Na Koa, USU Preview, Green, Davis, Kia

SportsHawaii's uhwarriors has this week's Na Koa Lunch Report up on Na Koa's spiffy new website.

Via the Idaho Statesman, here's a UH-Utah State game preview. They do not predict good things for the Warriors.

Speaking of which, UH made ESPN's Bottom 10 this week.

Jason Kaneshiro highlights the friendship between Alex Green and Lametrius Davis.

Davis, a cornerback, committed to UH last fall and helped convince Green to join him in Manoa. The childhood friends from Portland, Ore., and Butte teammates are playing more prominent roles for the Warriors (2-6, 0-5 Western Athletic Conference) lately, both coming off strong performances in last week's game at Nevada.

Green powered for 70 yards on 10 carries, both season highs, against the Wolf Pack. With more carries has come a greater sense of rhythm and a more physical running style translating to an average of 6.3 yards on his 18 attempts off the bench over the last two weeks.

Davis has started the last two games at left cornerback, developing into a steady performer in the secondary heading into the Warriors' conference game against Utah State (2-6, 1-3) Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

"Lametrius is starting to really catch on to what we're doing. He played outstanding last week," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "Alex is the same way. He's been popping through on the run all year, but had his best ballgame last week."

Kaneshiro also notes that Aloha Stadium turnstiles will open at 3:30pm this Saturday.

The stadium opened at 2 p.m. for previous games. Opening times for the parking lots remain unchanged - 11:30 a.m. for the Lower Halawa lot and 12:30 p.m. for all other lots.

Stadium manager Scott Chan said there were "some challenges both in the parking lots and inside the stadium at our last UH game."

Stephen Tsai writes that despite all the criticism, Aaron Kia is doing a good job.

He has been chastised on call-in shows and message boards for what is perceived as inconsistent play.

To the criticism, the Warriors' response is a collective: Huh?

"He's doing a good job," quarterback Bryant Moniz said of his back-side blocker. "I have complete trust in Kia."

Offensive line coach Gordy Shaw uses a rating system to evaluate every blocker on every play. The system factors technique, effort, stamina, footwork, punch and results.

"He grades out good," Shaw said. "He pass blocks really well, and he blocks well in the running game. He hasn't given up very many sacks. He hustles hard and he plays hard."