About Joey Iosefa's first practice as a RB, Rolo said:
"He's physical. He put in hard work in the weight room. He loves being here. He's a great teammate. We're happy to have him on the offensive side of the ball." (HA)
HA Note: "Iosefa was a quarterback/safety at Fagaitua High in American Sāmoa."
About being contacted by UH coaches 2 years ago, Iosefa said:
"It was like a dream. I wanted to play college ball." (HA)
HA Note: "The Warriors made him a grayshirt offer, meaning he would sign his letter of intent February 2009, but not join the Warriors until January 2010. Under grayshirt rules, Iosefa was allowed to attend UH as a part-time student in the 2009 fall semester. The stipulations were that he could not receive a football scholarship that semester nor practice with the team."
About attending UH part-time last fall, Iosefa said:
"I paid my own way, from my pocket." (HA)
About how Iosefa trained with the LBs in their offseason conditioning program and practiced at LB for their first 4 spring practices, Rolo said:
"He gave it a shot. The history of him having the ball in his hands made it a natural move." (HA)
About moving Iosefa to RB, Mack said:
"He's 245 pounds, runs fast, strong as a bull and has a great attitude, so we have to find a place for him to fit in so he has a chance to contribute." (HSB)
HA Note: "Iosefa, who is 6 feet 1, said he has gained 40 pounds since September, and now weighs 230. He can bench press 300 pounds."
About how their top 2 RBs are seniors (Green and Chizzy) so they were looking for freshman RBs like Lister and Iosefa, Rolo said:
"We were looking for some young guys (to develop. They're going to give us that 1-2 punch as far as young guys. They will be contributing this year." (HA)
About his offseason workouts, John Lister said:
"I do a lot of running up hills." (HA)
HA Note: "Lister has run up Koko Crater, and hills near the UH campus."
About running uphill like how Walter Payton used to, Lister said:
"A lot of (Payton's) workouts were everyday functional things. There was a hill he used to run up in Mississippi. That's the same things I try to apply: leg strength, drive." (HA)
About wearing Payton's #34, Lister said:
"He's like my idol, my role model." (HA)
About attending UH while being a grayshirt this past fall, Lister said:
"My mom was really adamant that I come out here. It was good to be around everyone. It was a lot easier to transition." (HA)
HA Note: "Lister took 10 credits in the fall. He also used that semester to reshape his body. He replaced fat with muscle."
About how Lister benefited from his work in the weight room while he was grayshirting, RB coach Brian Smith said:
"He came in real young; he just turned 18 in November. Getting him into the weight room was good. He lost weight, but gained muscle. The next step over the summer is gaining more of that good weight." (HA)
HA Note: "Lister, who is 6 feet 2, now weighs about 210."
About Lister's slashing running style, Smith said:
"He has the ability to make some people miss." (HA)
About gaining 20 pounds to help with his blocking, Alex Green said:
"I know it's a blocking system, so I had to put on more weight to block linebackers and defensive ends. Being at 210 wasn't really cutting it for me. Being 230 now, I'm feeling pretty good about it." (HSB)
About how Green has done a good job of setting an example for their RBs, Smith said:
"I think he's doing a good job of not necessarily being a big talker but being a leader by just showing a lot of confidence. I think that really lifts the offense a lot, having a guy back there that's got a lot of confidence and knows he can get it done." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Some of that confidence springs from a conditioning regimen Green adhered to between the end of the season and the start of spring ball. Along with working in the weight room in the Warriors' strength program, he had regular sessions with Dimude and cornerback Lametrius Davis doing ladder drills to keep his feet nimble."
About the improved confidence that comes with increased strength, Green said:
"I figured out the stronger you are the more confident you are. I don't know why it took me this long to figure it out, but I I'm glad I got it now rather than during the season. ... I can really work on it, get stronger and go into the season really confident and ready to go against USC (UH's opening opponent)." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Green said he now feels faster with the added strength and having a season in the system also allows him to react with greater decisiveness both as a runner and in his blocking assignments."
About how Green's experience in their system has made him a lot better than when he started at UH, Smith said:
"He's light years away from when he came in here. He's buying into playing a lot more physical, he's buying into the technique and he's seeing results." (HSB)
About blocking Aaron Brown in their 11-on-11 drills, Green said:
"We always joke about who's going to hit who harder. So when we come up, we always have a little glint before the snap. He tries to bring it, I try to bring it to him and it just makes us better." (HSB)
About how freshmen RBs Hogan Rosehill and John Lister have also had good starts to spring practice, Smith said:
"(Rosehill has) become a lot more physical, got bigger and stronger, and that shows. John Lister's showing some good things running the football and picking up what we're doing in just a couple days." (HSB)
About going to Charleston Southern was his best choice for him and his pregnant wife when he transferred from a JC in 2008, Kamalu Umu said:
"It was a family deal I couldn't turn down." (HA)
HA Note: "But living that far away from family members was difficult for his wife. At the end of the 2008 season, Umu requested a release from his football scholarship. In accordance with NCAA transfer rules, he had to sit out the 2009 season."
About how he's being counted on to compete at left DE this spring after playing well on scout teams last year, Umu said:
"They expect a lot, and they haven't seen anything yet." (HA)
"I'm happy to just have a chance." (HA)
HA Note: "To watch 6-foot, 5-inch, 225-pound Darius Bright preying on diminutive defenders in spring practice these days is to understand that not only have the Warriors gotten the license number of the heavy equipment that has frequently run them over, they've gone out and acquired their own cherry picker."
HA Note: "With a basketball background and only three years of football — and just 14 junior college games — behind him, the player they call "Stilts" remains something of a project to be sure. But with size, 4.5 speed, good hands and a can-do attitude, one the Warriors relish seeing through to completion over the next two to three years."
Offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich says that Bright has:
"a very high ceiling ... as high as he wants to take it." (HA)
About Bright's height and speed, Rolo said:
"Nobody is going to sleep on his speed because he has good, long, strides and is physical enough not to get jammed up. He has a lot of weapons." (HA)
HA Note: "Enough that he caught Rolovich's eye when they crossed paths for a few months three years ago at City College of San Francisco, where Rolovich was the quarterbacks coach and Bright was a raw, grayshirt receiver from North Carolina."
About going through spring practice to learn new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda's system before he starts his 2-year Mormon mission this summer, Mike Wadsworth said:
"I'm just trying to understand the concepts so when I come back it'll be easier so I don't start from scratch." (HSB)
HSB Note: "Wadsworth is eagerly anticipating serving his mission in Leeds, England, and is scheduled to depart June 18, shortly after his older brother completes his mission in Washington."
About not playing football during his 2-year Mission, Wadsworth said:
"I've played ever since I was 7- or 8-years-old. It was hard when we played Wisconsin knowing that if we didn't win that would be the last game I'd play for two years. It hasn't hit me yet, but I just have to stay focused." (HSB)
About how they want to give Letuli reps but still prep their other players while they wait to hear if Letuli and Brashton Satele will get their 6th years, OL coach Gordy Shaw said:
"We don't want to take reps away from anyone, but (he) has to stay in the fold." (HSB)
http://www.starbulletin.com/sports/sportsnews/20100408_Green_a_heavier_heavy-hitting_back.html
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