Non-QB Quotes from the local papers

About practicing at 2nd team MLB, Mana Lolotai said:
"It feels good to finally get some rotations in. Last year I was No. 5 out of five middle linebackers and didn't get much work at my position." (HSB)

About how he had committed to play for Oregon State until academic issues prevented him from going there, Lolotai said:
"The whole thing with my qualifications to get myself in with my grades, I'm just trying to get back on track. It's been an experience for me just to try to get back into the game." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Those issues may turn out to be a blessing for Hawaii. With Lolotai forced to stay home and attend Hawaii Pacific for a year, his path back to the football field runs through Manoa, where he's intent on proving to himself -- and others -- he can live up to the potential he showed in high school."

About how he wants to prove his doubters wrong, Lolotai said:
"Nobody has seen me play my position since my senior year (of high school), so for me, I kind of have to prove to myself I can still play my position. I know there's a lot of doubters out there saying that I got married and I'm done. I'm kind of trying to show them up." (HSB)

HSB Note: "It's been three years since Lolotai has seen significant playing time at linebacker in a game, his first break since stepping on a football field the first time as a kid. His success in high school filled his mind with thoughts of being a star in college, but the last couple of years have grounded him, and made him realize the importance of working hard every day to hopefully fulfill those high school dreams."

About how he learned the difference between college and starring in high school, Lolotai said:
"College is like you're playing with a bunch of all-stars and you've got to rise above that. Last year was kind of a learning experience for me. I can't just come in and expect to play the position. I have to work for it." (HSB)

About what he needs to work on, Lolotai said:
"I'm comfortable now, but I still have a lot to learn. I'm working real hard on my footwork and my reads and just doing well when I'm in there getting reps." (HSB)

About returning to practice after being out with injury, Adam Leonard said:
"I was easing into that. I think I got more comfortable as practice went along and I got in there a little more. It was a good first day. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I'm going to take it one day at a time. We're not playing tomorrow, we play in a couple of weeks. That's the plan, to be 100 percent by the time we go to Florida." (HSB)

About how they shuffled their depth chart after Blaze's injury, Adam said:
"Of course we want him to get well as fast as possible. We've been praying for him, we're keeping him in the loop. But the reality is we've got to step up and have somebody play and R.J. (Kiesel-Kauhane) and Brashton (Satele) are doing a great job running with the ones so far. I feel confident that we have the players here to step up." (HSB)

About how the new 40-second clock will force them to run plays faster, Rolo said:
"Yesterday we brought out the stopwatch and almost half of our plays in one period were over 40 seconds. So we made a big point of telling them last night to get in and out of the huddle, because it's a tough rule and it's going to change college football a little bit. We were under 30 seconds for most of the plays today. It was great tempo." (HSB)

About how the QBs have to keep track of a lot of things, Rolo said:
"I tell the quarterbacks they have tons of responsibility -- it's just the nature of the position. And if they don't want it they can get a green jersey, they can get a white jersey if they want. But there's all kinds of things they're responsible for and that's one of them." (HSB)

Note: QBs wear orange jerseys in practice.

About how Hisatake has been at starting RG since Lafu's injury, Brian Smith said:
"We see a lot potential in him, so we really want to push his reps. But he's still got a long way to go just as far as learning it and getting really comfortable. But there's flashes of some great things." (HSB)