Quotes from the local papers

About how he didn't worry about his shoulder surgery that kept him out of spring training, Erik Robinson said:
"In my life, I've been through way more discouraging things than that. I've had tough times, but I've handled (them). Everything is good now." (HA)

About how Robinson, Mana Silva, and Desmond Thomas are the top candidates at strong safety, Rich Miano said:
"We have to solidify who will be the guy pretty soon." (HA)

HA Note: "Robinson has complicated the situation with his improved play. He made two interceptions during Tuesday's practice at Aloha Stadium. He also played well in yesterday's full-tackle scrimmage between the receivers and defensive backs."

About Robinson, Mack said:
"We know he can hit. He came into games (last season) and did a great job for us. He has game experience." (HA)

HA Note: "Robinson said he has recovered from surgery to repair ligament damage in his right shoulder."

About competing hard in camp, Robinson said:
"I've been working hard. When I mess up, coach Miano is correcting me. I try to get better every day. I'm here to compete." (HA)

About using football as a means for an education and a way to improve his life, Robinson said:
"My dad was in the penitentiary the majority of my life. My brother was in jail. Things like that. I was the man of the house at the age of 14, 15. ... Family members were incarcerated. I didn't want to go down that road. I played football. I thought, 'I can do this.' I had to get on the right track. I can do it." (HA)

About his close friendship with Monteilh, Robinson said:
"He was one of the first guys to help me out. He's a good guy." (HA)

About how he introduced his sister Makala to Robinson and they are dating now, Monteilh said:
"Most brothers are like, 'You can't talk to my sister.' He's a good guy." (HA)

About how his Papakolea home is always open to his son Keao Monteilh's friends, William Monteilh said:
"They're always welcome." (HA)

About having his friends over to his house, Keao said:
"We had a lot of guys over. 'You need somewhere to sleep?' Come on over." (HA)

HA Note: "The Monteilhs embraced Robinson, safety Spencer Smith, cornerback Ryan Mouton and other defensive backs from the Mainland."

About William Monteilh, Rich Miano said:
"Keao's dad is amazing. He was over 40 years old and he was benching 400 pounds. He's a bull, and he's old school. If you're from the Mainland, he'll teach you the ropes. It's good he's part of our 'ohana." (HA)

About the Monteilh family, Robinson said:
"The family is wonderful. They treat me like I'm one of their own. I love them like they're my parents." (HA)

HA Note: "A UH tradition is for senior players to design personalized T-shirts that are distributed to teammates. Makala is designing a shirt picturing both her brother and Robinson."

About his T-shirt with Keao, Robinson said:
"It's going to be nice. We're going to have it for the first game." (HA)

About being able to practice for the first time in 2 weeks, Fonoti said:
"It was hard being on the side and watching everyone practice." (HA)

About Fonoti, who had 2 sacks in team drills, Mack said:
"He looked like he was shot out of a rocket. He's a player. He's a difference-maker." (HA)

About how he's more "mobile" after an intensive rehab program, Laeli said:
"I'm trying not to rush it." (HA)

About how Jeramy Bryant has been moving up the depth chart, assistant head coach/CB coach George Lumpkin said:
"He's very conscientious. He's a pretty intelligent kid and he picks up things if he understands totally what it is that you're asking from him. With his desire to want to be the best he can be, which I think he does, he works hard. He focuses well and that helps him to grow as fast as he's grown." (HA)

HA Note: "Bryant constantly patrols the sideline consulting someone about something, eager to soak up advice from his teammates and coaches. It has been that way since he arrived in June after two seasons at Los Angeles Harbor College and began offseason workouts with the team."

About asking questions ever since offseason workouts with the team in June, Bryant said:
"I felt like it would be good to get to know the defense, get to know the coaches, and get to know the teammates. I just worked every day. I tried to get with the veterans as much as I could, and a lot of the veterans were really helpful. It not only helped me out by knowing my stuff, but it helped me by not being afraid to ask the vets (in fall camp) because I already knew them." (HA)

About getting advice from other CBs that have transferred to UH, Bryant said:
"It's taking me kind of a long time, but people like Calvin (Roberts), (Ryan) Mouton, Jameel (Dowling), everybody helping me out, it should take me half the time, if that, because they know exactly what it's like to be in my shoes and exactly what I need to learn." (HA)

Lumpkin said that Bryant has:
"come a great distance when you compare him to some of the guys who have been here." (HA)

Crediting Bryant's development to his decision to come to Hawaii early and work out with his Warrior teammates, Lumpkin said:
"Our team has a lot of aloha for each other, and they helped. They told him what he was supposed to do in this coverage, what you are supposed to play in that coverage, how you are supposed to align, so he has come along because of the others and because he was here the whole summer." (HA)

Not afraid to ask him teammates for advice, Bryant said:
"Sometimes you can't see things when you are playing and other people looking in are seeing things. I don't just ask the starters, I ask everybody." (HA)

About how they are very careful to correct mistakes by their DBs, Lumpkin said:
"For a DB, even a small mistake is a big mistake, because they are the last line of defense. When you coach a secondary guy you have to make sure you coach every little thing because one step can be the difference between knocking the ball down, an interception, or a touchdown. So sometimes in players' eyes, they thought they were in pretty good position, but in actuality they weren't because of where they were and how they got to where they were. And if it happens again, they are going to be beat." (HA)

About how his coaches are "a big help" and how they "keep it real", Bryant said:
"They tell you straight up if you had a good day or had a terrible day." (HA)

HA Note: "Bryant had visited Hawai'i once before, when he was 5, so he is still adjusting to the Island lifestyle. Having his wife, Keshauna, and 2-year-old daughter Jayana with him helps."

About the different lifestyle in Hawaii, Bryant said:
"Things are a lot different from back home. Back home things are a lot faster. Here, it's not slower, but it's more mellow and chill. But I'm starting to get used to it. When you have great people around you, it makes it all that much better." (HA)

About having a full-contact 7-on-7 yesterday, with LBs and DBs taking down WRs, Mack said:
"Our offensive and defensive linemen go full speed all the time. We wanted to make sure we can tackle in the open field and we can catch the ball in the open field. We had some really good hits and some really good catches. The good thing is we didn't have a lot of missed tackles and there were very few dropped balls. So we got out of it what we wanted." (HSB)

About how their D had a good practice, Mana Silva said:
"It was good, everyone just flying to the ball and trying to make plays." (HSB)

Most importantly, Ron Lee pointed out:
"best of all nobody got hurt." (HSB)

About having Fonoti and Laeli back at practice, Aranda said:
"We're trying to work them back and we're going to be smart about it. We just want to see them run around, see them loosen up, make sure they know they're on the same page as the rest of the (defense) and slowly but surely we'll get them going into getting more reps. It's good to have them back though." (HSB)

About returning to practice behind Elliiott Purcell, Fonoti said:
"Being out for two weeks and you see these guys pushing their butts off, it's hard to just stand on the side and watch them play. At the same time, Elliott is doing a good job, that's the best I've seen him play. This year, he's a changed guy." (HSB)

About returning to practice after putting in a lot of time running and on the exercise bike while resting his sore knee, Laeli said:
"You can run all you want, but it's different between football conditioning and other conditioning." (HSB)

About having Erik Robinson work with the first team yesterday, Miano said:
"That only seems fair (to give Robinson a look). E-Rob and Mana have done a good job. He's been banged up so much so I haven't been fair to E-Rob from an injury standpoint to get the reps that Mana has. But Mana is new to this program (from Oregon State), so Mana needed those reps. So now it's pretty balanced and we have to decide who's gonna be the guy come Florida. And that job's still open, and might go down to next week sometime." (HSB)

About rotating with Robinson at the #1 safety spot, Silva said:
"I'm just trying to stay mentally focused and make plays out there, that's all I can do." (HSB)

About finally getting to practice after being cleared yesterday, Jovonte Taylor said:
"I've been studying my plays, meeting with the coaches and I'm catching on. Sitting out for two weeks was tough, it was irritating, but it all worked out. I'm ready to go now." (HSB)

About how Taylor has a chance to make their 65-man travel roster, Mack said:
"He's going to be a great addition. He's got big-time speed." (HSB)

Pleased with how the Women's clinic went on Tuesday, Mack said:
"I was really excited about the attendance and the enthusiasm. I was really proud of Heather and my staff. It's sort of a light night, but we got into quite a bit of football." (HSB)

About how Calvin Roberts is providing them a solid 3rd CB, Miano said:
"Really there's three corners that are really standing out, and he's part of that three. In the past we didn't have that kind of depth and quality. Calvin's a starter, it's just we can only start two of them." (HSB)

Looking forward to contributing this season, Roberts said:
"I feel like I got a role on the team and my job is to do the job. Second team, first string, whatever it is, I feel like I gotta get my job done." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Miano is ready to slide Roberts in as the team's fifth defensive back, meaning he'll join the four starting DB's during pass-defense coverages. As for playing behind Newberry, Lewis, and Mouton last season, Roberts didn't think of it as a wasted year even when he was billed in some corners as a man to take one of the jobs outright upon arrival."

About being behind Newberry, Lewis, and Mouton last season, Roberts said:
"It was a learning experience from the real good corners we had last yea. So, I'll learn from them, their techniques, tendencies, and stuff like that. I brought it to my game, and I think it worked out perfectly for me." (HSB)

About how it was hard for Roberts to get into their system last season when his clearance to practice came late, Miano said:
"I think it's extremely hard for a JC DB to come in and learn the techniques, because every coach is a little different. It's probably a lot more complicated than junior college in terms of both in respect to technique and how many coverages we do. It takes a while to mentally catch up to the guys who have been here for a while. Being late and being a JC guy, usually that one year they're going to learn a whole lot. They're going to excel the second year, you're going to see what you've got." (HSB)

About thinking about playing baseball for UH after football season is over, Roberts (who played baseball all 4 years in High School and during his freshman year at his JC) said:
"I'm always trying to have time for batting practice and stuff like that. I'm also trying to maybe try playing baseball for UH this season, but I'm not really sure. I just always like to keep in tune, play catch if I could, keep myself sharp. I haven't got around to talking to (coach Mike Trapasso) yet." (HSB)

About how he's adjusted to the lifestyle in Hawaii, Roberts said:
"(Hawaii's) a little different. I don't have my old friends and my family, over here I meet my new friends, people from all over the country. I think it's a good deal for me. ... I'm glad I'm here." (HSB)