Quotes from the local papers

About the matchup of special teams in this game, Dennis McKnight said:
“Well obviously they’re the best we’ve played so far. It’s going to be a matchup, I told our guys to look forward to playing against the best. That’s how you judge how good you are and where you are in your life and your career. So, I think we’re ready for the challenge, and I think we’re pretty damn good ourselves. It’ll be a good matchup.” (HSB)


Asked if things have to change for their OL against Fresno State, McKnight said:
“No. Nothing. I mean, they’re the best defensive front six we’ve faced; I don’t really watch secondary that much. But they’re the best pass-rushers, best coordinated stunt team right now. Like I tell our guys, I don’t try to ever take an opponent lightly or make light of an opponent. I just worry about what we do. Do our techniques solid, sound, stay with the play longer than the opponent. Fight your ass off, looks like a street fight, get your hands on your guy now, it’s a fight. It’s the will to win, who wants it more than the other guy. So, there’s nothing going to have to change for us for that.” (HSB)


About their final stretch of games, Colt said:
"It feels like we have a four-game schedule this year, and that's the four teams coming up. We've got to win all four. That's what we're focusing on right now. One week at a time, four weeks to go, starting with Fresno this Saturday." (HA)


About how they are not playing any finesse teams anymore, GM said:
"These are all four tough games. They're going to be physical mothers. It's time to strap it up, baby." (HA)


About Blaze's status with his injured shoulder, JJ said:
"He'll play." (HA)


Asked about not practicing yesterday, Blaze joked:
"I'm on vacation." (HSB)


About how he has tried everything (rest, hydrotherapy, massage) but still reaggravated his hamstring injury and has a shoulder stinger that causes a lot of pain, Blaze said:
"I don't know what else to do." (HSB)


About Blaze's status, GM said:
"He's day-to-day." (HSB)


About their injured list, which grew during their bye week, JJ said:
"We'll be all right. We'll play who we play." (HA)


About how he threw 37 passes to RGM in their past 2 games, more than any other WR, Colt said:
"I like him because he has such unbelievable speed. He's such a weapon to get the ball to quick and fast. He's a guy, if you get the ball to him in the open and he has a chance to turn up, he's going to make a big play." (HA)

HA Note: "Right slotback Ryan Grice-Mullins produced one of the best back-to-back games in Jones' nine seasons as UH head coach. Against San Jose State and New Mexico State, Grice-Mullins amassed 27 catches for 370 yards and four touchdowns. In those two games, his post-catch average was 7.52 yards, raising his yards-after-catch (YAC) average to 6.9, best among the UH receivers."

HA Note: "Jones said Grice-Mullins' quick-cut ability makes it difficult to defend him with single coverages. Grice-Mullins jokingly credits his dance skills, noting he would be a willing contestant on "Dancing With the Stars." But Grice-Mullins' agility, in fact, comes from hours training in box-jumping and ladder drills. The workouts could be set up with a trip to the hardware store. To strengthen his legs, Grice-Mullins will jump on and off a wooden box. The "ladder" is ropes formed into squares, and the participant navigates as if it were a hopscotch path."


About how he always tries to move forward ("north-south") after he catches the ball, RGM said:
"Even when I play around in practice, I might juke, but I'm always moving upfield. I figure you get more yardage that way." (HA)


About Mouton taking over their nickleback role from Monteilh, GM said:
"Mouton is a football player. I've got all kinds of confidence in him. He has great instincts. He has great vision. He can do it all. He can do any type of coverage we want." (HA)


About how Mouton is a good tackler, Rich Miano said:
"He's a good technician. He bends his knees. He has a good base. He wraps up. He understands angles and getting to the hitting point. He's a good fundamental football player." (HA)


About why he ranks UH lower than others voting in the polls, Chris Fowler of ESPN's College GameDay said:
"I think the perception is hurt by the fact that they had to come to the Mainland to win a couple of games in overtime. I've seen a lot of their games (and) I'm not ranking them as high as a lot of people are. I've got them at (No.) 16 this week because I saw them struggle with San Jose State and Louisiana Tech and get real lucky to win those games. Had they taken care of business week in and week out, they'd have been higher in my poll." (HA)


About how he wishes the ESPN's GameDay would have been in Hawaii this week, host Chris Fowler said:
"Oh, man, we had a chance this week, I would like to be able to witness Colt (Brennan) breaking the (NCAA career touchdown) record), as I think he will (tomorrow)." (HA)

"We'd love to go out there and I think it would be a blast ... if you promise me that fans will show up at 5 in the morning." (HA)

About why they have never brought GameDay to Hawaii, Fowler said:
"The problem is it costs a lot, facilities are very limited and it would take huge logistical planning. Believe me, it is not a lack of enthusiasm on our part to go to Honolulu." (HA)


About how he's been lobbying to bring GameDay to Hawaii, analyst Kirk Herbstreit said:
"I keep telling Chris and Lee we need to get out there for GameDays." (HA)


About how it is too expensive to bring GameDay to Hawaii, analyst Lee Corso said:
"It is cost prohibitive; I'd never go out there if I was running ESPN." (HA)



About how JJ's contract won't be done until January or February, JJ's agent Leigh Steinberg said:
"There's really no hurry." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Steinberg said he does not want to interfere with the "magical nature" of UH's season. The Warriors are 8-0 and ranked 16th in the BCS standings. He may come to watch -- if not tomorrow, then Nov. 23 for the Boise State game -- but not to talk business with Jones and negotiate with athletic director Herman Frazier."

About how JJ needs to focus on the season right now, Steinberg said:
"It makes a lot more sense for June's focus to stay on the field. This is shaping up to be the most amazing season in the history of Hawaii football. So, frankly, June's focus is entirely in trying to play it out. Herman hasn't pressed the issue. We certainly know each other well enough where we can deal with it when the time comes." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Also, it doesn't make sense to make a pact now, before Jones' market value can be accurately gauged. If UH goes 12-0 and gets into a multi-million-dollar BCS bowl game, Jones will have a better bargaining position. Jones' current five-year, $4-million deal (of which half comes from private sources) ends in July. Potential bonuses include $50,000 for getting into a BCS bowl game, $20,000 for other bowl games and $20,000 for winning a Western Athletic Conference championship. Last summer Frazier secured a base-salary range increase to $935,544 from the Board of Regents."


Asked about JJ's contract, HF said:
"I'm not saying anything, which means I'm probably working on it." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Senior defensive end Karl Noa was selected to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Football Academic All-District VIII second team, as voted on by the College of Sports Information Directors of America. The Kamehameha graduate from Waianae has compiled a 3.22 grade-point average while majoring in family resources. The senior has started all eight games in 2007 and is fifth on the team with 34 tackles with 8 1/2 for loss and 4 1/2 quarterback sacks."


Confident that Desmond Thomas can fill Keao Monteilh's starting role at FS, GM said:
"He's had a great week of practice, really risen to the occasion. I'm confident in him because he's already played eight ballgames." (HSB)


When Daniel Libre (who is now in the RB rotation) tried to get reps on kickoff coverage on Wednesday, JJ yelled at him to:
"get out of there." (HSB)