Sol Elimimian earns the WAC Defensive Player of the Week award

Asked about his performance that earned him WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors, Sol Elimimian said:
"It's just a testament to our defensive linemen. Me making 14 tackles is not as much about me as it just shows a lot about the defensive line and how they're keeping guys off me and when the plays come I make them." (HSB)

HA Note: "The ability of the Warriors' front four to absorb blockers at the line of scrimmage freed Elimimian to match his career-high in tackles in Hawaii's 49-14 win at UNLV last Saturday. It was the second straight week the junior reached that mark, duplicating his total against Louisiana Tech."


Praising Sol, JJ said:
"He was everywhere. He made a lot of plays just flying around to the ball. We had three or four guys play well. I thought the overall scheme really settled and got going and I see an attitude starting to happen now." (HSB)


About how they had to adjust to what UNLV tried to do vs. their D, Sol said:
"UNLV did a lot of things, they spread us out with three wides or four wides, but their main objective was to run the ball. A lot of teams are going to run the ball on us trying to keep our offense off the field. So Coach made some adjustments after the first drive and we started stopping them. The first drive I don't think we were really aggressive, they brought it to us. Once we settled down we just focused on what coach wanted us to do and we played better." (HSB)


About how he's adjusting to GM's 4-3 defense, Sol said:
"You have to be a more sideline-to-sideline player, it's a lot more blitzing. You have to be in charge of the defense and make sure everybody is in the right place. I can make more plays and it just fits our personnel on defense." (HSB)


Feeling like he could play better, Sol said:
"I felt this wasn't my best work." (HA)


About the high standards that Sol sets for himself, LB coach Cal Lee said Sol is:
"looking for that perfect game. He takes it very personal. He made 14 tackles, but it doesn't matter. He's not happy with his performance. He felt he didn't do enough. You like that. Can you imagine if he ever hit his potential? You can give him all of the awards, but the fact of the matter is he's not satisfied." (HA)

HA Note: "Elimimian said he finds motivation from mistakes."