Quotes from Spring Practice Week 4 Day 2

About the schedule, Associate AD John McNamara said:
"We definitely plan to have at least seven home games. And the last time I talked to Herman, I know he's still working on a 13-game schedule." (HSB)

Note: HSB reports that deposits have been made for 18,802 season tickets, compared with 18,215 season tickets last season. Frazier has said that UH has had talks with Northern Arizona for its 9/1 game (which Northern Colorado has been led to believe is scheduled for it to play in Hawaii).


About how he won't be able to participate in any Spring Practices because of his injury, Graunke said:
"I'm probably done." (HA)

"It's a little better than (Monday). But it's still pretty fat, and I don't have much movement in my wrist or thumb. I hurt my hand before, but never this bad. It's only bone, so it'll heal. I wouldn't be surprised if something was broken. But I don't think it's very serious." (HA)

"Even if it's not broken, it wouldn't make sense to throw. I can't do things I normally do." (HSB)

Note: MRI results won't be known until today.


About Graunke's injury, Colt said:
"The way he went down was uncalled for. It should have never happened. Somebody got hurt, and it was so easy to avoid. This sucks. But knowing Tyler, even if he had a broken hand, I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up for practice. He's a tough guy." (HA)


Not expecting Graunke's injury to keep him out long, QB coach Dan Morrison said:
"He's been through his share of things. It makes him stronger out the other end. Some handle that well, some give up. That's not his nature. He gets stronger because of it. Critical element is maturity. How they handle leadership and intangibles. The learning process. His maturity has really grown." (HSB)


Asked if he imagined that he'd become a highly regarded NFL prospect one day, Ikaika Alama-Francis said:
"Are you nuts? Are you crazy? Me? In this position right now? It was unheard of." (HA)

HA Note: "In the spring of 2003, he auditioned for the football team. At the time, he weighed 210 pounds and managed to bench press 225 pounds one time. In his first one-on-one drill, he was floored by Isa'ako Sopoaga, now a San Francisco 49er defensive tackle. After watching all of that, head coach June Jones predicted that Alama-Francis would develop into an NFL player. Jones' vision is close to materializing."


About the first NFL team that brought him in for in-person interviews, Alama-Francis said:
"The first time I went, I'm going down this escalator in the airport. I saw a guy holding up a sign with my name on it. I looked around, then I realized: 'Hey, that's me.' He picked me up in a limo. We were driving down Pittsburgh. It's a beautiful city." (HA)


About how teams are looking at him as either a DE or LB (and KC is looking at him as a TE), Alama-Francis said:
"I don't know where I'm going to play. It's a good problem to have. The more you can do, the more valuable you are." (HA)


About why he won't watch the TV broadcast of the draft, Alama-Francis said:
"It's too nerve-wracking. I can't do. I can't watch it." (HA)


About how NFL scouts are now agreeing with JJ's prediction about his draft status, Alama-Francis said:
"I owe June so much for saying that. He saw that potential. He had that eye. You may think he's crazy with some of his decisions, but they come true. I'm glad he had that eye for me." (HA)


When J. David Miller wanted to write a book about the new Arena Football League, Arena League co-creator Mouse Davis told him to try out for a team and he played 2 seasons, even catching a TD pass:
"I was known as 'George' Miller. Like George Plimpton." (HSB)


About how he's known JJ and his mentor Mouse Davis for 20 years, Miller said:
"He's a very talented guy." (HSB)


Miller, how lives in Florida and is researching a book about UH football, said:
"I was interviewing Chad Owens for the book in my living room the other night." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Miller said he decided to write a book about UH after watching the Warriors go 11-3 last year, breaking offensive records with a variation of the run-and-shoot attack Jones and Davis showed him two decades ago."


About Miller's book on UH football, JJ said:
"We've known him a long time. I think it's going to be a positive thing for the program." (HSB)


About his planned 200-page coffee table book about UH football, Miller said:
"It's a combination of everything. All the best things that Hawaii, football and redemption have to offer. Redemption is a major theme. Redemption comes up again, again and again. From Pisa to Davone, Colt, June's car crash. Mouse Davis taking another lap around the track, Jerry Glanville coming back." (HSB)


In the foreward to his book, Miller talked about watching his girls play 4-square and having one fall down and call for a "do-over":
"Herein is the story of the biggest do-over in the history of college football, engineered by men whose careers personify the meaning of do-over, and a quarterback whose personal do-over offers hope to generations of children to come." (HSB)


About how Bess Publishing has contracted to produce Miller's book, Benjamin Bess said:
"The idea was a no-brainer. There hasn't been one (on UH football) since the (Bob) Wagner book. The June Jones era has a great track record. We hope we can produce a book as good as the program has been. There's a lot of depth there, a lot of good stories." (HSB)


About how the book is nearly done, Bess said:
"the meat of it has been written." (HSB)

Note: Bess said that the first printing would be for at least 10,000 books and would cost about $25.