Inoke Funaki, Whitley Fehoko

Brian McInnis profiles Inoke Funaki, who discusses his move to running back.

He's coping with the transition by falling back on his knowledge of the Warriors' offense and his considerable strength and athleticism in his 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame.

"Yeah, it is definitely different," Funaki said. "I always joke around a lot, you know, giving the quarterbacks a hard time. Sometimes I joke around, but I'm always like, 'Don't worry, I got your back, I got your back.'"

When the UH coaches decided on the experiment, they had plenty of last year's tape to dissect of Funaki taking off and running as a signal-caller. He went for 215 yards on the ground as a junior and showed some considerable footspeed.

But in the Warriors' run-and-shoot, the running back is used heavily as a blocker. Can Funaki stand up to the big boys?

Consider his first cross-examination a success after the Warriors strapped on pads for the first time on Saturday.

And some bad news for Whitley Fehoko.

Whitley Fehoko's football career is apparently over.
Fehoko, who hoped to play for the Warriors this fall, was diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.
He is likely to undergo a procedure to correct a faulty heart valve.

All the best to him.