Quotes from the local papers

About how he'll undergo medical tests for his lower-back injury that has kept him from participating in the past 3 training camp practices, Heun said about his return:
"Hopefully, it's sooner than later. They think it's a disc thing going on, but they're not really sure what the deal is." (HA)

About Heun's back injury, RB coach Alex Gerke said:
"Anytime you deal with a back, it's hard. You've got to be cautious. Football is where he is now. But he's got a full life to live. We want to make sure that things get treated correctly." (HA)

About how he "tweaked" his back while training this summer, Heun said:
"I didn't really take care of it right away." (HA)

About how he aggravated his injury during a drill Monday (the first day of camp), Heun said:
"I was trying to make a cut, and I just dropped. don't really have strength on my right side. (The injury) caused everything to cramp up." (HA)

About how his condition has improved every day, Heun said:
"They've got me doing all kinds of rehab. I'm trying to get back in place." (HA)

About how his strained abdomen (injured while training) has kept him out of contact drills, David Farmer said:
"It was one of those things. I hope it gets better." (HA)

About how Farmer had to wear full gear (yesterday was the first in shoulder pads) despite not participating in contact grills, Gerke said:
"All of his appendages are still on him. He can suit up." (HA)

About Gerke, Mack said:
"Gerke is a tough mother. He demands a lot. Just like Dave was injured today, but he had him out there in full pads. He's going to have the running backs tougher than heck. And they're running well." (HA)

About how his RBs have to block well, Gerke said:
"Being a long-time line coach, you have one mentality to coach with. The bottom line is you've got to be a tough nut. You've got to be physical, and nothing can affect you mentally." (HA)

About how LWJ has improved in his blocking, Gerke said:
"It's one of those deals where you have no choice. He's got to do that." (HA)

About how the RBs have been motivated by the LBs in contact drills, LWJ said:
"They hit us, they knock us back, and we hear it from them. When meetings come around, we're getting yelled at by the coach. We're tired of it. We've got to hit back as much as (the linebackers) hit us. We've got the best linebackers, in my opinion, in the nation. If we stick them, we're going to be able to stick other guys. ... That's how I see it." (HA)

About the progress that the RBs have made, Gerke said:
"This is only Day 4. The guys have a long, long way to go. The only problem we'll have is if they think they've arrived. As long as they keep their nose on the grindstone, we should be OK." (HA)

HA Note: "The message is not lost on Libre, who appears to be the most physically fit of the running backs. Libre said he felt compelled to work on improving his strength and punch — the open-handed blocking technique — during summer workouts. In addition to weight training, Libre worked on one-on-one blocking drills against teammates, and hitting the heavy punching bag."

About how Libre is in the best shape of their RBs, LWJ said:
"We haven't peaked yet (except for) Libre (who is) in the best shape. We have a lot of things we have to get acclimated with — who's going to be our quarterback and with our line. We've got to become one. Once we become one, everything is going to fall into place." (HA)

HA Note: "Once again, leftside linebacker Blaze Soares came up with the defensive play of yesterday's practice. In the 7-on-7 drill, slotback Aaron Bain caught a pass from Jake Santos. Soares hit Bain, knocking free Bain's helmet."

About his hit on Bain, Blaze said:
"It wasn't intentional. He just came across the middle. I was there. I gave him a nice whack, and apparently his helmet came off." (HA)

About getting to throw the ball a lot as the scout team QB, Steele Jantz said:
"This is why I'm here." (HA)

HA Note: "Jantz probably would have been at a Pac-10 school if he had not suffered a broken fibia during Nevada Union High's second game last year. He already had received offers from Nevada and San Jose State, and Oregon State and California had expressed strong interest. He underwent surgery in which a rod was inserted into his left leg. By then, all of the offers were pulled."

HA Note: "Slotback Rick Taylor is the answer to this trivia question: Who is the only receiver to have caught passes from former UH quarterback Colt Brennan and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow? It is why Taylor said he is "working and I'm praying" to be included on the Warriors' travel roster to Florida. Taylor and Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, were teammates at Nease High School in Florida. As a grayshirt, Taylor delayed enrolling at UH until January 2006. He spent the 2005 fall semester as an assistant at Nease, grading videos of the offense, and tutoring the receivers. Tebow was a senior on that team."

About Tebow, Taylor said:
"He's a good quarterback, a good human being, a good Christian and a good teammate." (HA)

About competing at right slotback with Bain and Pilares ahead of him, Taylor said:
"Right now the depth chart is in pencil. Along with a pencil, you've got an eraser. People are moving up and down. That makes the competition good. When Davone (Bess) and Ryan (Grice-Mullins) were here, they were pretty much set. It was a little tougher to compete. It's good now that the competition is open." (HA)

HA Note: "Kicker Brett Symonds proudly announced that he weighs 147 pounds. Symonds, a freshman who will eventually succeed senior kicker Dan "The Iceman" Kelly, weighed 143 when reported to UH last Saturday."

About how he thought about quitting football when his girlfriend got pregnant, but instead his child has served as an inspiration to him, Elliott Purcell said:
"I was thinking about not playing because my girlfriend was pregnant and I didn't know what to do in that situation. I didn't know how to handle football and a kid. I was still young. I talked to some of the coaches and they told me that having a kid would make me work harder. And it turns out, things worked out. It helped me a lot. It changed my whole life around, in terms of working hard and not being so lazy. Studying harder, all that kind of stuff." (HA)

HA Note: "Purcell practiced with the first unit yesterday because starting right end John Fonoti is out with an injured hamstring. Fonoti "popped" his hamstring during Wednesday's conditioning drills and said he would be out for a week to a week and a half."

About having to sit out practices due to his injured hamstring, Fonoti said:
"I'm going to try to get out earlier than that but I don't want to get out too early and pull it again and make it worse." (HA)

About Purcell, Fonoti said:
"He's doing good so far. He said he just needs to work on his plays a little bit. I don't know what he's talking about because he did good today." (HA)

About how Purcell (who he calls a "natural pass rusher") is one of 3 players looking to be the top backup to Fonoti, DE coach Dave Aranda said:
"The defensive end depth is something that's an issue right now in camp. There's opportunity for a bunch of guys in that mix. Elliott is in that mix, C.J. Allen-Jones is in the mix, Cameron Allen-Jones is in that mix, and so really, to see those three compete, it's been good so far." (HA)

HA Note: "After practice, Purcell sat with his girlfriend, Keani Santos, and 10-month-old son Taimane — which means diamond in Samoan — in the grass hills near the field, soaking up the limited time he had with his family during fall camp."

About his son Taimane, Purcell said:
"My son, I always think of him. I always try to do better because of him. I always try to do better in school because of him. He made me a better person. At the same time, it's hard, because football takes me away from my family. I know this is my family here, but it takes a lot away from my son. I don't want to miss his first step and his first words, but at the same time it's better for him." (HA)

About how practicing with the first team was different, Purcell said:
"It felt good; it was pretty fast. Faster than twos and threes." (HA)

About Purcell, Aranda (who added that Purcell has all the tools but needs to be more consistent) said:
"He's focused and there's been a vigor in him so far this camp and it speaks well for his future here." (HA)

About his need for consistency, Purcell said:
"I do a lot of good things, just not consecutively. It's like, spurts, so I just have to put it together." (HA)

About how Purcell reminds him of a Texas Tech player named Aaron Hunt (who was at Texas Tech when he and Mack coached there), Aranda said:
"And Aaron, it finally clicked for him to be consistent, and he's the Big 12 leader in sacks to this day. The talent level is there for Elliott." (HA)

HA Note: "It was apparent to UH coaches in 2007, when they moved Purcell from the scout team midway through the season, and still awarded him with the award for 2007 defensive scout team player of the year."

Aranda said that the 6'3", 250-pound Purcell:
"is very soft spoken, he's honest, he's up front with you, humble, and very respectful. And when he gets on the field he lets it go, so it's good to see." (HA)

About their first day in pads, Sol said:
"Any time you've been out of the game five months and you put the helmet on and shoulder pads and get ready to go, that's exciting. A lot of positions are open and a lot of guys are competing for those positions, so the intensity is even higher. And we've got Florida (on Aug. 30). We know the intensity has to be up every play." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Soares met slot receiver Aaron Bain coming across the middle, and even though he pulled up on the hit the impact was enough to pop Bain's helmet off. The bottom line, though, Bain held on to the ball."

About Blaze's hit on him, Bain said:
"We all expect to get one of those every now and then, but it's all good. That means every one's practicing at a high level. You always have to look out for Blaze. The job is to catch the rock, so I had to go up and get it." (HSB)

Pleased with their progress, Mack said:
"We're right where we should be. We've been getting a little better. We're not close to where we want to be, but we're moving along as scheduled." (HSB)

About how it was hard to gain the 20-30 pounds he needed to gain during the offseason, C.J. Allen-Jones said:
"It was hard to do it. I think it's a lot harder to gain weight and keep it than to lose it. I can lose weight easily." (HSB)

Praising C.J., Inoke said:
"He's got that speed, you know, big legs. He came back a lot bigger, and I think it was a good move to bring him down from linebacker to defensive end. He's going to do some great things." (HSB)

Praising C.J.'s development, Dave Aranda said:
"We expected great things from C.J. coming in to this fall camp and he has exceeded our expectations. We had a meeting (Wednesday) morning, talking about who's done what, and C.J. was the guy who around the room everyone was saying he's really shown up to play." (HSB)

About switching to DE, C.J. said:
"We've got the three best linebackers in the nation. We had a lot of competition and stuff (at linebacker). They run fast and they hit hard and they're all smart. So I figured I'd move down and help the team any way I can." (HSB)

About switching to DE, C.J. said:
"It's definitely less thinking. Just one gap in front of you, kick the guy's tail in front of you and get that quarterback." (HSB)

About celebrating a TD run in practice, LWJ said:
"I was just trying to have fun, trying to make practice as fun as possible. We're really working hard and sometimes people forget to have fun." (HSB)

About how they haven't practiced running much in practice so far, LWJ said:
"I was just waiting to see when we were going to run the rock, but once we did we have to do what we can. Whatever the coaches want, that's all I'm trying to do. If they want us to block we're going to block our butts off; if they want us to run we're going to run." (HSB)

About how Elliott Purcell took advantage of the practice reps he got due to injuries to others on the DL, Aranda said:
"He took advantage of it; he had his best day today. Elliott's issue has always been consistency, the talent level's there." (HSB)

About their depth at DT, Aranda said:
"We're real fortunate with our defensive tackle depth, so we're looking at guys working with different guys. That's a luxury we have." (HSB)

About their improvement on offense, Ron Lee said:
"I liked the way the quarterbacks are coming. We'll see if they keep improving. We have to make some decisions by Saturday. It's going to be tough decisions. The guys are working hard, they're competing, that's the big thing. Our defense is such a good defense, we're getting a good look." (HSB)

Happy that someone put his Warrior Bowl TD on YouTube, Kia said:
"Someone put it on the Internet. I don't know who, just someone on the Internet. Tell whoever made it I said thanks." (HSB)

HSB Note: "I'm struggling to catch up to Generation Text, but I do know how to use YouTube. I quickly became the 746th viewer of "Aaron Kia's Big Adventure," produced by someone named WarriorMojo. So, WarriorMojo, Aaron Kia says thanks."

Asked if he ever thought of catching passes as a TE, Kia said:
"I'd love to try that, but my focus now is on doing the best I can at left tackle." (HSB)