Training Camp Day 5 Wrap-Ups (w/VIDEO UPDATE)

UPDATE: Last night's news compilation from Big Nut Cut. KGMB's Liz Chun has a report from practice and announces a Warrior football kickoff show that will be broadcast on KGMB at 9pm on August 24th, KITV's Rob DeMello previews Colt Brennan's second preseason game, KFVE's Jason Tang takes a look at the Warriors' Under Armour practice gear, and both KHON and KGMB discuss Greg McMackin's testimony to the BOE.



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Stephen Tsai writes that three Warriors received scholarships yesterday, in big part due to their performance in the classroom.

Reaffirming his commitment to academics, University of Hawai'i head coach Greg McMackin has awarded football scholarships to safety Mana Silva, wideout Royce Pollard and cornerback Ryan Perry.

Of the three, only Silva is listed No. 1 on the depth chart.

McMackin said they were rewarded for strong performances in the classroom.

"We take academics very seriously," McMackin said. "They earned the scholarships because they take academics seriously."

The article also details some of the OL vs DL one-on-one drills and there's a good quote from Viliami Nauahi, who was a perimeter blocker in field goal attempts yesterday:

"We've got Blaze coming through my gap, (and) I'm like, 'Oh,' " Nauahi said. "And we've got Ryan Mouton coming off the side, so it's like, 'hoo.' It's a challenge. Blaze is tough. Blaze's middle name is 'Impact.' "

Jason Kaneshiro also writes about the one-on-ones, and talks to John Estes, who's recovered from a hamstring injury that hampered him in the spring.

With time and rest, the injury healed, he regained strength in his legs over the summer and the effects were evident in UH's first set of one-on-one drills between offensive and defensive linemen yesterday, stonewalling his opponents at the line.

"It's a lot better now that I've fixed my hamstring. I can actually hunker down a little bit," Estes said. "Last spring I'd just get bullrushed every time because I didn't have legs.

Some backups got to work with the first-team yesterday. R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane took over for Adam Leonard, who sat out with a tight hamstring.

Also getting first-team reps were guard Raphael Ieru in place of Lafu Tuioti-Mariner (calf) and defensive end Elliott Purcell for John Fonoti (hamstring). First-team cornerbacks Ryan Mouton and Jameel Dowling also had classes in the morning. Before Mouton made it out for the latter portion of practice, Calvin Roberts and JoPierre Davis were the first corners in the rotation.

Leila Wai profiles R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane.

"I consider R.J. a starter... He's just as good as all of us," linebacker Blaze Soares said. "He's probably the strongest linebacker we have."

Soares said Kiesel-Kauhane motivates the rest of his teammates to put in extra work in the weight room.

"He's a really mellow guy," Soares said. "He has a great work ethic. He inspires others."

Brian McInnis and Jason Kaneshiro write about the young cornerbacks in camp, Lewis Walker and Steven Christian.

The corners are among just four true freshmen from the mainland on the fall camp roster, and Walker is grateful for the tutelage he's been granted during practices from the elder players in the secondary.

"Every day (for advice), no matter what, they open up (for) questions, no matter what I have to say," Walker said. "They always help me out, if they see something wrong they try to fix it. It's just kind of like another coach out there."

There also some notes about the special teams, and injury news.

Ferd Lewis lauds Greg McMackin, who left practice early on Thursday to speak to the BOE about proposed cuts to junior varsity sports in local high schools.

A succession of UH athletic directors have counseled their coaches, especially those new to the nuances of local bureaucracy and ignorant of the pitfalls of politics hereabouts, to just take care of the coaching and smile at the cameras. Better to clam up and feign ignorance than risk political payback later.

Yet, there was McMackin, front and center, telling the BOE the issue was "more important than a game." He was carrying the ball for a silent majority of coaches. As Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji put it, "I'm glad Greg actually went down and spoke to them. I don't think there's any doubt that we (agree) with what he said."

Looks like it helped. Gotta love Coach Mack!

And finally, Scott from SportsHawaii wants to honor Coach Mack, proposing a nickname for the UH defense.