"I feel relieved right now, getting this recruiting process off my back. I can be a kid again." (HA)
About his son Beau playing for UH like he did, Boyd Yap said:
"It's terrific. He's going to have a great time." (HA)
Proud that he'll be playing for UH, Beau said:
"I grew up as a UH fan. I'm proud to be going there." (HA)
About choosing to go to UH while flying back to Hawaii after his Oregon State recruiting trip this past weekend, Beau said:
"I woke up (during the flight), and it kind of hit me: I couldn't leave home. Nothing can beat Hawai'i. The comfort level is so high. It was hard for me to say 'no' to (Baylor), but Hawai'i is the only place for me." (HA)
"I was on the plane coming home and it kind of hit me that going away would be hard for me. My family will get to watch me all the time, they don't have to watch on TV or use money and go up. Just staying home felt real comfortable." (HSB)
Happy with his recruiting class, Mack said:
"I'm excited about this class." (HA)
Happy about signing with UH, Tu'ulauena Lolohea said:
"It's chicken-skin time. It feels good to finally get it written down. I'm ready to play for Hawai'i." (HA)
About QB Kevin Spain, QB coach Nick Rolovich said:
"He's unselfish. He wants to win. Physically, he's a good athlete. The best thing about him is the catch-ability of his passes. And his accuracy. He has a lot of natural tools that will make him special down the road." (UH)
About OL recruits Kody Afusia, David Lefotu, Frank Loyd, London Sapolu, and Sean Shigematsu, OL coach Gordy Shaw said:
"Kody never came off the field. I believe he was an All-CIF defensive lineman. Based on his stature and talent, we could project that he was going to be just what we're looking for at that position (center). ...
David is a big, physical guard-type guy who has tremendous strength. ....
Frank is an interesting guy. Last spring, he was a little over 6-3 and 230, but very athletic. He has long arms; that wing span that they talk about. He has a lot of upside. Today, he's touching 6-5 and he's 275. That's over a nine-month period, and he hasn't lost a step. He's going to be a very good tackle-type guy for us. ....
Initially we were looking for a tackle. As we got into camp, and saw we had enough tackle guys we thought would be OK for this upcoming season, we were looking for an inside guy. (Sapolu will) either battle for the starting center position or be a backup. Physically, he's a good player. ....
At the All-Poly camp, Sean was the guy everybody's eyes were going to him. At the time, he was 6-5 and about 235. A great athlete. He really stood out in that camp. He's 6-6, 250 now, and starts on the basketball team, starts on the volleyball. He has tremendous upside. He's going to be one of those tackles who's played here and gone on to play in the NFL." (HA)
About WR recruits Samson Anguay, Corey Lau, and Allen Sampson, Rolovich said:
"Samson is that quick, make-a-guy-miss-type slot we've had success with in the past. I know his size is not the biggest, but he's built really well. He'll make some plays for us in the future. ...
Corey Lau is the same type of player as Samson. He has enough straight-ahead speed to be successful. But he has the ability to make that one guy miss and get the extra yards. ...
People will first notice (Sampson) has world-class speed. But his personality and the person he is will make him a great teammate. He's going to make an immediate impact on our kick return. We have to try to get the ball in his hands to make something happen." (HA)
About DE recruits Desmond Dean, Ipulasi Eselu, David Katina, and Beau Yap, DL coach Dave Aranda said:
"Desmond is a guy we've had on our radar for a long time. He has all of the potential in the world. He has all of the bloodlines. He has all of the ability: the length, the speed. I feel Desmond has the most potential of all of the guys we brought in. His pop is 300 pounds. His grandfather played in the (National Football) League for how many years. What people look at is the weight. He's 6-7 and 215 pounds. But if you look at his family and his genes, weight is not a problem. ...
We like (Eselu's) aggressiveness and his knowledge of the game, with his pop being a coach, and his mentality. He's going to grow into being a defensive end, at 240 (pounds). When we saw him in the summer, he was 190. He's 215 now. He's on his way." ...
(Yap) reminds me of a raw John Fonoti. He has a natural get-off. His explosiveness and his hips are a natural gift." (HA)
About Desmond Dean's weight and David Katina, George Lumpkin said:
"Desmond is thin now, but he runs a 4.52 in the 40 and a 10.87 in the 100. If you remember, (Ikaika) Alama-Francis was about 212 when we got him. This kid is about the same. It's a matter of putting a lot of weight on him. ... The most positive things about (Katina) are his work ethic, his character, and his ability to understand what is required of him. He should be an outstanding defensive end." (HA)
About DT recruits Calen Friel and Moses Samia, Aranda said:
"Moses has unbelievably long arms and unbelievably big hands. He's 250 pounds right now, and doesn't look it. We recruited Moses as a defensive tackle. ... Same thing with Friel. At the (UH coaches camp), he was 220 pounds. He's 260 right now. Both of those guys, in a year, will be 280. We feel they're active, tall, longer than some of the tackles." (HA)
About their LB recruits Dustin Elisara, Tu'ulauena Lolohea, Zachary Quines, Dominick Sierra, and T.J. Taimatua, Defensive Coordinator Cal Lee said:
"(Elisara) is very athletic. He has a great sense for the ball, and he has a motor. He's a big and strong athletic guy who can go out there and control the middle, and make sure nobody runs up the middle. ...
What Tu'u brings on the field are what you look for in a linebacker. What he showed on his visit was the leadership qualities that he had, the take-charge qualities that you need on the defensive side of the ball. He's like a quarterback guy who's going to make people play hard. His actions speak louder than his words. He's not only an action guy, but he's a motivator. ...
Zach is another one who can run to the ball. He's 6-3, a long, rangy kind of guy. The thing about Zach is he can make tackles in the open field. He's like a DB playing linebacker. He has great speed, great range. If we blitz, he's the kind of guy who can come off the edge. ...
Dominick has great potential. He can make plays. He started off at defensive back, but because of his size, he'll become a good linebacker. He's got great closing speed. ...
T.J. is another tall, rangy kind of player, like Zach is. He's not afraid to make contact. Defensively, you want guys who like to make contact. He wants to get there, and put a helmet where you want to put it. He has all of the skills and athleticism." (HA)
About safety recruit Marcus Umu, safeties coach Chris Tormey said:
"We had Marcus in (the coaches) camp last June, and we were really impressed with his ball skills. He must have had eight or 10 interceptions in the three days we worked with him. He has good instincts, and he showed good toughness. He has excellent size. He has great growth potential." (HA)
About CB recruit John Hardy-Tuliau, Aranda said:
"I think John can help us right away, in terms of blocking kicks. Everywhere John has been, he's won. Everything that John has wanted to do, he's done. He's one of those guys. He has a magic touch to him. He has the height we want at corner. Our conference is a running conference, no doubt about it. We have to load the (tackle) box to play the run. Every team has that one receiver who has jump-ball possibilities. I think height at corner was a need, and he fits that need." (HA)
About CB recruit Dee Maggitt, Tormey said:
"Dee was the top cornerback prospect in the state of Washington this past year. He was highly regarded. He comes from one of the very best high school programs in the state of Washington. They're going to be top-5 in the state every year, and they have Division I players every year. Great background there. He played at a high level. Fundamentally, he's very sound. Good feet. Good hands. Breaks on the ball well." (HA)
About recruits Siaki Cravens and Christian "Bubba" Poueu-Luna, Aranda said:
"Cravens is a great athlete. He played tight end/receiver out of high school. A great basketball player, very athletic. We feel outside back on the line of scrimmage is a great position for him. He's 6-3, 240 pounds, but at this point, he's one of our faster players. He's a 4.5 guy. The issue with him is he's going to be raw. In terms of the tools and the mentality. That's there. ...
Bubba is a great athlete. He can play receiver or DB. He played quarterback this past season. He's really in a similar mode to Siaki. He's a super, super athlete. He's a force with the ball in his hand. As a junior, he played safety. We're going back and forth on him in the office. He's a guy who can go either way." (HA)
About choosing between his final 2 of UH and Utah, V.J. Feheko said:
"It was stressful, pretty crazy. My decision came straight from the heart. UH was always a strong pull for me and it was really hard to turn them down — it was like turning down a family member. I grew up cheering only for the green and white, and hating every other team. It was a grueling process, sitting down with my mom and dad, going back and forth. " (HA)
About how he has a better chance for early playing time at Utah instead of UH, Feheko said:
"They lose all three of their starting linebackers (to graduation), and UH only loses Blaze (Soares). I fit their package, it was the situation I was put in to compete sooner (for playing time)." (HA)
About how he looked forward to facing teammate Shaydon Akuna (who signed with Oregon State yesterday) at the end of the 2011 season, Lolohea said:
"Right after I signed I looked up and saw him sign and put on the Oregon State hat. I was like, I've already got the date down." (HSB)
Happy with all of the Hawaii recruits that signed with UH yesterday at the PIAA signing ceremony, Moses Samia said:
"Seeing all the UH hats, people from different backgrounds, different schools to play as one now, I'm excited for that. That's Hawaii." (HSB)
About how they will finish their recruiting class by giving a scholarship to a kicker, Mack said:
"We are going to scholarship a kicker, we need competition at that position and we need to get better at that position." (HSB)
Happy with their recruiting class, Mack said:
"We think we've recruited to help us for the future, and some of these guys are going to complement us right away." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Just three of the Warriors' signees are from junior colleges, compared to 10 in both of McMackin's first two recruiting classes as head coach."
About getting JC recruits at OL (Sapolu) and WR (Darius Bright), plus Cravens from a JC, Mack said:
"We needed immediate help at receiver and we felt we needed a veteran offensive lineman and then we have (Cravens) and he's got three years. He's a player." (HSB)
Looking forward to competing for his place on the depth chart, David Lefotu said:
"I can't wait to compete for a spot." (HSB)
HSB Note: "McMackin pointed to Lefotu as a cornerstone of the class following his commitment last summer and said linebacker T.J. Taimatuia of Artesia (Calif.) High has the potential to contribute right away. Texas defensive end Desmond Dean was an intriguing late addition to the class. The 6-foot-7, 215-pounder said he had been in contact with the Hawaii coaches for about a month and was offered a scholarship on Tuesday, which he formally accepted yesterday. Dean, the grandson of former Washington Redskins lineman Fred Dean, had received interest from Utah and Illinois and runs on the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams at Tyler."
Happy that UH offered him a scholarship on Tuesday, Desmond Dean said:
"I think it'll be a good fit for me. I was wanting to go to Hawaii so it was real excitin
After signing with UH, Kevin Spain said:
"It's just a big relief and I'm pretty excited about my future at UH." (HSB)
http://www.starbulletin.com/sports/sportsnews/20100204_warriors_sign_26_on_letter_of_intent_day.html
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