UH recruiting info

About 6'5", 240-pound QB Greg Alexander (Rolo recruit), Mack said:
"I like his size, his quick release, his numbers. He makes all of the throws. He's physical. He runs 4.65 (in the 40), and it shows on film. He can run over people." (HA)


About 6'1", 185-pound WR Craig Bell (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"We watched him, and he played all season with an injury. He runs a 4.36. He healed up during the season. He made the catches. I really like his toughness." (HA)

About 5'10", 170-pound CB Chris Black (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"I like him because he's a hitter, and he makes plays, and he has good speed." (HA)


About 5'9", 165-pound slotback Dustin Blount (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"I love him because he's a big-play guy. He's as quick as anybody I've seen. He makes people miss. He runs a 4.3 40. He has great lateral movement, and is a great impact player." (HA)


About 5'9", 175-pound CB Jeramy Bryant (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"Jeramy Bryant is very physical. He's very intense. He had several interceptions in his two-year (JC) career. He's a playmaker." (HA)

About 6'1", 175-pound DB Steve Christian (Miano recruit)
"Steven Christian is a very athletic, very fast player, who makes big plays and is a returner, also. He's been recognized for academics." (HA)

About 6'1", 270-pound DE Haku Correa (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"Haku Correa is a good-sized physical guy who we can lay the foundation for our young defensive linemen. He's a big playmaker, and he takes a very ferocious attitude toward the game." (HA)

About 6'3", 220-pound Paipai Falemalu (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"Paipai is a great athlete, great all-around football player. He has a great attitude. He's a guy we think will fit in right away." (HA)

About 6'2", 270-pound DE Geordon Hanohano (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"He's very physical. He has quick feet. He's a big-time hitter, a big-time playmaker." (HA)

About 5'10", 175-pound slotback Ryan Henry (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"He's a speed guy who has great lateral movement and an excellent attitude. He stood by his word in coming to the University of Hawai'i because he was pursued by Pac-10 teams after he signed with us." (HA)

About the 6'2", 250-pound RB Jake Heun (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"Jake Heun is a tough, hard-nosed, rugged guy. Everything you know about toughness and hard work, that's what he's about." (HA)

"He's just a tough guy. We want a guy who will just take somebody on and help us in our protection and then if they get worried too much about that then we'll hand the ball to him and let him run." (HSB)

About the 6'7", 290-pound OT Kainoa Lacount (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"He has quick feet, long arms, and is an excellent pass blocker. He's tough and physical, when the need arises." (HA)


About the 6'1", 205-pound Art Laurel (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"He's very athletic. He's a playmaker. He plays basketball. He has excellent speed and football instincts." (HA)

About the 6'4", 190-pound QB Brent Rausch (Ron Lee recruit), Mack said:
"Brent Rausch has three years to play. He's early in his career but excellent in his game. He can throw. He can run. He's very smart. He has great instincts." (HA)

About the 6'5", 190-pound WR/S Earvin Sione (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"Earvin Sione is a physical, tough athlete who makes plays and will have a great career here. He has excellent speed. Right now we're planning on using him as a wide receiver because of his height." (HA)

About the 5'10", 180-pound CB Steve Stepter (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"He's a grayshirt freshman. What I've seen of him is he's very athletic, and he has an excellent attitude. He's very quick." (HA)

About the 6'3", 200-pound LB/DE Alema Tachibana (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"I really like Alema's pass rush and his size. He's got great height. He will get bigger as he matures. He's young. I think he has a real future as a pass-rusher as a defensive end. He's almost 6-4, and he can run. Through weights and eating, he's going to grow into an excellent player." (HA)

About the 5'9", 185-pound slotback Jovonte Taylor (Lumpkin recruit), Mack said:
"He's a 10.3 100-meter guy. He has world-class 40 speed. He's a big-play guy. He can return punts or kickoffs. He's another guy who can help us right away. He's very smart. He will make plays for us on Saturdays." (HA)

About the 6'2", 200-pound WR Mike Tinoco (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"He's tall, very athletic, and can jump. He has 40-inch vertical. He's very athletic. He was very productive for his team. He's a guy we think will fit in right away." (HA)

About the 6'1", 290-pound OG Tuiatua Tuiasosopo (Cal Lee recruit), Mack said:
"Tui is a special guy. He's such a great student from a great family tradition. He's as physical and tough as any high school offensive lineman I've seen. He's in a class by himself with strength. He was very highly recruited. He's a guy we're proud of." (HA)

About the 6'2", 190-pound DB Christian Vasconcellos (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"We've always really liked him. We saw him at a camp, and offered him (a scholarship) early." (HA)

About the 5'11", 170-pound CB Lewis Walker (Miano recruit), Mack said:
"I was really impressed with his athletic ability and speed. For a high school player, he was really productive." (HA)

HSB Note: "He credited his assistants Cal Lee, Ron Lee, George Lumpkin and Rich Miano for doing "the brunt of the recruiting" in assembling the 22-member class of newcomers for next season. The staff also got a lift from Hawaiian Airlines, which accommodated travel to and from the mainland during the process."

Proud of the job that Miano and Lumpkin did with getting the JC recruits, Mack said:
"I'm really proud of Rich Miano and George Lumpkin for going over there and finding these guys. A lot of people wouldn't have gone to where our (coaches) went to. A lot of recruiters stay around the lights, the big cities. And these guys, some of them are off in the boondocks but they're great players." (HSB)

About their recruiting after he was hired, Mack said:
"It was a fast three weeks, but it was a fun three weeks." (HSB)

About how they focused on speed while recruiting, Mack said:
"Speed is a big deal to us, and these players, all of them, have speed." (HSB)

HSB Note: "McMackin took over on Jan. 16 and estimated that "85-90 percent" of the signees were players the coaches identified and recruited since the transition."

About how they had to recruit quickly after he was hired, Mack said:
"Recruiting had really, with the Sugar Bowl and everything, kind of slowed down and these are guys the staff produced and we went out and got. Everything was from scratch." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The staff got a lift from Hawaiian Airlines in accommodating travel for recruiting on the mainland. McMackin was also pleased with the group of nine locally grown recruits."

Mack talked about his plans to visit every high school on Oahu and hold a clinic for local coaches to:
"let them know they're a part of our family. We really wanted to hit Hawaii and get the best players in the state of Hawaii and we felt we got a good majority of them. We are going to really use Hawaii as a foundation for our football program." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The fact that only one recruit came from a school outside of Hawaii or California also signals the staff's emphasis on mining the West for talent."

About Alexander and Rausch, Mack said:
"We feel we have two of the top three JC quarterbacks in the country. They're both big guys, they both can run, they're both 4.6. I'd say it's completely wide open. That's a good thing about being new into a system. We're going to play the best player. ... That goes with every position." (HSB)

About their WR/slotback recruits, Mack said:
"Those guys are going to be instant impact players and compete with the guys that we have. Our (returning) guys will have a little advantage because they're going to go through spring ball." (HSB)

About their two OL recruits, Mack said:
"We have a lot of guys on scholarship on the offensive line and we're planning on getting them better by coaching them techniques and that's what (line coach) Brian (Smith) is here for -- he's a great technician." (HSB)

About Hanohano, Mack said:
"For a high school kid, (Hanohano) hits like a college player. He's physical and plays with great effort." (HSB)

About their LB recruits, Mack said:
"We brought in three young linebackers so when Adam and Solly leave, Blaze is there and we have good young ones coming up." (HSB)

About recruiting CBs instead of safeties, Mack said:
"We probably won't recruit safeties any more. We want corners. If they get bigger we want them to move to safety. When the safeties get bigger, we're going to move them to linebacker. When the linebackers get bigger we'll move them to defensive end." (HSB)