JD, Mack, QBs, Bain, Etc.

First of all, thank you to Mr. Cut for filing that magnum opus of a report from the Waimalu town meeting. Take that, Leeward Current!

The speakers at the meeting, Greg McMackin and Jim Donovan, are being feted at the "Game On!" celebration/fundraiser tonight. My SportsHawaii post from last month has a link to the info/order PDF.

Speaking of SportsHawaii and Jim Donovan, check out the new SportsHawaii forum -- First and 10 with Jim Donovan.



Here's a message from SH's Scott explaining what it's all about:

Talk about taking the open door policy to the next level. Jim Donovan is taking an hour of his valuable time once a month to chat with the Sports Hawaii Ohana. It will happen the first Monday of every month at 10:00 AM. The first chat session is planned for Monday August 4th from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM.

Be there!

Greg McMackin talks to Dave Reardon about the QB situation going into fall camp.

"The four who will get the reps are Inoke (Funaki), Tyler (Graunke), Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch," McMackin said yesterday. "And then within a week and a half we're going to cut it to three quarterbacks. At a certain point before the ballgame (Aug. 30 opener at Florida) we're going to cut it down to two and one's going to get three-fourths of the reps and one's going to get a fourth of the reps.

"It's only going to be those four. Some guys will service the defense."

Stephen Tsai profiles receiver Aaron Bain.

UH coach Greg McMackin said he will award a scholarship to Bain this weekend.

"I liked (joining as a walk-on), having to prove yourself," Bain said. "Once you accomplish that, that's half the battle. Some people like to take things for granted. Everything is spoon-fed for them. I don't like that. I want to earn everything."

Congrats to "Yoda"!

Reardon has some news and notes about which coaches will be in the booth during games, how many players they plan to take to Florida, and some words from McMackin about special teams:

Hawaii may have offense and defense first-stringers in kickoff and punt coverage roles this season, as well as blocking on returns, coach Greg McMackin said yesterday.

McMackin said his rule is the NFL standard that a starter can play on one or two special teams "if he's the best player for the position."

Does that mean a premier player such as All-WAC outside linebacker Adam Leonard could end up on the kickoff return team, for example?

"If he's the best guy. If there's no one close to him, absolutely," McMackin said. "Obviously, we've got to be smart how we use them. A defensive guy, I don't want him to run down on the kickoff and have to be right in there."

And finally, Dustin Lepray of the Twin Falls Times-News has an article about the upcoming UH football season. It includes quotes from Coach Mack, Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard. Some great quotes from the players talking about their coach:

"Off the field he is very polite, courteous, sincere, he's very authentic," Leonard said. "But there's a side only the defense saw last year, which is halftimes when he's down your throat and intense. He turns red and his eyes are squinting. He's the most intense coach I've played for throughout my career."

Most think that the departure of June Jones, Colt Brennan and all those receivers will be too much for the Warriors to overcome, but Elimimian is glad he has the new coach.

"In time you will see why we are blessed to be in this position," Elimimian said. "To lose Coach Jones, who's been a staple for the last (nine) years of Hawaii football, is detrimental. But we're blessed because we know what kind of coach we have in Coach Greg McMackin."