Spring Quotes from the local papers

About his long commute to UH, Jon Medeiros said:
"It's tough, but it's definitely worth it." (HA)

HA Note: "Medeiros, who lives in Makakilo, awakens at 4:15 every morning. He then boards the 5 a.m. bus for the 35-mile, 90-minute ride to the Manoa campus. By 6:45, he is in uniform and on the grass practice field, ready for another spring-training session."

About the tightness in his left hamstring, Michael Washington said:
"It feels like somebody took a finger and poked it in my muscle." (HA)

About Washington having to miss practice, which resulted in his elevation to #1 left slotback, Medeiros said:
"I feel bad for Mike. Hopefully, he gets well soon. We need him." (HA)

About Medeiros, Ron Lee said:
"He's tough. He has a good understanding of what we're doing. I know he won't be shy on Saturdays. He'll be a guy we can count on. He's one of the guys who will be ready when the lights go on." (HA)

About transferring to UH after his redshirt season at Western Oregon in 2005, Medeiros said:
"The cost was outrageous — 17 grand. I came home, and figured I'd take my shot walking on over here. It's cheaper for my parents, too." (HA)

About how he knew he had to lose weight after being 200 pounds at the end of last season, the 5'9" Medeiros said:
"I did that through workouts and dieting. I lost 11, 12 pounds. I'm in the 180s. I feel better, faster, quicker. My legs feel a lot better." (HA)

About how he did not hit much as a QB at Kamehameha-Hawaii, Mana Silva said:
"In high school, the players used to call me Mr. Detour because I used to always run out of bounds. I was the only quarterback at home. Now I'm trying to make plays and fly around the field." (HA)

About how he questioned his decision to transfer to UH from Oregon State last year as he had to sit out the season, Silva said:
"I would always ask myself: 'Why am I doing this?' It finally makes sense. All of the hard work is paying off." (HA)

HA Note: "Associate head coach Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive backs, said Silva is the first on the practice field and the last to leave. Under the guidance of conditioning coach Mel deLaura, Silva has expanded his workouts to include yoga-like stretching."

About his increased flexibility, Silva said:
"I can almost do the split. I'm trying to work on that so I can get flexible. I need to keep my hips loose so I can make plays." (HA)

HA Note: "Silva's wife, Keilah, and their son, Kauahe, live on the Big Island. Silva commuted every weekend until the start of spring practice. He said his wife and son will move to O'ahu this summer."

About how he really hasn't been at UH very long, Lane said:
"This is actually only my fourth semester here. I just turned 20 (in December), and I'm going to be a junior (in the fall). It's crazy sometimes. I know everyone has high expectations of me. I'm glad they do. It shows they think highly of me. I've got to live up to the expectations." (HA)

HA Note: "Last season, Lane caught 14 passes, but averaged a team-high 19.3 yards per reception. What's more, he led the Warrior receivers with a yards-after-catch average of 9.4 yards. Lane excelled on inside slants. Even if he were not the intended target, the route forced defenses to collapse, opening the way for a slotback to loop into the flats."

About Lane, Ron Lee said:
"We're counting on Malcolm." (HA)

About how Lane dropped to #3 on the depth chart due to injury, Ron Lee said:
"He's still working his way up the ladder. Royce has really stepped up. I'm not afraid to play Royce. This has been good for Royce and Dylan. They're taking full advantage." (HA)

About how he is prepared to get his starting spot back, Lane said:
"I wanted to show everybody I was hurt for a minute, but now I'm back. It's still me." (HA)

About the injuries he has had at UH, Lane said:
"It's funny, everybody looks at me like I'm this injured guy. I've always been injured, but you rarely see me miss practice. I had a dislocated finger. I taped it up, and I practiced. Stuff like that. You can't call somebody injury-prone if they don't miss practice. I play through it. It's hard to go out there and push it when you're injured. But you have to fight through it, man. I'm the type of person who wants to make a play, and I can't make a play if I'm on the sideline." (HA)

HA Note: "Many of the Warriors are wearing jerseys with no numbers on them. That is because the jerseys, which are recycled game jerseys, rip easily. Defensive end David Veikune is on his third jersey. Defensive tackle Keala Watson is on his sixth. Two scouts from National Football League teams are here to monitor Warriors who will be seniors in the fall. Linebackers Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian, and cornerback/nickelback Ryan Mouton have received the most interest. The scouts are "pool" workers who will share their reports with other NFL teams."

About how he is starting to get the hang of the offense, Shaffer said:
"I'm just starting to understand the concepts of the offense and it's really more reaction than thinking. That's what's helping me right now. It's starting to feel natural again, like in high school." (HSB)

HSB Note: "While Shaffer redshirted last fall, Medeiros played sparingly as a sophomore, catching one pass for 7 yards."

About how his weight loss has benefitted him, Medeiros said:
"I just feel a lot faster, healthier, the legs feel a lot better. I wasn't used to running with all that weight. ... I don't know how it happened, but it happened. I just gained a lot of weight and I found myself tweaking hamstrings. I wasn't used to running with and working with it, so I had to lose it." (HSB)

About playing QB in high school, Medeiros said:
"I get to see things that the quarterback sees. I understand the perspective of the quarterback. When you're out there it's more like you have to get a feel for things, it's not just set routes, it's different routes in different coverages. ... It takes repetitions, so the more reps you get, the more you see things, the more confidence you get." (HSB)

About how they have dedicated the first period of each practice to punt protection, Ikaika Malloe said:
"We want to focus on punt the whole spring. The reason punt is so important is the majority of our special teams will be made up from the punt team. Most of your athletes, your physical guys, are on the punt team and we'll use them on the rest of the special teams." (HSB)

HSB Note: "While coaches Malloe, Cal Lee and Alex Gerke work with the front line -- mostly linebackers, safeties and the beefier running backs -- on blocking and coverage assignments, Rich Miano tutors the "gunners" on getting downfield to cover kicks."

HSB Note: "On the last play of practice, backup guard Joey Lipp crushed hard-charging starting defensive end John Fonoti with a textbook-perfect trap block. It sprung Jake Heun for a gain on what would've been a loss of yards (and a huge collision). The play symbolized how far the offense has come along in the last few days."

Praising Lipp's block on Fonoti, Mack said:
"That was done very well." (HSB)

Surprised when he received an interview request yesterday, Lane said:
"Why does anyone want to talk to me? I'm third string." (HSB)

Feeling that he's still the real starter, Lane said:
"I had a rough spot, but I'm still a starter. I intend to keep working harder and getting better and I don't see anyone taking my position as long as I continue to work hard. Right now I'm working with the third string. I haven't been able to get a lot of plays because I haven't been able to go full-speed. I'm anxious to make plays, get out there and get better." (HSB)

About how he expects to improve soon when he can cut better on his ankle, Lane said:
"I'm just getting back into the mix of things and I feel like I had a great day today. I'm just trying to make play after play, regardless of whether I'm starting or not. I know come Florida I'm going to be the starter, so I'm not worried about any of this." (HSB)

About how he will have a lot of family at the Florida game, Lane said:
"I lived in Florida about half my life." (HSB)

Asked if he was good or bad that he played instead of redshirted, Lane said:
"I look at it as both. When I first got here, I thought I'd do whatever they wanted just to help the team. When Coach Jones said he wanted me to play, of course I'm not going to say no. Even though, I look back at it and think, man I could be a sophomore coming in and have three years." (HSB)

About Lane, Lee said;
"Malcolm is back, his ankle's OK. He's got to make a few plays." (HSB)

About how Lane's explosiveness is important, Inoke said:
"He's a game breaker. He makes plays and he's got that speed you can't teach." (HSB)

HSB Note: "But for now, he's a third-stringer. That could change quickly, however, and probably will if Lane consistently expends as much effort as he did yesterday; after his interview, he walked back onto the practice field instead of toward the locker room."

Happy with their progress, Mack said:
"Our offensive line is getting better daily and lots of big plays are being made on offense and defense. The quarterbacks played very well and the defense continues to run to the ball and develop depth." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Quarterbacks Tyler Graunke and Inoke Funaki continued their spirited battle for the top of the depth chart, where they are now co-No. 1s. Throwing in some new wrinkles, they combined to complete the first seven passes in team session. Graunke finished 7-for-11 and Funaki 7-for-13, and neither was intercepted. Cornerback candidate Jameel Dowling did get a pick in 7-on-7."

About how their experienced D is helping their offense get better, Rolo said:
"This might be the best defense we play. Plus, they have familiarity with our offense, and their windows are tight. They know things that are coming and we're still able to get it in there sometimes." (HSB)

About how the secondary made a number of plays to break up passes at the end of the practice, Mana Silva said:
"Coach is trying to emphasize 'don't feel sorry for yourself' because we were going back-to-back today and we were a little tired. Just try to stay mentally tough. We made some plays back there." (HSB)

Praising Michael Washington's replacements, Inoke said:
"Jon Medeiros had a great day, Eric Shaffer had a great day. Confidence is starting to radiate throughout the receivers and the offense and the team." (HSB)