Game Week: Oregon State - Thursday News

Jason Kaneshiro writes about Daniel Libre, back at full speed.

"Daniel Libre is going to be ready to play, he's back practicing, and Leon's going to be ready to go," Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said.

"We worked (Libre) out and he looked like his old self. He has fresh legs. He's ready to go. I'm excited about that because he's a good football player."

Stephen Tsai writes about Libre's return and highlights shuffling at the left tackle position.

If Letuli cannot play, the Warriors must make a choice. Are they better off with Kia at tackle and AhSoon at guard, or AhSoon at tackle and Brysen Ginlack at guard.

"We'll evaluate it and make a decision," Smith said.

Jason Kaneshiro talks to UH offensive line coach Brian Smith about facing his former team.

"It's going to be a very cool atmosphere," said Smith, who was on the sideline for the Beavers' 35-32 win at Aloha Stadium to close the 2006 regular season. "I worked for those guys two years ago and now you're really competing against them - it's a cool process."

Also competing against their former team are Mana Lolotai and Mana Silva.

Like Lolotai, Warriors safety Mana Silva wanted to play for Oregon State. He redshirted there in 2006, then familial obligations called him home.

"It's going to be different from playing at Aloha Stadium," Mana Silva said. He explained that the students "are going crazy. They never sit down, they are always standing up.

"When I went there for my (recruiting) visit, it was good and the atmosphere was good, but I came back for my family," said Silva, who is married to Keilah, and has a 15-month-old son, Kauahe.

Paul Buker of the Oregonian talks to the Beaver players from Hawaii. A great quote from the article:

"I ain't flying home if we lose. I don't want to hear about it from everybody over there," said OSU safety Al Afalava, another former Kahuku star.

Dan Norz of BeaverFootball.com has thirteen things you should know about the Hawaii football team, from an OSU perspective.

Hard Knock Sports, a blog which features UH football every so often, has a post about the rise and fall (and rise) of the Phoenix out of Arizona, Tyler Graunke.

But that Coach Mac, he’s willing to shake things up when it’s not working, finally tapped #6. It certainly wasn’t all Funaki’s fault (two missed FGs and a fumble made his work look worse than it was), but this wasn’t the Hawaii offense we’re all used to.

So Graunke went in. And he only threw 20 passes. That’s all he needed. Of those 20 passes, 13 were completed. Of those 13, 3 were for touchdowns. Boom. Just like that. Game over.

Make no mistake. Tyler Graunke is not Colt. He’s not going to make us forget Colt. He’s not going to replace Colt. Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch may have the bigger arms. Funaki may have the best scrambling ability. But Tyler knows this system. He knows all the throws. And he knows these receivers - the second teamers, who have waited just as patiently as he has for their moment. This, friends, is that moment.

And Ferd Lewis profiles Oregon State coach Mike Riley, writing about his frequent trips to the North Shore. Here's a clip from one of his visits: