Quotes from the local papers

About UH's win-a-trip-to-Vegas contest, David Farmer said:
"Hopefully, they'll let me do that halftime thing, where I throw the ball into the hole, and cash my plane ticket into (a trip to) Europe instead." (HA)

HA Note: "Farmer's interest in the Old World stems from his fascination with history and, in turn, the coaches are intrigued with Farmer's comparable skills to successful historical football figures."

Comparing Farmer to two NFL greats, Mac said:
"He's like (John) Riggins of the Washington Redskins, or Franco (Harris) of Pittsburgh. For a big man, he has good moves." (HA)

About Farmer, Mac said:
"He doesn't have breakaway speed, but he has breakaway attitude." (HA)

HA Note: "The coaches decided to expand Farmer's role. Not only is he receiving handoffs, but against Nevada, he sometimes was aligned as a slotback. He even ran a streak route."

About being used as a receiver in the Nevada game, Farmer said:
"I've got some tricks up my sleeve. Looks can be deceiving. ... I've always had good hands. If they want to use me (as a receiver), I'm open to it. I'll take on the challenge." (HA)

About using 245-pound Farmer at slotback instead of their smaller slotbacks, Mac said:
"He's got speed and he's a good athlete, so he can catch the ball. He's got more size than any defensive back he's going to face. He fits right into everything we do." (HA)

About how it took until the 5th week of the season for him to return from his MCL injury, Farmer said:
"My first week, I was a little timid. Now it feels good again." (HA)

About how the brace that he wears during games and practices bothered him at first, Farmer said:
"There's a lot of Velcro. It nags at you. It kind of limits your mobility." (HA)

Farmer said that after awhile his knee brace became:
"like my new knee. It takes away that mental aspect. It lets me go out there and put a juke move on or throw an extra block." (HA)

About how he will earn a bachelor's degree in history in May, later than he would have graduated if he hadn't changed majors, Farmer said:
"I wasn't happy in business school. I wanted to switch to something I enjoyed a little better. I've always liked history since I was a kid." (HA)

About how he prefers European history, especially the Age of Enlightenment of the18th century, Farmer said:
"There's more drama and soap opera in European history than American history. I like it." (HA)

HA Note: "He is considering applying for law school or graduate studies."

About Farmer, Mac said:
"Farmer is in our plans." (HA)

About how he suffered a fractured ring finger in his left hand, Adam Leonard said:
"I went out there and, I don't know how, but when I got up (after a tackle), it was pointing in a different direction." (HA)

HA Note: "Leonard tried to force the finger back in place. When he went to the UH sideline, he told the medical staff that it felt as if the finger were dislocated, and that he needed assistance."

About how they tried to fix his injured finger during the game, Adam said:
"There was one spot I couldn't get. It stayed the same. I think the part of the bone was sticking up there. They were trying to mess with it, yanking at it. They said it might be broken." (HA)

HA Note: "After going to the training room in Aloha Stadium, Leonard underwent X-rays. He then received special wrapping that allowed him to resume playing. He finished with nine tackles, tying a season high."

About how his injured right knee will force him to miss the Utah State game, Victor Clore said:
"It's going to get worse if I re-injure it. I'd rather be safe than sorry." (HA)

HA Note: "The Warriors will stay in El Paso during the week between the Utah State and New Mexico State road games. Clore was told that if he is healthy, he might be brought up to play against NMSU."

Josh Leonard said that the walking boot on his right foot yesterday was a:
"precaution right now." (HA)

John Leonard said that he has a sprain and the foot is:
"definitely not broken. If it's not broken, don't fix it." (HA)


After his first practice in more than a month, Keith AhSoon said:
"I've been out for a while so I just have to go in slowly and work my way back into fullspeed contact. I'm trying to make that audition in this week's practices and hopefully I'll make that (travel) squad." (HSB)

About remaining positive after suffering his MCL injury, AhSoon said:
"When I got hurt it was just devastating. I didn't think I was going to come back and my family motivated me to just be positive and keep my head up and don't be mad at things I have no control of. I have to deal with what's given to me, have fun and be positive about it. It was a challenge." (HSB)

Excited about AhSoon's return, Mac said:
"I'm really excited about (AhSoon's return) because he's such a class individual. We'll practice him this week and see where he's at. ... He'll be a big addition and give us a lot more depth on the offensive line." (HSB)


About ESPN choosing to televise their Cincinnati game instead of their Washington State game, JD said:
"To me, it was the obvious choice based upon performance. The first Saturday in December provides a nice time slot and great exposure for our football program, the school and the state." (HA)

About a benefit of having an ESPN game in December, JD said:
"It also comes during our recruiting period." (HA)


About how both he and DE John Fonoti played well in the Nevada game, DE David Veikune said:
"Finally we put it together and we fed off each other and made some big plays." (HSB)

About what they had their D focus on for the Nevada game, Mac said:
"The things we talked about on defense were to score or set up a score, we needed to play well on third-down conversions, and get three turnovers. That's what we focused on." (HSB)

About their DEs Fonoti and Veikune, Mac said:
"They're like big linebackers playing defensive end. So they're really athletic guys and we ask a lot out of them." (HSB)

About how he had 7 sacks last season as a backup player and went 6 games this season before getting his first sack, Veikune said:
"It's a relief. There's still always pressure to make plays every week, but it kind of took off some pressure." (HSB)

About had he didn't realize that he got his first sack and forced Kaepernick to fumble, Veikune said:
"I didn't know it was a sack or a fumble. I thought I just missed a tackle and I was disappointed. But I got up and saw the ball was loose and went to go block for John." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Fonoti, calling on the "score drills" the defense runs most mornings in practice, secured the bouncing ball and took it 9 yards into the end zone."

About scooping the ball up and scoring a TD, Fonoti said:
"I was thinking about jumping on it. But I saw a lot of my defensive guys helping me out and blocking for me, so I figured I'd try to pick it up." (HSB)

About returning the fumble for a TD, Mac said:
"The assistant coaches did a great job of coaching the fundamentals and we see those kind of things come out and it wins ballgames." (HSB)

About the Warriors, Utah State coach Brent Guy said:
"On defense they look a lot like last year's team. They bring a lot of pressure and have a lot of speed and we have to be able to protect the quarterback." (HSB)

Liloa Nobriga, who committed to the Warriors recently, said he still plans to be a Warrior and has:
"100 percent respect for UH. I grew up a UH fan and Hawaii is where my heart is." (HSB)

Nobriga said that his visit to UH over the weekend:
"was everything I could have imagined." (HSB)

HSB Note: "After talking over the decision with his father upon returning to Las Vegas, he said he plans to visit other campuses before finalizing his choice."