Extension, Video, Thor, Tulsa, Etc.

Stephen Tsai talks to several players who all say they want Coach Greg McMackin to get a contract extension.

Linebacker Corey Paredes said there is no doubt McMackin deserves an extension.

"Of course," Paredes said. "Coach Mack is an awesome coach. He takes care of his players. He treats his players like his own children. ... And he's led us to some victories."

Tsai has some great quotes from Bryant Moniz:

"We're the cockroaches," Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz said. "Everybody thought they killed us last year. They thought we were dead. And then we got up. You know when you think you killed a cockroach, then you come back, and it's gone? That's us.

"They thought we were dead after last year. We came back. We won 10 games. We're going to a bowl game. They need to get a bigger slipper to kill us."

Tsai also notes that JC receiver Cecil Doe signed a letter of intent and plans on joining the team in January.

Chawan Cut has last night's news. The players talk about taking finals.



Tsai writes that Thor Salanoa Jr. is trying to earn an associate degree to play for UH.

He is enrolled at West Oahu College, and hopes to play for the Warriors. But because of some ill-advised guidance at Snow, he does not have enough transferrable credits. As a 4-2-4 player, he needs to earn the equivalent of an associate degree to be eligible to join the Warriors. Thor Sr. said he believes his son is on track to meeting those requirements.

Here's some news from the past week:

Tsai talks to All-American Greg Salas.

"He's worked hard to get the All-America honor," Rolovich said. "He never got into any trouble. He's graduating. Talk about somebody who has gone through college as a student-athlete the right way. I don't know what else you can ask for."

CBSSports.com has a Hawaii Bowl preview.

Tsai wrote about McMackin cancelling practice and an upcoming knee surgery for safety Jordan Gomes.

It might be a while before Gomes is back to full speed. In January, Gomes is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair tears to the ACL and MCL in his left knee. The postsurgery rehabilitation is about six months -- a June target that would force him to miss spring training.

"Everyone is going to be evaluated this spring," said Gomes, noting there will be a vacancy at one of the starting safety positions. "You want to be at your best. You don't want an injury like this."

Mike Brown of Tulsa World has some quotes from Tulsa players about playing in Hawaii:

"Obviously, the atmosphere's gonna be amazing," quarterback G.J. Kinne said. "You always hear about the beaches. But I'm worried about the game more than anything."

Johnson said he doesn't know much about Hawaii except for the grass skirts. Also, its one of the backdrops for "Dog the Bounty Hunter," one of Johnson's favorite television programs.

And from last week, Tulsa coach Todd Graham talks about the upcoming game: