UH-BSU Pre-game Quotes

Asked if he had taken some time to enjoy their success so far this season, JJ said:
"You don't really have time to do that. You're getting ready for Boise State. I'm sure I'll do that after Washington, before the bowl game. Right now you're just getting plugged into what you're doing." (HSB)


About how they have to beat BSU to win the WAC, JJ said:
"If we wanted to win the WAC, we knew we had to beat Boise and that's where we're at. They do a great job executing. They're good in all phases of the game and we're going to have to play our best game to beat them." (HSB)

"If you want to win the WAC, you have to go through Boise to do it. Until you can beat them, there's not much to say." (HA)


About how their team is focused on this game, JJ said:
"The kids have been really focused and we've had two, three really good days of concentration, meetings, everything. They're staying focused pretty good." (HSB)


Asked about building on their 6 consecutive WAC titles, BSU coach Petersen said:
"We're just worried about (now). We're not gonna get caught up in all the other stuff that doesn't really concern us or help us play better. We're just directing all of our attention right to Hawaii." (HSB)


About how he didn't care about not winning the WAC coach of the year award last year, Petersen said:
"It's all about Boise State, the recognition that Boise State football gets. It's not about me, it's not about any one player or any one coach. It's about all of us. I think Boise State's been well recognized." (HSB)


About their reaction to their 6-hour wait to leave Boise after their charter flight was delayed twice after their loss to BSU last year, Colt said:
"We circled the (Boise State) game on the calendar. We did it right when we got stuck in the Boise airport for all that time." (HA)


About how Colt has only thrown incomplete passes twice in 3 years on bubble plays and swing routes, Bess said:
"It looks easy, but it's hard. I don't know how he does it." (HA)

About his efficiency with bubble plays and swing passes, Colt said:
"Anything where a guy is parallel to you moving downhill is a hard throw. If you throw it straight, the ball is going to be thrown behind him. It's a very awkward pass because you're throwing it out and in front. It's a quick throw, too, so you can't really put a lot of mustard on it." (HA)


About how he can throw the quick passes quicker because he doesn't have to grip the lace, as most QBs pause to turn the football to the laces on shotgun snaps, Colt said:
"I realized if I don't care about the laces and just get the ball there, it makes it easier when I do get the laces." (HA)


About his confidence in their offense, Colt said:
"When I walk in there, I feel like this is my offense, my squad, and we are confident. We feel we can play against anyone." (HSB)


About having a YAC of 9.6 vs. Nevada after having an average of 2.3 in their first 9 games, Hawthorne said:
"It's starting to come on." (HA)


About the lack of glory for the loser of the game, Dennis McKnight said:
"The loser goes home from the prom with his sister. You don't get points for second place." (HA)


Praising BSU (who has scored more points and won more games than any other D-IA team this decade), McKnight said:
"They're not only the defending champs, they're worthy champs. They're a solid football team. They come off as nice guys, and they respect everybody. But when you watch the film (of Bronco games), they're the type of team that wants to punish you. They want to embarrass you." (HA)

"They're a dynasty, flat out and simple. They don't make mistakes, and they capitalize on every mistake you make. They pounce on it. They're like Navy SEALs. Nobody steps on a trip wire. Nobody steps on a land mine. Nobody drops a candy wrapper so the enemy finds out you've been there. They're a fine-tuned, well-oiled machine. When you go up against them, you know you're going up against the best." (HA)


Asked if he had regrets about coming back to UH for his senior season, Colt pointed to his teammates and said:
"None. This" — he pointed to his teammates — "is why I decided to come back." (HA)


Colt said about this game:
"It's the biggest I've ever played." (HA)


About facing BSU, Colt said:
"This is one of the few times where I really get into a chess match with defenses. Boise is that good. They know us that well. Sometimes it works to our advantage, sometimes it doesn't. It's a lot of fun playing them, especially with everything on the line." (HA)


Asked about BSU's concerns, defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox named Colt's:
"feet, arm, head ... pretty much everything. I've coached against some great quarterbacks in my short time, and he's every bit as good as any of them." (HA)


About how they rely on Schlekeway, Wilcox said:
"He's kind of the grit of the group. He's not really a vocal guy, but he plays really hard, and the guys respond to him." (HA)


About how he knew BSU's secondary leader Tadman back when his JC team practiced at Tadman's high school, and Tadman got an INT for a TD on his in Colt's first season at UH, Colt said:
"I really got to know him after that." (HA)


Asked what was the key to stopping BSU, Adam Leonard said:
"Stop Ian Johnson. That's the guy. He's a scoring machine." (HSB)

Praising QB Taylor Tharp, Adam said:
"He's going to put his team in the best position by not making mistakes and he's going to find the open man. He's real accurate and we know we're going to have our hands full with him." (HSB)


Ryan Keomaka, who hopes to be a firefighter or personal trainer after this senior season, said:
"I can't explain how important this is to seniors who don't play much. Some of us won't play football again after the season ends. This is our last hurrah. After this, you move on to life. This can be a game to remember." (HA)


About how his injuries will not keep him from this game, Michael Lafaele said:
"I can't sit out. I sat out one game, and it was hurting me inside. I'm all beat up right now. But it's not going to stop me from playing in this game." (HA)

HA Note: "Lafaele should be the symbol for the Rehab Hospital of the Pacific. His right hand is fractured; his left wrist is sprained. He also has a strained right knee and sore left quadriceps. After every practice, he sits in an exhausted heap, a scarecrow with unraveling athletic tape hanging from every limb."


Nopping towards David Veikune with his left shoulder tightly wrapped, Lafaele said:
"A lot of guys on the team are beat up. By being out here, I know that inspires a lot of guys." (HA)


Praising David Veikune, who has a team-high 6 sacks and 7.5 of his 28 tackles are for loss, Jeff Reinbold said:
"When you look at production per play, he might be our best player. He's got great balance, a great first step, and a relentless motor." (HA)


About how he often thinks about his close friend Fale Laeli, Lafaele said:
"Fale came out and practiced, even though he shouldn't be practicing. But we're working hard for a WAC ring. That's all that matters." (HA)


About how this game could help erase his BYU frustration (he never beat BYU as a player for UH), Rich Miano said:
"You don't circle any particular game on your calendar, but this is a game that has the anxiety and anticipation of the BYU thing." (HA)


About the importance of this championship game, Jason Rivers said:
"I've never beaten them. That's why it's great to be in a championship game. A lot of people won't experience this again. It's a chance of a lifetime. We expect to take advantage of it." (HA)


About how Ingram, Grasso, and Kelly have been solid this season, JJ said that there was a point last year when:
"we couldn't catch the ball, we couldn't put it down. Those three guys (Ingram, Grasso, Kelly) have done a very nice job this year." (HA)

HA Note: "During the practice periods when the offense is at one end of the field and the defense is at the other, Ingram and Grasso will play "dream team" in which one is the quarterback and the other the receiver. What appears to be silliness, in fact, is a useful training exercise that helps Ingram's throwing and Grasso's catching on placekick attempts. It is part of the reason the Warriors believe they can avoid the snap-hold problems that sabotaged last year's game against Boise State."


About how he relies on positive thinking, Ingram said:
"Why be nervous? If you're nervous, you're worrying about something that is going to happen. If you go out and do your job, it's not going to happen." (HA)


About Grasso's holding ability, who has an all-state WR at Utah's Davis High, Dan Kelly said:
Grasso, an all-state receiver at Utah's Davis High, is a sure-handed holder. "He's really attuned to giving me exactly what I want. After a kick, he's like, 'How was that hold?' Those two guys are always seeking perfection." (HA)


34-year UH trainer Okasaki said about the game:
"You can't help but have a strong interest." (HA)

Okasaki said that if UH make a BCS game, it would help the athletic department:
"move in the direction where it feels it needs to move." (HA)

John Wade, the pilot of the Hawaiian Airlines jet that brought in several BSU fans announced during their flight:
"Please remove all blue and orange items. The flight attendants will hold them until we land." (HA)

While taxiing the plane to the Honolulu Airport terminal, Wade announced:
"Colt Brennan is healthy and he'll play." (HA)


Feeling that this game is the biggest sporting event ever to be held in Hawaii in terms of fan interest, Les Keiter said:
"When you say magnitude, there's nothing else. I know we've had some great boxing matches, volleyball, basketball and baseball games, but nothing that has caught fire with everybody like this. What they've done so far is unbelievable." (HSB)


About naming his 20-month-old son Brennan after Colt Brennan, Chance Sing Chow said:
"We knew he was something special. We wanted to come down here and wish them luck. It's a big game." (HA)



Mike Prater wrote in the Idaho Statesman about JJ:
"Here's my deal with Jones: His teams always seem to underachieve and he still walks around with that smug look on his face. The gruff demeanor is part of his personality and it's not fair to criticize a man's persona as long as he's not doing anything wrong. But Jones carries an ego that doesn't match his resume. He's won (65) percent of his games but Hawai'i has finished fourth, fifth, fifth and second in the WAC the past four seasons. That's nothing to get worked up about. Maybe it's because Jones spent so many seasons in the NFL." (HA)


About hiring Bob Rose (former sports informatino director at Stanford) to promote the WAC, Karl Benson said:
"He (Rose) has been bird-dogging (media) people making sure they don't overlook WAC teams and the seasons they are having. It is part of a combined effort (with UH and BSU) to try and position our teams, and I think we've seen some positive results." (HA)