Na Koa Lunch Report, Dollar, Injuries, Kickers, Etc.

uhwarriors has this week's Na Koa Lunch Report up on NaKoa.org.

Stephen Tsai writes that several Warriors are battling staph infections.

Via the Charlotte Observer, The Sports Network has a UH-NMSU game preview.

Interesting quote from NMSU coach DeWayne Walker in the NMSU student paper.

“Hawaii’s offense is pretty explosive,” head football coach DeWayne Walker said. “They have decent athletes – they are not great athletes – but I think the scheme really helps them rack up the yards and the points.”

Jason Kaneshiro highlights the Warriors' "dollar" defensive package.

Always looking for ways to get more speed on the field, the Warriors' coaching staff implemented a variation on an existing package to create more havoc with a smaller but quicker personnel group.

So they put in a scheme pulling all but one defensive lineman off the field and replacing them with two more defensive backs in passing situations.

After dabbling with it the previous two weeks, the Warriors turned to their "dollar" package more frequently last Saturday against Utah State.

"It's a real fun package," safety Spencer Smith said. "We used it sparingly at first because it was new and we weren't comfortable with it, so we just had to put more and more in each week.

Kaneshiro also has a report from today's practice. An excerpt:

>> Jovonte Taylor sat out of practice for the second straight day while having treatment on his arm. UH head coach Greg McMackin expects Taylor will be ready come gametime. Offensive coordinator Ron Lee said Royce Pollard will be ready to rejoin the rotation, though his work load would likely be limited as he returns from a leg injury.
>> Cornerback Jeramy Bryant didn’t suit up for practice today. He had hoped to practice to test his injured biceps. Safety Richard Torres also sat out most of practice.

Stephen Tsai writes about the renewed competition between kickers Scott Enos and Brian Blumberg.

Yesterday, Enos and Blumberg, a transfer from El Camino College, received an equal number of attempts during field-goal drills.

"We're trying to find the best guy," Tormey said. "We're trying to see that everybody has an opportunity to show what (he) can do."

Tormey said Enos has the stronger kicking leg.

Of Blumberg, Tormey said, "I like his get-off times. He gets the ball off quick on field goals. He was pretty accurate when we had the competition in fall camp. The competition was pretty close."

And finally, Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli had some nice things to say about his former coach Nick Rolovich.

Upon returning to the Bay Area after high school, Masoli hooked up with current Hawai'i quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich, who was then at CCSF in the same position.

"He was a great mentor to me," Masoli said. "He was one of the few coaches that could relate to me and know what I see on the field. Me and coach Rolo are really good friends and I can't talk about how much he has helped me grow as a leader and a player."