpt:

The Lions coaches are just as anxious to see Alama-Francis practicing with the rest of the team. At 6-5 and 280 pounds, he is a big – but lean – player and could make a major impact on the Detroit defensive line.

"I'm getting more comfortable with (the defensive system),” said Alama-Francis. “Switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 is a totally different scheme. When I first got here (Coach Marinelli) was like, 'Get off the ball!' I thought, 'Oh, no really? Yes!' It makes my job easier – just go get the quarterback. I'm enjoying the new system; I can't wait to play."

There's a lot more. Ikaika is very positive on and off the field. Check it out.

Tsai on the Radio / Tsai Blog / Short LP Interview

Stephen Tsai talks to Rivals.com Radio (WMA file). He gives a good interview, talking about Colt, the schedule, etc. Way to go, ST! Rivals.com is ranking UH #21 in their preseason rankings.

Speaking of Stephen Tsai, I've been neglecting his blog. Or at least posting about it. Today he writes about Davone Bess.

Davone Bess will open the season as the Warriors' punt returner, UH coach June Jones has confirmed.

...

There are two walk-ons competing for the punter's job. If neither is impressive, Jones will turn to Bess.

"We probably won't get rushed a lot if Davone is punting," Jones said, noting Bess' elusiveness as a runner and accuracy as a passer. "(Opposing coaches) know I'm half nuts, anyway."

I love it that June is half nuts. Right on.

And yesterday, Tsai gave an update on defensive end Alasi Toilolo.

Defensive end Alasi Toilolo has fully recovered from shoulder surgery in January and will participate in training camp in August.
Toilolo, a 2006 Kapolei High graduate, grayshirted the past academic year while attending UH as a part-time student.
When he originally committed to UH in February 2006, Toilolo was described as the next Melila Purcell III by Jones.

Did I mention that the defense gonna be a monster this year?

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And I missed this short Leonard Peters interview posted on the Jets site a few days ago. Here's an excerpt:

How did you end up with uniform No. 43? It was a number given to me. I didn’t choose it, but it wouldn’t matter if it was 00. I am just trying to get on the team. All through high school and Pop Warner and college, I had No. 42 just because I had it when I was younger. But it doesn’t matter what number I get

McMackin / Sapolu / Lawrence Wilson

Stephen Tsai profiles defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, who has a mission:

...Greg McMackin bid farewell to Lubbock, Texas, and prepared for his mission of turning the University of Hawai'i football team into the "Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific."

Nooooo!

McMackin said Jones' original plan was for the Warriors to be created in the image of one of the most successful college football programs in the 1980s and 1990s.

"He wanted to make (the Warriors) the Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific," said McMackin, who was coordinator of the Hurricanes' top-ranked defense in 1995. "There's some real football tradition in Miami, with all of the NFL guys. Under June, (UH) really has become the whole Miami Hurricanes of a few years ago. June has really developed a football tradition, and I'm excited to be part of it."

So that's what he meant. Right on. Who will be our The Rock?



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Dave Reardon talks to former UH football player and 49er Jesse Sapolu, who talks about the current UH team and gives some advice.

"I think they've put themselves in position to be respected. They have to work doubly as hard because it's hard to get there, but it's harder to stay there," Sapolu said. "That's just from my experience of winning back-to-back Super Bowls. I was one game away from a three-peat and I was so physically and mentally worn out and emotionally drained."

Does Sapolu think the Warriors can go unbeaten this year?

"If UH can keep their winning ways and realize they have to raise their level because they're no longer sleepers, they can get it done," the two-time Pro Bowl selection said. "They've got the quarterback that had a great year. He can surpass what he did last year, but he has to really focus, because the defenses will really be coming after him."

Wise words. Reardon also talks to Lawrence Wilson, who got invited back to Baltimore Ravens pre-season camp.

"They're working me at defensive tackle and nose guard," Wilson said. "They already had some cuts, so I'm thinking I have a good chance of at least making the practice squad."

Great news for Wilson.

Big Game

Two national sports writers are listing the November 23rd Boise State at Hawaii game as one of the biggest of the year in college football. ESPN's Mark Schlabach writes that it's the best game of Week 13.

Nov. 23: Boise State at Hawaii (9 p.m., ESPN2)
Post-Thanksgiving Day football on the island. Ian Johnson vs. Colt Brennan. Maui Invitational hoops. Are my editors reading this?

Okay, so maybe he has an ulterior motive. CFN's Pete Fiutak ranks the game at #21 in his quick picks of the 50 biggest games of the year. Here's an excerpt:

21. Boise State at Hawai‘i, Nov. 23
Hawaii gave Boise State all it could handle in a thrilling 41-34 loss last year, but now Colt Brennan and the boys get the pivotal WAC showdown in their house. Of course, the Warriors have had powerhouse offenses before that were supposed to blow past the Broncos, but they're 0-6 against them since both became WAC members. The pressure will likely be as intense as any late November game, as Hawaii, if everyone stays healthy and all goes according to plan, should be 10-0, thanks to a lousy schedule. Boise State, if it beats Washington in Seattle, will likely be 11-0 with a shot at a second straight BCS bid. The running of the Broncos will do just enough to keep Brennan off the field for long stretches, but the Hawaii passing game won't get pressured enough and will pull off the most important win in the school's history in the final moments. The week after, Hawaii will beat Washington, go unbeaten, and be off to a BCS game.

Predicted score in July: Hawaii 45 ... Boise State 41

Sorry for highlighting something that's not supposed to exist (see previous post). Anyway, it should be a really great game. Who knows, maybe ESPN and that fool Lee Corso will show up in Halawa.

Herman

From an excellent Robert Collias' Maui News article of Herman Frazier's visit to Maui.

With record-setting quarterback Colt Brennan forsaking the NFL draft to return for his senior season, UH has missed the boat in terms of national exposure and what could have been a breakout year along the lines of when David Carr led Fresno State to an 11-3 mark in 2001 that got the Bulldogs to No. 8 in the national rankings at one point.

With the slate UH will play this fall, a better record is quite possible, but the level of respect will be completely different. When asked if he anticipated criticism from the national media about UH’s weak schedule, Frazier said, “No, only the local media has criticized it.’’

Okay. These examples below aren't outright criticisms, but football season hasn't even started yet and the national media is already noticing.

From Sports Illustrated:

Hawaii will become the first team in history to average 60 points per game. Have you looked at the schedule Colt Brennan will be facing this season?

From ESPN:

Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan won't have many problems putting up Heisman Trophy-like numbers against Hawaii's schedule. The Warriors play two nonconference games against Division I-AA teams Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern, along with a road game at UNLV and home game against Washington.

From Scout.com:

The Fiesta, the dumping ground for disrespected mid-major teams who earn a BCS slot, might appear to be more of a natural tie-in for an unbeaten Hawaii (check out the schedule and you'll see why this isn't so crazy), but it'll come up with a high-octane matchup of its own.

So it's not just the local media, eh? And they're just getting warmed up.

Ikaika the Rookie / Ticats Board

Ikaika Alama-Francis talks about adjusting to life in the NFL. Thanks to Garret from the UH Warrior Quotes blog for the link!

DE Ikaika Alama-Francis: "Wow. I'll tell you what – it's nothing like I ever imagined. Coming in they say the rookie season is always the hardest because you have to learn new things. They're throwing things at you every day. They're on you every play because they want to get you better – you're ‘the rook’. But I'm loving it. I really do. I smile about it, go to bed at night, wake up the next day and love it again."

Can't wait to see him and the other Warriors play on Sundays this year.

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And earlier, "Cutter" sent me a link to a Hamilton Tiger-Cats fan forum. Lots of debate among the fans as to whether Timmy Chang should be the starter already. A thread in that forum says that Timmy will be interviewed on Toronto radio tomorrow.

Are you ready for some Ticat/Argo football?

Timmy Chang and John Avery will join me in the Bullpen tomorrow morning to chat up Saturday's game.

One of them is on at 10:20, the other at 10:30. I think it's Avery/Chang in that order but I'm not 100% sure.

Anyway, listen to both and hear from both sides.

The FAN 590 website has live streaming audio. Too lazy to find out what Toronto time is. Let's hope there's a podcast of the broadcast afterwards so I can link. Thanks Cutter!

Kickin Ass / 2008 Update / Sun God

Thank you, Matt Hayes of Rivals.com (and/or The Sporting News). He writes an article entitled Hawaii's weak schedule is not it's fault, and he's not even being snarky or sarcastic about it. As June Jones puts it, regarding teams that don't want to travel to play UH:

"Teams don't want to make the trip anymore," says Hawaii coach June Jones. "They come here, we kick their ass, they go home."

Hehehe. And Matt follows up on that comment, not with smug condescension we're so used to hearing from out-of-touch national "reporters," but with THE FACTS!

That's not bravado, folks. That's fact. In the past five seasons, Jones' teams have beaten Michigan State, Alabama, Purdue and Arizona State -- an impressive BCS foursome. No wonder no one wanted in when the Warriors were looking for a game to complete this fall's schedule.

No wonder Michigan State tried for a year to get out of a game -- the same one Hawaii now can't replace -- before finally paying $250,000 to do so. No wonder when Florida -- big, bad Florida -- agreed to play the Warriors in Gainesville for the 2008 season opener, there was no offer to return a home game to Hawaii.

Remember all these things when you're whining about Hawaii's cupcake schedule later this year. When the Warriors' unbeaten regular season includes wins over I-AA Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern. When snooty major conference teams are politicking for a spot in a BCS game ahead of Hawaii because, really, who did the Warriors play?

Hawaii's administration officially called it quits last month. No more begging, no more pleading, no more $750,000 guaranteed payout offers. One BCS athletic director told me it costs "no more than $350,000" for a team to travel to Hawaii and play. You do the math. A BCS school could have walked away with $400,000 of cold, hard profit -- for a road game.

So Matt Hayes goes in the "Good" folder, and we'll be saving this article in case we need it to combat the hate later in this season. Of course, we also have the whole AD fiasco with lots of articles we can pull up as we go along as well.

Speaking of the whole AD fiasco, Herman Frazier, a.k.a. Lessons Learned, has a bang-up schedule lined up for 2008. Or he will have, soon, we hope.

Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier said there might be no Division I-AA teams on the 2008 UH football schedule.

"As you know, we're looking at one I-AA. I might change that," Frazier said yesterday. "There might be a I-A team we can put in that spot, the week between Florida and Oregon State. However, it's still my intent to have '08 (the schedule) done by the end of August."

The Warriors open '08 at Florida on Aug. 30 and have another road game, at Oregon State on Sept. 13. Frazier had planned for UH to host a I-AA team Sept. 6. He said that might be a I-A team instead.

He added that another deal may be completed soon with a BCS conference team. That would complete the five-game nonconference schedule when added to the above games and a Nov. 29 home date with Washington State.

You heard him, end of August. His word is golden. Seriously though, Tyler Graunke and the 30+ seniors are gonna have a hell of a season in '08, and I mean that in a good way. Already looking forward to it! We might even be playing in... the Insight Bowl??

"Obviously, we love the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl first, but there is always a chance (of another bowl), depending on where you are ranked and what kind of payouts," Frazier added. "I think whenever the time comes, we need to be ready."

ESPN Regional Television, which owns and operates the Hawai'i Bowl, also includes the Las Vegas Bowl among its five bowls. Frazier said he believes, under the right circumstances, UH could be a candidate "for any bowl in Northern or Southern California," as well as the Insight Bowl in Phoenix. "And that's what we are trying to prove."

I think someone meant "Fiesta Bowl" right? BCS bowl, Hawaii Bowl or bust! Anyway, that article is mainly about how well the tickets for the UH-UNLV game are selling and that the Warrior Nation travels well. Of course, we're talking about traveling to the 9th island, but still.

Luckily, our inclusion in a BCS bowl should (theoretically) never come down to how well Hawaii fans can or can't travel. NCAA committees don't select BCS bowl participants. Voters and robots do.

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And Coach Jeff Reinebold, who coached in the CFL all those years ago, talks to the Winnipeg Sun about his memories coaching the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and how much he likes it at UH.

After being "banished from the kingdom," Reinebold went off to coach in NFL Europe before landing in 2005 at the University of Hawaii, where he works today as the defensive line/defensive ends/special teams coach alongside former Atlanta Falcons boss June Jones.

"I've enjoyed it here," Reinebold said from his office in Honolulu. "It's something I've wanted to do for a long time. This is such a unique and special place."

Nate Ilaoa Interview / Easy Peasy / TC Still 2

Nate Ilaoa gives a "Draft Spotlight" video interview on the Eagles website. Check it out. Best quote: "The Porsche is still in me, but it just got a Hummer frame right now." He also gives props to the UH offense, but reveals that he doesn't like poi. It's a wide-ranging interview.

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And thanks to Kawiks for pointing out this article. Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com compiles a list of the "easiest" schedules in college football. Guess which team comes in second.

2. HAWAII: Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan won't have many problems putting up Heisman Trophy-like numbers against Hawaii's schedule. The Warriors play two nonconference games against Division I-AA teams Northern Colorado and Charleston Southern, along with a road game at UNLV and home game against Washington. The Warriors' WAC schedule includes home games against Fresno State and Boise State and road games at San Jose State and Nevada.

Nonconference opponents: Northern Colorado (home), UNLV (road), Charleston Southern (home), Washington (home)
Toughest game: vs. Boise State, Nov. 23
Easiest game: vs. Charleston Southern, Sept. 23

Thanks Herman. Well, let's hope the rest of the WAC "plays up" so UH's SOS will go up as well.

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And Ken Peters of the Hamilton Spectator writes an article about the QB situation for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

But Taaffe made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Maas is the starter. Period. End of discussion. Stop asking.

"Let me say this one last time, alright? Jason Maas is the quarterback. How many times do I have to tell you that? Jason Maas is the quarterback. OK? Until at some point if we feel the need to make a change, we'll make a change.

"We're going to continue to play Timmy Chang, he is a good young guy if the situation dictates or allows to get him into the game.

"Jason Maas is our quarterback. OK?"

OK! Let's hope Timmy continues to get playing time, though not because of massive blowouts or injury to Maas.

O-Line / Colt Following / Boise Bucks / TC

Dave Reardon writes about John Estes' move to center and gives an update on the offensive line.

Jones said Kia is a strong candidate to take Estes' old spot as the starting right guard. Other possibilities there are Tuioti-Mariner, sophomore Laupepa Letuli and senior Larry Sauafea.

At this point, senior left guard Hercules Satele is the lone returning starter at the same position as last year.

UPDATE: Stephen Tsai writes that June Jones has very high praise for Estes.

And of all of the blockers— a list that includes Kynan Forney of the Atlanta Falcons, Vince Manuwai of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Samson Satele of the Miami Dolphins — Jones said third-year sophomore John Estes "is the best player who ever played offensive line here."
"Every (offensive lineman) we've had here, period, he's been the best player," Jones added. "That's saying a lot, but it's true. He's got unbelievable balance, unbelievable strength, and he knows how to play the game."

Wowzer!

Reardon also writes that UH has offered scholarships to two players after seeing their performance at the Just Win camp on Maui.

The Warriors offered scholarships to Kamehameha offensive lineman Mykenna Ikehara and Pac-Five defensive end Aaron Tipoti after getting a look at the high school seniors-to-be at the Just Win camp on Maui last week.

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Ferd Lewis writes about the upcoming CB for Heisman DVD, which will showcase Colt Brennan on and off the field. Actually the DVD is entitled "A Colt Following" and I hope Dave Reardon gets royalties on the name. Well, the DVDs won't be on sale, but we can still watch it:

Lois Manin, UH sports information director, who has overseen the project, said 1,000 DVDs will be sent to media outlets, and voters for postseason awards and polls. "It will showcase not only Colt, but the team, the school and the state, which is the way Colt wanted it," Manin said.

...

DVDs will not be for sale but will be available for viewing on the internet, UH said.

Can't wait. The article says it'll debut at the WAC Preview in San Jose on July 23rd. Robert Kekaula produced it along with help from a lot of media people.

UPDATE: Here's the link to A Colt Following.

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Ferd Lewis also writes about the BCS bucks WAC members are getting from Boise's win against Oklahoma.

Much as they might whine about the blue smurf turf in Boise, or bemoan the lengthening string of Bronco domination, WAC rivals were only too glad to hustle these checks to the bank. As commissioner Karl Benson put it yesterday, "everybody got a windfall."

Including the University of Hawai'i, which said it received $559,222 as its share of the WAC's Bowl Championship Series lucre. That loot takes on added significance if it turns out to be the difference between the athletic department balancing its books again or returning to the red when the final audit is in.

Let's hope UH can return the favor this season!

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And finally, maybe a hint of a QB controversy for the Hamilton Ticats?

Unlike the Argonauts, the other Ontario team is trying to kibosh a QB controversy. Despite Timmy Chang seeing action against Calgary, Ticats coach Charlie Taaffe loudly backed No. 1 man Jason Maas after the lopsided loss, even getting angry at reporters who kept asking questions about it.

Team Unity / A Season to Remember

CoachKen of Sportshawaii.com has a great and inspirational post up about the makeup of a great team, with words about leadership, unity, never giving up, etc. Great stuff. Go read.

And Nisei710 has posted KGMB's recap of the 2006 season from A Season to Remember, which aired this past February. So here's one last look at 2006, the heartbreaking losses as well as the unbelievable wins, as we get closer and closer (only two months!) to the start of the 2007 season.

Part 1:



Part 2:

Video of Timmy Chang

Got this from TimmyChang.net, which is doing a great job of keeping up with news of Timmy's progress, as well as that of other Asian-American football players around the nation. They have footage of all of Timmy's plays from the 4th quarter of last night's game. He looks good!

Tyson Kafentzis / TC Plays / Ask Coach

Dave Reardon profiles Tyson Kafentzis, who's making the switch from 3-4 outside linebacker to 4-3 safety.

"I've always wanted to be back deep, see everything and come up and kill guys," said Kafentzis, who was in on 23 tackles as an outside linebacker last year despite missing four games with a sprained ankle. "I just imagine what it would be like to hit a guy from 10 yards away instead of five yards away. Big difference."

Gotta like that. The article has much more, including a history of the Kafentzises that have played for UH.

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Yesterday was the Hamilton Tiger-Cats first regular season game. They got blown out of the water by Calgary, but Timmy Chang did see some playing time in the 4th quarter. He was 4 of 7 for 86 yards, though he did throw an interception in the red zone. Still, not bad for his debut, and it's a great sign that he actually played in the first game of the season.

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And June Jones answers some "Ask Coach" questions, including mine, which is awesome! But here's his answer to someone else's much better question, because we find out more about the status of the offensive line:

Q: Coach Jones, With the loss of Samson, Tala and Dane rebuilding the offensive line will be a top priority at UH this season. Who came out the front runners this spring? What are you looking for when determining whether a player is more suited to playing guard than center and vice-a-versa? As a fan I can't tell you enough how much it pumped me up.

A: We have a lot of players that are going to be good players this year. Hercules Satele had a good year last year and this year he will be better. John Estes might be the best player on the o-line that we have had here since I came back in 99. He will play center this year and I think he will become a leader along with Hercules. Clarence Tuioti Mariner and Larry Saufea will play both guard and center. I was really please with Ray Hisatake's first time at tackle and see a future for him there. Keith Ah-Soon is coming on and had a really good spring. Keoni Steinhoff was like a starter last year and I am sure will start this year. Laupepa Letuli is going to compete for a starting position as well. We have two freshman that I think have a chance to get on the field too. Over all the offensive line looks good

That's great to hear. And I think John Estes playing center should be an awesome move. From what I've seen, heard and read, he's smart, agile, strong, with a lot of experience, and he's still just a sophmore. He may be the leader of the O-line for years to come. Go to the Ask Coach page for more answers from Coach Jones. And while you're there, you can ask him a question of your own.