Quotes about UH's offense

Walking without a limp despite his left calf marked with cuts and a heavily wrapped knee, Greg Alexander said:
"I can't talk about it." (HA)

About how the Hawaii fans like QBs that play like Alexander, Rolo said:
"Out here, they don't want any sissy boys. You've got the pads on for a reason. I think people get fired up when (Alexander) runs for 11 yards and runs somebody over, or throws a 44-yard touchdown (pass)." (HA)

About Alexander's throwing and running ability, Rolo said:
"He has a little resemblance — and some people brought this up — to Ben Roethlisberger when he was here (as a Warrior opponent). He can run for first downs, and he has good awareness of the pocket." (HA)

HA Note: "In the past five games, when he was the Warriors' primary quarterback, Alexander has scrambled 31 times for 230 yards, an average of 7.42 yards per carry. Alexander has excelled when the Warriors needed 10 or fewer yards for a first down. He has scrambled for first downs in 63.6 percent (21 of 33) of those situations."

About his scrambles for first downs, Alexander said:
"If stuff breaks down or if guys aren't open, I have to make stuff happen. I work on my footwork for drops, but never for scrambles." (HA)

About how he doesn't like to run out of bounds to avoid hits, Alexander said:
"If you go out of bounds, you're not going to get as many yards as you can." (HA)

About Alexander's toughness, Rolo said:
"He's a tough guy — or he's too big to get down and slide." (HA)

About how Alexander scraped off skin from his calf when sliding at Aloha Stadium despite being a shortstop in high school, Rolo said:
"He was a baseball player. He should be able to slide." (HA)

About how his coaches are telling him not to be up-ended by tacklers (twice he's somersaulted when tackled this season), Alexander said:
"That last one wasn't too bad. Coaches are telling me to slide now. I'll probably be doing that a lot more." (HA)

About Alexander's only juke move, Rolo said:
"You've seen it over and over. He'll go one way, then go the other way. He has a little style to his running. I didn't teach him that. He has a good forward lean. He's got that one move. He'll make that one guy miss and fall forward. Before you know it, it's an 8-yard run. He has a good feel for when to make the first move and get straight. He's not a downhill Denver Bronco-zone runner. But he can set people up. And he's so big, he's falling forward and carrying people. They turn out to be fairly good gains." (HA)

Impressed with Alexander's running ability, Inoke said:
"It just came out. I'm sure he had it in him. I think he gets his tips from (running back) Daniel (Libre)." (HA)

HA Note: "Rolovich said Alexander's confidence in deciding to run coincides with his comfort in directing the run-and-shoot offense."

Keoni Steinhoff said that Alexander is a:
"great quarterback and a great leader." (HA)

HA Note: "Alexander has followed a similar path set by Rolovich, UH's quarterback in 2000 and 2001. Both transferred to UH after playing at Northern California junior colleges. Both embrace Hawai'i's lifestyle."

About his similarity to Alexander, Rolo said:
"People keep telling us we look alike. I don't know whose (beard) is thicker. I guess times are tough. Razors are expensive." (HA)

Rolo said that Alexander:
"acts like how a quarterback is supposed to act. He's not cocky. He's confident in himself, but he's humble. He respects people. He doesn't expect special treatment. He doesn't take advantage of his new-found stardom. He's very intelligent. He wanted to learn the offense, and he's pretty much got it. I think he's having a great ending to the season." (HA)

About how he likes living in Hawaii, Alexander said:
"I like it out here. I'm having a lot of fun. I'm glad I'll be out here another year." (HA)

About how they have scored on their first possession in each of their last 3 games, Alexander said:
"We try to make a point to come out and score quick and set the tone for the rest of the game. It gives us a lot of confidence ... and we try to build on that." (HSB)

HSB Note: "In the last three games, Alexander has completed 12 of 14 passes on UH's initial possessions and rushed for three first downs, including a season-long 22-yard keeper last week, and a touchdown."

About their 97-yard drive to start the game vs. Washington State, Rolo said:
"To go on a 97-yard drive to start the game is good momentum for the offense, defense, everybody. Greg prepares himself well, we have a good plan going in, we just need to keep the pressure on. It shows they're fearless. Greg's not scared to be backed up and dropping into his own end zone." (HSB)

HSB Note: "For the season, UH has opened with touchdowns in five games and moved the ball effectively early against Boise State and Utah State before both drives stalled."

About their fast starts on offense, Ron Lee said:
"It all starts with the guys coming in and they're ready to play and they execute their assignments. We just have to keep that up." (HSB)

About watching film and going over the scouting report in the morning instead of practicing on the field due to the rain (they practiced in the afternoon), Mac said:
"We're right on schedule. We just have to be flexible around the weather until they get the carpet down." (HSB)

About their modified Tuesday schedule due to rain, Ron Lee said:
"We kind of did what we normally do on a Tuesday. We run about 30 plays, introduce the game plan, so that worked out great for us. If we didn't come out, we have to spend more time putting the stuff in. It worked out fine." (HSB)

HSB Note: "With a heavier practice scheduled for today as the Warriors prepare for the 13th-ranked Bearcats, McMackin said they'll have a contingency plan in place if the rains come again."

About how he had to wait before he could play for the Warriors, Michael Washington said:
"It's one of those things you have to adapt to, just like life. Life isn't always going to go your way so you have to adapt. The more you get frustrated, the more you're going to put yourself in a hole." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The Hawaii slotback has two games left in his college career and is set to graduate with a degree in speech and a minor in communications this month, completing his course work in 3 years."

About Washington's hard work, Ron Lee said:
"He's worked hard at everything. Weight room, conditioning, classroom, practice, he's always worked hard. So hopefully he'll finish strong." (HSB)

Happy for Washington's success, Ron Lee said:
"I'm so happy for Mike. He was a steady performer throughout his career but he was behind Davone (Bess) and Ryan (Grice-Mullins). He's starting to play really exceptional. Really did a nice job this year, especially the second half." (HSB)

About how he appreciates being able to start during his senior year, Washington said:
"Fortunately you get one year, and that's an opportunity. Not too many people get an opportunity to do something special, to accomplish your dreams. I've just been blessed, I put my future in God's hands and everything's been for the best. I've just been happy and free-spirited the second half of the season." (HSB)

About their struggles early in the season on offense and the roll they are on now, Washington said:
"I'd call it a roller-coaster ride. It started down low with getting a feel for things. The second half of the season, that's when we started having fun. I'm just going to end with a bang and do what I can to help the team." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Washington might have been playing defensive back at California if a game tape from Aliquippa (Pa.) High School hadn't made its way to former UH coach June Jones' office."

About his high school game tape, Ron Lee said:
"His game tape was unbelievable. Everything he touched he scored." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Washington, who was raised primarily by grandparents Roscoe and Beulah Peake, left behind an Aliquippa neighborhood where drugs and violence were part of the everyday scene and gained a new perspective across the ocean."

About adjusting to living in Hawaii, Washington said:
"It's all cool, because the only way you can adapt out here is by being open-minded. All those stereotypes you've been raised with, if you bring those to a place like this, you'll never adapt. It was a big blessing I came here and experienced a lot. I've seen lava flows on the Big Island, waterfalls, to meeting people from Egypt, Switzerland, Germany, all over the world. If I can take anything that I learned, that's one of the things I'm really proud of, that I got a sense of what the world really is out there." (HSB)

About his big TD reception in the Washington State game, Washington said:
"I was kind of surprised Greg threw it. I set the safety and I was open and I looked back and the ball's already in the air. I just used my speed to track the ball down. That was like icing on the cake." (HSB)