Quotes from Friday morning

About closing their home practices for the first time, JJ said:
"It's too much autographing and stuff. The kids take 2 hours to get back to the locker room, so this kind of relieves some of that." (HSB)

HA Note: "For the first time in Jones' nine seasons at UH head coach, a home practice was closed to the public. A guard was posted at the entrance to the driveway leading to the grass practice field. There were two campus security guards in front of the field."


About how New Orleans can be crazy for New Years, Hawthorne said:
"I don't think The (Las Vegas) Strip gets as wild as (Bourbon Street) on New Year's Eve. It's just my opinion, but I've been there." (HSB)

About staying away from the various temptations in New Orleans, Hawthorne said:
"I think the majority of it is there's going to have to be some self-discipline. I'll definitely try to steer them the right way. This is a business trip for us. There's definitely good things about (New Orleans) and there'll be time for us to have fun. But New Orleans can definitely steer a lot of people the wrong way." (HSB)

About how the streets will be crowded and it is easy to get into trouble, Hawthorne said:
"Everyone's walking, and you can walk into anything. Fun never starts out wanting to be bad. Next thing you know you're in trouble, somebody gets suspended. A little problem can turn into the wildest nightmare." (HSB)


After he completed his thesis and all school work needed for his degree, Colt said yesterday:
"I'm officially retired from school." (HA)


About getting his degree and participating in Sunday's graduate ceremony, Colt said:
"It's a great feeling. It's been a lot of years. But I'm excited to graduate, that's for sure." (HA)

"I'm so glad to be done with school, that's one of the best feelings I've had in a long time. It's a huge relief." (HSB)

Now able to focus on football, Colt said:
"I'm just glad to be done. Now I can focus just on football." (HA)

"Obviously, we had a lot of things going on the last couple of weeks. But it's fun to get all the other stuff over with, all the school, all the finals. It's fun to be back out here with no school, just practice." (HSB)

HA Note: "Defensive ends Karl Noa and Amani Purcell, defensive tackle Siave Seti, linebacker Rustin Saole, right guard Larry Sauafea and right wideout C.J. Hawthorne also will graduate."


About graduating with his wife Ku'ulei (Karratti), former UH track star, Rustin Saole said:
"We're going out together — Mr. and Mrs. Saole." (HA)

About graduating with Rustin, Ku'ulei said:
"It's really great." (HA)

HA Note: "It hasn't been easy. They had to mix school with parenthood. Their daughter, Ku'upuamaikalani, is 6 months."


About finishing with school and getting married tomorrow, Jason Rivers said:
"It's been kind of crazy. She's doing most of the work. Her sister has been a big help. I'm excited." (HA)


About how he and Rachel Runnels are planning a small wedding and reception, Jason Rivers said:
"It's something personal." (HA)


About his best man and older brother, former UH WR Frank Rivers, Jason said:
"We do a lot together. Nobody knows me better than him." (HA)


About how their practice went, Colt said:
"I could totally tell we hadn't been out here for a little while. It's a little rusty but these next three practices are just to get us back in the groove of things. Davone and Ryan and a bunch of guys are resting up, trying to rest injuries. Right now is just about staying in shape." (HSB)


About how it shouldn't be a problem for their offense to get back into rhythm, Hawthorne said:
"For us it's like walking down the street. It's something you don't forget. It shows the guys are hungry and ready to get back at it for one more time." (HSB)


About being back at practice, Bess said:
"It felt real good to get everybody back together and see the faces we saw every day for the past six months. It was great to be with the boys, to see the coaches, to smell the grass again." (HA)


About how he and Bess were restricted to running pass routes and did not participate in the conditioning drills, RGM said:
"I'm just resting up a little longer so I'll be closer to 100 percent. I could have done more stuff. But I'm resting up from the whole year. I'm a little beat up." (HA)


About not participating in conditioning drills, Bess said:
"I'm not injured. I'm taking the easy transition back to the groove." (HA)

JJ said that he scheduled practices yesterday and today to help his players:
"get back into it." (HA)


About how they aren't working towards the Georgia game yet, JJ said:
"We took two weeks off. We need to get into football condition again." (HA)

"Probably the next 10 practices we'll really run a lot and then we'll taper down the week we get down there (to New Orleans). We're just doing our stuff right now we're not really game-planning. Next we'll start that and get two solid weeks of practice of what we need to do." (HSB)


JJ said that after practicing on Thursday and Friday, they will take the weekend off and:
"Then we'll start up again." (HA)


About how their players will be focused on their bowl game, JJ said:
"(The time off) hasn't hurt us any time we've played in a bowl. The guys are going to be focused for this game. I don't have to worry about that." (HSB)


About how missing out on all of those postseason awards made this period more relazing than last year, Colt said:
"If anything, the end of this season was a lot more relaxing than the end of last season, because I had to go to the college football award show, I had to go to a bunch of stuff. The Heisman is only two days. It's been easier this year. Just the magnitude and the excitement and all that stuff has been pretty crazy." (HSB)


About their conditioning drills, involving sprints and lateral running, Adam Leonard said:
"It's tiring, exhausting. It makes you want to go to my comfortable bed and go to sleep. I was kind of loving life away from football after a long season. It was good to get away and relax. My body is feeling a lot better. I'm happy we're not wearing pads yet." (HA)


Happy to be on the grass field again even though he did not practice due to his tender right foot, Dan Kelly said:
"It was getting boring. I got paler sitting around my room. I didn't even leave. I had nothing to do. It was nice to be out here again." (HA)


About how he went to Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia, but was a Florida State fan, Spencer Smith said:
"That's where I was born, and that's where I was planning on going to school, for academics." (HSB)


About how pretty much everyone else was a Georgia fan at his school, Smith said:
"When it's spirit day at the school, all you see is Georgia. Georgia fans everywhere. It's a big thing back home. They're going to come with numbers, like they always do. We're going to have to play our best to come out with a victory." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Former UH defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville found Smith in 2005 and got him to accept a Warriors scholarship instead of possibly walking on at FSU. Last year Glanville nicknamed him R and B (room and board), because as a true freshman Smith made the road trips, but never played -- thus retaining his redshirt status. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Smith has definitely earned his keep this season as a special teams standout. He's made seven tackles in nine games, mostly on kickoff coverage. He teamed with Dane Porlas as the second-team safeties yesterday in UH's first Sugar Bowl practice."


Praising Smith, JJ said:
"He'll have a chance to start for us (next year). He's gotten better and better on special teams. For a redshirt freshman, he's played very well. He could run and hit and I knew he was a smart kid. He likes it here and he's done well. Things are looking pretty good for him." (HSB)


About how the Georgia campus is about a 2-3 hour drive from Marietta, Smith said:
"It's a long way. My friends who go there don't come home too often. But a lot of them are making the trip to the game and they're excited. They're excited about us, too. When you grow up in Georgia as a Georgia fan, all you think of is red and black. Everybody wants tickets, so it's kind of hard, yeah. A lot of my friends go to UGA, so they're talkin' trash already. It's going to be a great experience for everyone." (HSB)


About how he was working as a new video guy during practice yesterday, former UH WR Johann Bouit said:
"I came back from Tahiti about a month ago, where I was a producer for many years. I'll be doing the (Pacific Network) sports channel." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The network calls itself "The Native Hawaiian Portal To The World." Bouit said he will be focusing on the experience of Hawaiian players at the Sugar Bowl. Since graduation from UH (where he played on the 1992 Holiday Bowl team), Bouit also starred in the movie "The Ride," where he was cast as Duke Kahanamoku's best friend."


About his UH football and acting careers, Bouit said:
"That was just luck." (HSB)


Asked about UH's upcoming Sugar Bowl appearance, former Warrior punter Mat McBriar said:
"Oh yeah! I couldn't be happier for June Jones. What a boon for the school to be in a BCS game and in the national championship discussion. I think they can pull it off. I've seen most of the games this year, there's been quite a bit of coverage. Some of the guys here came from the SEC, like (tight end) Jason Witten from Tennessee. They think Georgia will be able to run at will. But I doubt there's a corps of receivers as good in the nation as Hawaii's. And I'm pretty sure Hawaii has a better quarterback." (HSB)

HSB Note: "McBriar is hoping the Cowboys clinch a first-round bye, so he can make it to New Orleans to watch the Jan. 1 game."