McMackin, Recruiting, Ron Lee

In an article by Jason Kaneshiro, Adam Leonard and Desmond Thomas talk about the hiring of Greg McMackin.

"To lose Coach Jones, he's one of a kind. But to know we secured our future with coach McMackin, it means a lot," said senior linebacker Adam Leonard, who served on the nine-person selection committee.

"He's not Coach Jones; he's Greg McMackin. I think he's going to blaze his own trail, and we're going to see a lot of success. ... He's bringing his whole family out here, he's totally committed and that's what we need right now."

"He's a people person, and he takes his time to get to know you," Thomas said. "He'll take the time to get to know Colt Brennan, and he'll take the time to know somebody that's on the third-string scout team. ... Players respond to him well."

There's also quotes from Linda Lingle and Bob Nash.

Dave Reardon profiles McMackin, who talks a little about his coaching style.

McMackin considers himself a teacher above all else. And he has different methods for different situations.

"I've been around all kinds of coaches, and my style is that I want to teach kids. If they're not doing what I tell them to do, I get a little stronger with them. If they're not listening, then I go to the next guy," he said. "I try to treat them professionally, like men. I don't have a lot of rules. But No. 1 is don't embarrass the program. That pretty much covers everything. I treat them as individuals and try to keep great communication. That's important to me."

Stephen Tsai profiles and interviews McMackin. Here are some excerpts:

On the top recruiting needs:

"We need immediate help at receiver. We need another running back who's bigger, more physical, faster. We need another corner. We'd be smart if we ran into a couple of good offensive linemen. Oh, and we need a JC quarterback to come in and compete and go for it."

On the offense:

"We're going to run the run-and-shoot. I've run the run-and-shoot before. June's a master of the run-and-shoot. We're going to be a little more fundamental. Maybe not as much as Mouse (Davis, the scheme's architect), but sort of in-between. I'll let Ron (Lee, the offensive coordinator) call the plays. Every once in a while, I'll call a couple."

On the uniforms:

"I like our (black) home uniforms. I don't like (the) all white (road uniforms). I like our (dark) helmets."

The article also has some selected quotes from the press conference.

Ferd Lewis writes about how Greg McMackin is a great fit for UH.

The new head of the Warrior family is distinguished, mellow, seasoned, genuine and understated, which is a lot of what makes him such a good fit for UH at this time and place.

What the Warriors didn't need in their new head coach was a hard-charging maverick who wanted to reshape every corner of the UH athletic program in his image. Nor did they have the necessity of someone who has to be front and center every time a camera shows up or hailed as a genius. Characteristics not all his predecessors as head coaches or defensive coordinators were bereft of.

What they do require is someone who recognizes, "what I can be is the glue to hold things together," and has the good sense and humility to pull it off.

McMackin and Rich Miano talk to Jason Kaneshiro about recruiting.

"It's been tough the last week or two saying, 'We think this guy's going to be the head coach,' or 'We think we're going to be here,' " the nine-year UH assistant said. "There's some uncertainty out there and that's being used against us."

After yesterday's announcement of Greg McMackin's hiring as head coach, Miano and the rest of the staff can approach those prospects with greater conviction.

"Now is the time to really get out there and say, 'Hey we have a head coach, here's the direction we're going in,' " Miano said.

"We can turn that around and we need to start getting on the phones ASAP."

McMackin said he's targeted running back, receiver and cornerback as areas to address immediately while also looking at the program's needs beyond the upcoming season.

"Our younger classes, our freshman and sophomore classes, are really light, so we really have to get on recruiting for the future," McMackin said.

Stephen Tsai profiles soon-to-be new offensive coordinator Ron Lee.

Lee's offense will differ slightly from the scheme Jones ran successfully at UH. Jones is so brilliant he can correctly call set routes. For instance, Jones might call "H-corner," in which the slotback will run a route to the corner. Lee, on the other hand, prefers "H-option," in which the slotback, depending on the coverage, has the option of running a corner or post route. Lee's offense will be simpler, but have more plays. Lee said his schemes are based on plays Jones introduced in recent years.

In Jones' offense, the running back is used mostly as a backfield blocker, making up for the absence of a tight end. Lee prefers to employ a bruising fullback.

"I like to have a back who might not be as fast as in the past, but can pound it inside," Lee said.

And finally, Robert Shikina has the story of Ernest Dung A'ana, who made one last trip to watch Colt Brennan and the Warriors in New Orleans.

Two weeks before the biggest game ever for the University of Hawaii football team, Ernest Dung A'ana learned from doctors that he had terminal liver cancer.

He also had an aneurysm three times larger than normal, posing a danger on airline flights.

But that did not keep him from traveling to New Orleans to watch former UH quarterback Colt Brennan play in the Sugar Bowl.

The Hanapepe, Kauai, resident never returned from the trip. He died in Atlanta from complications from his aneurysm that started on a flight home.

"He was a big Colt fan," said his son Enoch A'ana, of Kailua-Kona.

When Brennan heard the story, he sent the family a package of football memorabilia.

"That was really precious to us that he did send something," A'ana said.