Fall Camp: Day 9 Wrap-Ups

Stephen Tsai writes that Brashton Satele could be out for an extended time with a shoulder injury.

Middle linebacker Brashton Satele yesterday suffered an injury to his left shoulder while attempting to make a tackle during a 6-on-7 scrimmage at the grass practice field.

Satele underwent an X-ray and an MRI.

Satele, a fifth-year senior, is scheduled to meet with a surgeon tomorrow night.

At that time, it will be decided whether he will need surgery, which would require a long recovery, or if the injury can heal through rest and rehabilitation.

"Brashton is just a great person and a great player and a great leader," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "I hope he gets better."

Ugh, that sucks. In better news, Tsai writes about yesterday's pool day and notes that the defense did good things in yesterday's scrimmage sessions. Lewis Walker in particular sounds like is having a great camp.

"The defense had the high intensity from the beginning of practice, even when we started stretching," cornerback Lewis Walker said.

Walker made an interception when nickelback Aaron Brown deflected Brent Rausch's pass. It was Walker's fourth interception the past week.

"The quarterbacks love me," Walker said, smiling. "It's competition. The defensive coaches put us in position to make plays. We just have to make them. That's kind of what happened."

Jason Kaneshiro highlights yesterday's defensive performance.

The 7-on-7 period often becomes an offensive showcase as the defense refrains from heavy contact. With the restrictions lifted yesterday, the advantage tilted toward the defense, which relished the chance to tackle full speed.

"We wanted to see how our tackling was in the secondary and I was very happy with where we are," UH head coach Greg McMackin said.

"We did it so the DBs could show they could tackle and break on the ball. The offense made some plays. It's important that we saw the receivers can catch it with pressure on."

McMackin said the coaching staff will evaluate the footage today as they make decisions on arranging the depth chart.

Kaneshiro also writes about the injury to Satele and the pool day.

Dave Reardon has a column about the defense.

OPINIONS VARY on how much the full-contact drill of only passing favors the defense.

"The receivers were almost on a suicide mission," quarterback Greg Alexander said. "We were just doing our best not to get them killed."

It wasn't pretty, and he used a word that rhymes with it to aptly describe the offense's morning overall.

The young defenders didn't have to sweat the run, and if they're not intimately familiar with the pass routes by now they're probably going to struggle with Intro to Sociology, too. But no pass rush helps the offense. Plays kept going long after the QB likely would've been sacked or at least chased from the pocket.

If the deck was stacked, it wasn't significant enough to make everything uphill for the offense.

And Ferd Lewis has a column about Greg Alexander.

For Alexander, it wasn't enough that he got tossed into a very big frying pan very quickly, debuting against eventual national champion Florida in The Swamp. It came with a largely new supporting cast, rebuilt coaching staff and often reshuffled offense. Trying to build chemistry sometimes took a backseat to self-preservation.

Yet, between chucking and ducking, losing a starting job and winning it back, Alexander completed 63 percent of his passes and sustained just five interceptions, throwing for 1,895 yards and 14 touchdowns. He displayed not only commendable resolve but occasional flashes of brilliance.

The kind that, with more support around him and the fine tuning of his own game, could propel Alexander and the Warriors to a breakout season.