Warriors in the Pros: Pisa, Bess, LaBoy, Ellerson

Pisa Tinoisamoa, who is healthy and leading the Rams in tackles, is profiled by Steve Korte of the Belleville News-Democrat.

Tinoisamoa leads the Rams with 131 tackles, marking the first time in three years that he's reached the century mark in tackles.

Tinoisamoa was the Rams' top tackler his first three seasons in the NFL, averaging 133 tackles per season from 2003 through 2005.

Then injuries cut into his playing time and effectiveness in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

"It is very gratifying because I kind of felt like I raised the bar early on, and then I kind of feel underneath it the last few years," Tinoisamoa said of returning to his old form. "To get back to where the bar was already set, and to basically jump over it these days, is a great feeling. I'm happy to be still playing after these past couple of years."

Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also writes about Tinoisamoa's re-emergence.

He dedicated his offseason to improving his well-being by eating better and working out harder. Already a bit undersized at 6 feet 1 and 240 pounds, he thought he'd add some bulk in the process.

"The funny thing is that I ended up losing weight," said Tinoisamoa, who is now at 220 pounds. "So maybe it wasn't that I needed to put on more weight as much as I needed to get in shape. I'm a lot lighter and it's probably not ideal for a linebacker. But I'm comfortable, I'm healthy, and I think that's all that really matters."

Davone Bess is mentioned in a Dolphins-Jets preview by Scout.com.

WR Davone Bess has also become a major component to Miami's offense since that Jets loss in September. He has 48 catches for 515 yards and averages 10.7 yards-per-catch. His style has been compared favorably with top slot receivers such as Wes Welker and former Jet Wayne Chrebet. Bess is the second-most prolific undrafted rookie receiver in NFL history, behind Chrebet's 66 catches.

And he's among the "The Starting 11" in this NFL weekend preview from USA Today.

Rookie watch: Davone Bess. A season-ending knee injury to the team's leading receiver, Greg Camarillo, thrust the undrafted wideout from Hawaii into the starting lineup. Bess has started the past five games, and produced 29 of his 48 catches during that span. Among AFC rookie receivers, only Denver's Eddie Royal (80 receptions) has been more productive than Bess, who was groomed in a pro-style scheme in college. Given Miami's creativity with its Wildcat formation, there seems to be potential for Bess' role to expand. He played some quarterback at Skyline High in Oakland.

Travis LaBoy is listed as doubtful for Arizona's game vs the Seahawks.

And finally, ex UH-player and coach Rich Ellerson has been hired as the head coach of Army.

Cal Poly's Rich Ellerson was hired as Army's football coach Friday, joining a team that hasn't had a winning record since 1996. Ellerson is a former University of Hawai'i player and assistant coach, and the second UH alum to become head coach at a U.S. service academy.

Ken Niumatalolo, a Radford High and UH graduate, recently completed his first year as head coach at Navy.

So what's the coaching situation like at Air Force?