Quotes from the local papers

About how Hisatake has been on the first team at RG since Lafu was injured and Lafu is currently second team RG, Brian Smith said:
"Lafu has to earn it back. He had his own setback. If he really wants that No. 1 spot, he has to earn it back and take it from Ray. Ray is the one with the first group." (HA)

About what coach Smith plans for the RG spot, Hisatake said:
"Maybe he's just trying to save (Tuioti-Mariner). Or maybe I'm really the starting right guard." (HA)

HA Note: "Hisatake has made a somewhat smooth transition to the position despite having little preparation time. He was a defensive tackle at College of San Mateo before being shifted to offensive tackle when he joined the Warriors during the spring of 2007. He had never played on offense before."

About moving from tackle to guard, Hisatake said:
"The whole entire year, I was learning to play tackle. They kind of threw me into the fire at guard. At first, it was tough because guard is a whole other position." (HA)

HA Note: "The key, he said, is to be patient and trust his blocking technique. He also had to adjust his block reads, going from inside to outside."

About how Hisatake is doing at guard, Smith said:
"He needs a lot of reps, but he's getting better every day. He's coming along." (HA)

About how Kia's play at RT yesterday was just temporary and that Kia and Letuli are still battling for the LT spot, Smith said:
"Both of them aren't leaving the position anytime soon." (HA)

About the battle for the starting LT spot, Kia said:
"I don't want to worry about this battle. If I do, I'm going to mess up. I want to focus on myself and what I want to get done and what I need to work on every day." (HA)

Hoping to pick their starting OL soon, Smith said:
"In the next few days, we'll have a set offensive line. Hopefully, we'll also be healthy. We still have a couple of guys dinged up, and that's delaying it." (HA)

About how this will be his final season of football, senior Dylan Linkner said:
"I'm not an idiot. I realize I'm not going to make it at the other level, but I'm going to make the most out of what I have here. We're here to be student-athletes, not athlete-students. I'm here to get my degree, which is the goal of all college players. This day and age, you need a degree to go somewhere in life. I'm setting up to get ready for the real world after college life." (HA)

About taking most of the 2nd team snaps at LWR yesterday, Linkner said:
"I'm glad the coaches are giving me an opportunity. I feel I can contribute to the team." (HA)

About taking four summer school classes, Jameel Dowling said:
"I concentrated and stayed with it." (HA)

HA Note: "Dowling, who transferred from Oregon last year and received a UH scholarship in January, said he needs 10 credits this coming semester to earn a bachelor's degree."

Dowling said that summer school was:
"overwhelming, but coach (McMackin) gave me an opportunity to go to class (and miss some practices). It helped me out a lot. I didn't want to miss practice, but I knew I had to get the school work done. The good news is I'm going to get my degree." (HA)

HA Note: "Catherine Baldwin no longer spends two or three hours a day poring over the Internet trying to find any mention of her son, right wideout Malcolm Lane, choosing instead to use the time to watch him in person during fall camp practices. Baldwin and her husband, Michael Baldwin, were transferred to Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa from Germany earlier this year so the family, which includes Lane's brothers Corey and George, could be together."

About having his family in Hawaii, Lane said:
"Everybody is here. My first years here I was very homesick. I was just not loving things here, just not having fun. With my family here it takes a lot of pressure off of me; I get to see them whenever I want to see them, it makes me happier, and it makes me happier around the football field, too." (HA)

About trying to get stationed in Hawaii, Baldwin said:
"It was a big fight to get to Hawai'i,. We've been trying for two years to get here, trying to get stationed here so we could be here. A lot of people helped, our majors got involved and different people helped to get us stationed here." (HA)

About missing practice due to his sore groin, Lane said:
"My groin has been hurting me since the first day of camp and I've been practicing and practicing and it's been getting worse and worse, to the point where I couldn't run. It's still hurting me but I have to get out here and do what I can because it's getting down to crunch time. I just have to be out on the field with everybody else." (HA)

About how Lane's father lived in Florida and he expects about 30 family members at the Florida game, Lane said:
"But they are going to be rooting for Hawai'i, so that's going to be nice." (HA)

About how they get to watch Lane practice and get to see him at other times also, Baldwin said:
"He calls every day, and we see him when he needs to do the wash or he's hungry. But I think it's helped him a lot knowing we're closer." (HA)

Responding to what his Mom said, Lane said:
"She's lying, she's trying to make it seem like ... cause I barely have any free time. So I go there once every weekend. I don't go there as much as she wants me to, but every time I'm doing laundry or something like that. That's what she said, she's making little jokes. She knows I love her though." (HA)

HA Note: "Schofield-to-Manoa is a much easier commute for the family, who had to deal with a 12-hour time difference and more than 20 hours of travel to keep in touch with Lane. It will also be a welcome adjustment to see the games in person — instead of watching them online at 3 a.m."

About trying to help her son get recruited while they lived in Germany, Baldwin said:
"It was really hard to get him a scholarship because we sent out a lot of packets and a lot of film. It's difficult. I feel sorry for the athletes in Germany because it's hard for them to get over here." (HA)

HA Note: "She said it was also difficult to find out what courses Lane needed to take in high school to be academically eligible to play Division I football."

About how Reinbold got a tape of him even though they didn't send one to UH, Lane said:
"I didn't send the tape to Hawai'i. I'm pretty sure it was Tyrone Willingham of Washington (who) gave my tape to coach Reinebold. They didn't have any more scholarships to give out, and I feel grateful that somebody who didn't have a spot for me would look out for me in other ways, trying to find me a spot on another team. It says a lot about him." (HA)

HSB Note: "The Warriors are scheduled to practice at Aloha Stadium today and Thursday, in part to use the heat radiating off the FieldTurf to better simulate the steamy conditions expected to greet them at Florida a week from Saturday. The stadium practices, which are closed to the public, also give the team a chance to work with the 40-second play clock and the coaches' communication system."

About having their first team work against some of the looks they expect to see from Florida, Mack said:
"We're not really game-planning yet, we just wanted to run against some of their stuff offensively and defensively. We're going to pick it up and start game-planning and go from there. It's just sort of an introduction. We're a little ahead, normally for the first game we start on Wednesday." (HSB)

About still competing hard each day despite not being the starter, Alexander said:
"You try to compete your best every day, try to get yourself better. You never know what's going to happe. We all want to see each other do well. We're all competing, but we're all good friends too, so we want to see each other succeed." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Alexander returned to the field yesterday after sitting out the last two practices with a foot injury and was impressive in a 2-minute drill, going 4-for-4 in marching the offense downfield in his turn at the controls."

About how Inoke and Alexander have responded well after finding out they were not going to start, Rolo said:
"You're never sure how guys are going to react. It really wasn't how they were going to react that very second, but how they were going to react in the next few days. But you look at the next few days and they both came out and worked hard. Greg just came back (yesterday) and put in as much effort as he ever has." (HSB)

About continuing to try to get better instead of moping after being told he would be a backup, Inoke said:
"You've got to move on. If you just sit there and mope around about it, it's not going to help anyone. You're not going to help yourself, you're not going to help the team. It's the coaches' decision and (Rausch has) been doing a good job - they both have, they're coming along great. You can't be upset that someone's doing well, especially on your own team. The only thing you have control over is trying to progress with whatever reps you might have." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The quarterbacks bonded over the summer when Rausch and Alexander arrived early to participate in voluntary workouts and Rausch credited Funaki with teaching him the offense."

About how the QBs get along, Inoke said:
"We're a tight-knit group, we all have fun together. It's good that there's no contention between our group." (HSB)

Inoke said that he'll continue to help Brent adapt to the offense, but added that:
"he's been coming along just fine, he probably doesn't even need my thoughts or suggestions." (HSB)

About the contrast between their co-#2 QBs, Rolo said:
"The other two guys are dead even, but they have different characteristics. Where Greg slides around the pocket, stands in there and throws it, Inoke can take off and run on you and make the throws. I can see us using them both as No. 2 in different games. It's a nice problem to have." (HSB)

About their other QBs, Inoke said:
"(Santos and Austin) know a lot and they're familiar with the offense and Jake's a great student of the game." (HSB)