Salas to Senior Bowl, Zach Masch, Idaho Previews

Stephen Tsai talks to Greg Salas, who's been invited to the Senior Bowl.

Hawaii's senior slotback has been invited to compete in the 2011 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. By participating in the Jan. 29 all-star game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Salas is all but assured an invitation to the NFL scouting combine in February.

Salas said he was flattered to receive the invitation, which was relayed through associate head coach Rich Miano, the Warriors' pro liaison.

"It's nice to know that hard work is paying off, and people are noticing me," Salas said.

In addition, Tsai writes that the Senior Bowl also expressed interest in Kealoha Pilares and Alex Green.

Missed this yesterday, but Jason Kaneshiro has a profile of defensive lineman Zach Masch.

Tuioti said the 285-pound Masch has the strength to hold his ground at the line of scrimmage and "he's got a high motor, just constantly going,"

That trait could lead to an increased role on Saturday when the Warriors (6-2, 4-0 WAC) face Idaho (4-3, 1-1), which brings the nation's fourth-ranked passing offense to Aloha Stadium with quarterback Nathan Enderle slinging 39 passes per game.

"He's great in the pass rush so this week we're probably going to have to get some reps out of him to get after the quarterback," Tuioti said. "They have a great quarterback, and we need to collapse the pocket. That's one of Zach's strengths."

Kaneshiro has news and notes about Leilehua alums Bryant Moniz and Robert Siavii facing off this Saturday, injury news on Corey Paredes and Parker Paredes, and the ongoing search to replace Ryan Henry at punt returner.

UH special teams coordinator Chris Tormey said the decision on a punt returner to replace Ryan Henry, out for the season with a knee injury, could come down to pregame tomorrow.

Slotback Kealoha Pilares fielded punts at the end of yesterday's practice and was later joined by safety Richard Torres.

Matt Dessert of GoVandals.net previews the UH-Idaho game.

SWXRightNow.com has a video interview with Idaho coach Robb Akey. He shares his thoughts about the upcoming game. He should be a motivational speaker or a pro wrestler.

The Star-Advertiser recaps the WAC's settlement with Reno and Fresno.

And Dave Reardon wonders about UH's future.

Does winning really cure all evils, even the geographic challenge of thousands of miles of distance from your nearest competition?

If the University of Hawaii keeps up its winning ways in football, it will learn the answer to that question in the coming months. And maybe UH won't be done with Fresno State and Nevada after all -- even after 2011. And next week's visit to Boise State might not be the last for the Warriors.

And I've got a wonderful fish for you from the Ala Wai Canal.

No, really, hear this out