About his commitment to UH, Mike Edwards said:
"I'm going to be a Warrior. I'm going to sign with Hawaii. No doubt about it." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Edwards played five games as a true freshman in 2009. But in November of that year, Edwards and three teammates were arrested and initially charged with armed robbery. The players were dismissed from the team. Later, the charges were dropped. There is no legal claim against Edwards. Last year, Edwards enrolled at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. He attended classes toward an associate's degree, but didn't play football."
Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said that Tigi Hill is:
"a heck of a player with a great attitude. He's a happy kid. He brings to practice that positive energy." (HSA)
"He's not afraid to bring the hat. We saw that in the all-star game." (HSA)
About how Hill played SS, FS, WR, QB, and LB for their team, Torres said:
"And he's very good on special teams." (HSA)
Praising how Ben Mamea plays, Torres said:
"He can go sideline to sideline to make a play. He's a great leader." (HSA)
About choosing UH, Mamea said:
"I wanted to stay home and play in front of my family. I wanted to be around the environment." (HSA)
About how UH's defensive system is similar to Kahuku's, Mamea said:
"It's going to be good to play for them." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110202_4-star_corner_UH-bound.html
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
JC DE Craig Cofer and LB/DE Penitito Faalologo committed to the Warriors
About committing to play for UH, Craig Cofer said:
"I love the weather, and the beach, and the family aspect." (HSA)
About watching UH's 2-OT basketball game vs. Utah State with a future teammate playing a key role, Cofer said:
"Miah (Ostrowski) played his heart out. That was cool." (HSA)
Cofer played for Grossmont last year, coached by former Warrior Lui Fuga who he said is:
"one of my best friends." (HSA)
About choosing UH over Nevada, Cofer said:
"I kind of wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I want to take that experience and learn from the culture." (HSA)
About how Penitito Faalologo chose UH over Arizona partly because of Mack and Tony Tuioti and partly because of Hawaii's proximity to American Samoa, his coach Pooch Taase said:
"He's one plane ride away from home." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110201_2_defenders_commit_to_Warriors.html
"I love the weather, and the beach, and the family aspect." (HSA)
About watching UH's 2-OT basketball game vs. Utah State with a future teammate playing a key role, Cofer said:
"Miah (Ostrowski) played his heart out. That was cool." (HSA)
Cofer played for Grossmont last year, coached by former Warrior Lui Fuga who he said is:
"one of my best friends." (HSA)
About choosing UH over Nevada, Cofer said:
"I kind of wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I want to take that experience and learn from the culture." (HSA)
About how Penitito Faalologo chose UH over Arizona partly because of Mack and Tony Tuioti and partly because of Hawaii's proximity to American Samoa, his coach Pooch Taase said:
"He's one plane ride away from home." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110201_2_defenders_commit_to_Warriors.html
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Kendrick Van Ackeren so far prefers UH's scholarship offer to Washington's grayshirt offer, specifically citing positive UH blog and message board messages
ST = Seattle Times
About how he enjoyed his visit to Washington over the weekend, Kendrick Van Ackeren said:
"It was good. I had a good time. It was pretty chill." (ST)
About how he's still committed to UH despite the grayshirt offer from Washington that he got during his recruiting visit, Van Ackeren said:
"Right now, I don't think it did. Obviously I have a couple of days to think about it a little bit more. Right now I think I'm going to stick with my decision." (ST)
About how the UH blogs and message boards were happy when he committed to UH, Van Ackeren said:
"I definitely appreciate what they (Hawaii) offered me. But, more than that, it's the feel I got from them. I feel the love from down there. Even though I'm not there yet, through the blogs and things like that, I can see that they really want me." (ST)
About how he's going to finalize his decision over the next few days, Van Ackeren said:
"The next couple of days I'm just going to relax and think about it, sit down with my mom a little bit, sit down with my coaches a little bit and just go over the details and make sure that I'm making the right decision." (ST)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsportsblog/2014085927_bellevues_kendrick_van_ackeren_1.html
About how he enjoyed his visit to Washington over the weekend, Kendrick Van Ackeren said:
"It was good. I had a good time. It was pretty chill." (ST)
About how he's still committed to UH despite the grayshirt offer from Washington that he got during his recruiting visit, Van Ackeren said:
"Right now, I don't think it did. Obviously I have a couple of days to think about it a little bit more. Right now I think I'm going to stick with my decision." (ST)
About how the UH blogs and message boards were happy when he committed to UH, Van Ackeren said:
"I definitely appreciate what they (Hawaii) offered me. But, more than that, it's the feel I got from them. I feel the love from down there. Even though I'm not there yet, through the blogs and things like that, I can see that they really want me." (ST)
About how he's going to finalize his decision over the next few days, Van Ackeren said:
"The next couple of days I'm just going to relax and think about it, sit down with my mom a little bit, sit down with my coaches a little bit and just go over the details and make sure that I'm making the right decision." (ST)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/highschoolsportsblog/2014085927_bellevues_kendrick_van_ackeren_1.html
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The debate over a new stadium has started again...the State says it will take 10+ years for any new stadium, requiring $10 mil/year more
HW = Honolulu Weekly
About how the state is evaluating again if they should renovate Aloha Stadium or build a new stadium, Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said:
"We are asking to have the 2005 Scope Assessment Study updated. The pertinent information will assist the governing body to make necessary financial decisions regarding the future of Aloha Stadium." (HW)
About how Aloha Stadium is competing for money among a lot of other capital-improvement needs, Sen. David Ige (Chairman of the Senate ways and Means Committee) said:
"If money is no object, building a modern stadium would make sense. But if it is going to cost several hundred million dollars, I would have a hard time justifying it against all the other needs." (HW)
About Aloha Stadium, Ige said that it is important to make the required:
"investments to keep the facility useful and functioning. Anything beyond repairs to address health and safety will have to be balanced against all other needs." (HW)
About how he hopes that Aloha Stadium officials will aggressively pursue a partnership with a private developer instead of rely on tax dollars when they have a $1 bil budget deficit, Rep. Marcus Oshiro said:
"We may have to have an honest and open discussion on the option of a public-private partnership. It is something we may want to pursue. Any amount of capital-improvement money spent on the stadium is money we will be taking away from the University of Hawaii, public school classrooms and state hospitals. But at this point, I will support plans to spend some money on repairs to address health and safety improvements at the stadium." (HW)
About how he called for the updated study on building a new stadium vs. renovating the stadium, Bruce Copps (interim director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services) said:
"It is something we are going to take a hard look at. I want to be able to look at the dollars and spend them wisely. Whether it's rebuilding or partnering, we are going to take a look at all of the options and make the right decision." (HW)
HW Note: "To that end, the beam-by-beam study from 2005 pegged the cost of building a new stadium at nearly $300 million. By comparison, it showed the cost of renovating the stadium exceeding $150 million. It also estimated that it would take at least 10 years to build a new stadium. Based on that outlook, state officials have said a new stadium would need to bring in $10 million more a year in revenue to pay the annual debt. At the moment, Aloha Stadium costs about $8 million annually to run, and generates between $7 million and $8 million a year."
About how they have focused their first rounds of Aloha Stadium renovation on health issues such as the new roof, Kevin Chong-Kee (Chair of the Aloha Stadium Authority) said:
"To this point, the best bang for our buck has been addressing the public health and safety repairs. With the return of the Pro Bowl and the University of Hawaii football program entering into the Mountain West Conference, it's time for the state to decide and address the needs of a 36-year-old stadium in these financially troubled times or to fund and build a new stadium." (HW)
About how the NFL is closely monitoring the repairs at Aloha Stadium, NFL Senior VP of Events Frank Supovitz said:
"The State of Hawaii has kept us well-informed on the plans for, and the renovations at, Aloha Stadium. We look forward to playing in an improved building this year and an even more improved one next year." (HW)
About how he thinks a new stadium should be built, Herman Stern (President of the Honolulu QB Club) said:
"I believe that we have to think big. In my opinion, we should build a new stadium and go after major national and international sports events that can be played here." (HW)
HW Note: "Across the country, cities are scrambling to get a bigger slice of an amateur sports pie estimated between $6.5 billion and $7 billion annually, says Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions in Cincinnati. His organization was founded in 1992 with 15 sporting commissions and authorities. Now it is made up of more than 400 member organizations representing 300-plus cities competing for sporting events."
About the explosion in the amateur sports market, Schumacher said:
"This industry has gone from nothing to $7 billion in the last 20 years, and it keeps growing right through the recession. It's not going to go away because the competitions need to take place." (HW)
About how he doesn't think that just repairing Aloha Stadium would bring in a lot of major sporting events, Oshiro said:
"I am not completely sold on the notion that if you fix up the stadium, major sports events will come rushing in. I am doubtful that alone will draw more national sports events here." (HW)
About how the struggling economy makes it hard to come up with the money to build a new stadium now, Brandt Farias (Executive VP of marketing and communications at First Hawaiian Bank, the largest advertiser at Aloha Stadium) said:
"While many would like to build a new stadium, I think that given the economic reality of the day, at least in the short term, renovating the existing facility is a prudent way to go." (HW)
About how he feels that it is a better use of tax dollars to build a new stadium than renovate Aloha Stadium, Lowell Kalapa (President of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii) said:
"It is a waste of taxpayer dollars to renovate the stadium. It's better to rebuild and start from scratch if it can be a revenue-producing property." (HW)
Asked for his position on the stadium debate, JD diplomatically stated:
"My preference is to do the most cost-effective solution. That is what we owe the taxpayers of Hawaii." (HW)
http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2011/01/aging-aloha-stadium-in-urgent-need-of-a-make-over/
About how the state is evaluating again if they should renovate Aloha Stadium or build a new stadium, Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said:
"We are asking to have the 2005 Scope Assessment Study updated. The pertinent information will assist the governing body to make necessary financial decisions regarding the future of Aloha Stadium." (HW)
About how Aloha Stadium is competing for money among a lot of other capital-improvement needs, Sen. David Ige (Chairman of the Senate ways and Means Committee) said:
"If money is no object, building a modern stadium would make sense. But if it is going to cost several hundred million dollars, I would have a hard time justifying it against all the other needs." (HW)
About Aloha Stadium, Ige said that it is important to make the required:
"investments to keep the facility useful and functioning. Anything beyond repairs to address health and safety will have to be balanced against all other needs." (HW)
About how he hopes that Aloha Stadium officials will aggressively pursue a partnership with a private developer instead of rely on tax dollars when they have a $1 bil budget deficit, Rep. Marcus Oshiro said:
"We may have to have an honest and open discussion on the option of a public-private partnership. It is something we may want to pursue. Any amount of capital-improvement money spent on the stadium is money we will be taking away from the University of Hawaii, public school classrooms and state hospitals. But at this point, I will support plans to spend some money on repairs to address health and safety improvements at the stadium." (HW)
About how he called for the updated study on building a new stadium vs. renovating the stadium, Bruce Copps (interim director of the state Department of Accounting and General Services) said:
"It is something we are going to take a hard look at. I want to be able to look at the dollars and spend them wisely. Whether it's rebuilding or partnering, we are going to take a look at all of the options and make the right decision." (HW)
HW Note: "To that end, the beam-by-beam study from 2005 pegged the cost of building a new stadium at nearly $300 million. By comparison, it showed the cost of renovating the stadium exceeding $150 million. It also estimated that it would take at least 10 years to build a new stadium. Based on that outlook, state officials have said a new stadium would need to bring in $10 million more a year in revenue to pay the annual debt. At the moment, Aloha Stadium costs about $8 million annually to run, and generates between $7 million and $8 million a year."
About how they have focused their first rounds of Aloha Stadium renovation on health issues such as the new roof, Kevin Chong-Kee (Chair of the Aloha Stadium Authority) said:
"To this point, the best bang for our buck has been addressing the public health and safety repairs. With the return of the Pro Bowl and the University of Hawaii football program entering into the Mountain West Conference, it's time for the state to decide and address the needs of a 36-year-old stadium in these financially troubled times or to fund and build a new stadium." (HW)
About how the NFL is closely monitoring the repairs at Aloha Stadium, NFL Senior VP of Events Frank Supovitz said:
"The State of Hawaii has kept us well-informed on the plans for, and the renovations at, Aloha Stadium. We look forward to playing in an improved building this year and an even more improved one next year." (HW)
About how he thinks a new stadium should be built, Herman Stern (President of the Honolulu QB Club) said:
"I believe that we have to think big. In my opinion, we should build a new stadium and go after major national and international sports events that can be played here." (HW)
HW Note: "Across the country, cities are scrambling to get a bigger slice of an amateur sports pie estimated between $6.5 billion and $7 billion annually, says Don Schumacher, executive director of the National Association of Sports Commissions in Cincinnati. His organization was founded in 1992 with 15 sporting commissions and authorities. Now it is made up of more than 400 member organizations representing 300-plus cities competing for sporting events."
About the explosion in the amateur sports market, Schumacher said:
"This industry has gone from nothing to $7 billion in the last 20 years, and it keeps growing right through the recession. It's not going to go away because the competitions need to take place." (HW)
About how he doesn't think that just repairing Aloha Stadium would bring in a lot of major sporting events, Oshiro said:
"I am not completely sold on the notion that if you fix up the stadium, major sports events will come rushing in. I am doubtful that alone will draw more national sports events here." (HW)
About how the struggling economy makes it hard to come up with the money to build a new stadium now, Brandt Farias (Executive VP of marketing and communications at First Hawaiian Bank, the largest advertiser at Aloha Stadium) said:
"While many would like to build a new stadium, I think that given the economic reality of the day, at least in the short term, renovating the existing facility is a prudent way to go." (HW)
About how he feels that it is a better use of tax dollars to build a new stadium than renovate Aloha Stadium, Lowell Kalapa (President of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii) said:
"It is a waste of taxpayer dollars to renovate the stadium. It's better to rebuild and start from scratch if it can be a revenue-producing property." (HW)
Asked for his position on the stadium debate, JD diplomatically stated:
"My preference is to do the most cost-effective solution. That is what we owe the taxpayers of Hawaii." (HW)
http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2011/01/aging-aloha-stadium-in-urgent-need-of-a-make-over/
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
RB Jared Leaf committed to the Warriors!
About switching his commit from SJSU to UH, Jared Leaf said:
"I've followed Hawaii for a long time. I have family out in Hawaii." (HSA)
HSA Note: "By choosing the Warriors, Leaf is withdrawing an oral commitment he made to San Jose State. He said he notified Spartans coach Mike McIntyre of his decision. Leaf scored 2,030 (out of 2,400) on the SAT. He received offers from Navy and Army. He also was recruited by Cornell, an Ivy League school that does not offer athletic scholarships."
About playing LB or RB, Leaf said:
"It doesn't really matter. I'm happy to be given an opportunity to play." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110125_Warriors_land_California_RBLB.html
"I've followed Hawaii for a long time. I have family out in Hawaii." (HSA)
HSA Note: "By choosing the Warriors, Leaf is withdrawing an oral commitment he made to San Jose State. He said he notified Spartans coach Mike McIntyre of his decision. Leaf scored 2,030 (out of 2,400) on the SAT. He received offers from Navy and Army. He also was recruited by Cornell, an Ivy League school that does not offer athletic scholarships."
About playing LB or RB, Leaf said:
"It doesn't really matter. I'm happy to be given an opportunity to play." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110125_Warriors_land_California_RBLB.html
Monday, January 24, 2011
BCS payout to Conferences for the 2010 football season
2011 BCS Payouts
-- Automatic qualifier conferences $145.2 million
-- Non-automatic qualifier conferences $24.72 million
AQ Conferences
-- Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC $27.2 million
-- ACC, Big 12, Big East $21.2 million
-- Total: $145.2 million
Non-AQ Conferences
-- Mountain West $12.75 million
-- WAC $4.05 million
-- Conference USA $3.34 million
-- Mid-American $2.64 million
-- Sun Belt $1.94 million
-- Total: $24.72 million
Others
-- FCS conferences $2.25 million
-- Notre Dame $1.7 million
-- Army $100,000
-- Navy $100,000
-- Total: $4.15 million
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-01-24/sbj-bcs-payouts-grow-along-with-big-shares-for-big-six-conferences
-- Automatic qualifier conferences $145.2 million
-- Non-automatic qualifier conferences $24.72 million
AQ Conferences
-- Big Ten, Pac-10, SEC $27.2 million
-- ACC, Big 12, Big East $21.2 million
-- Total: $145.2 million
Non-AQ Conferences
-- Mountain West $12.75 million
-- WAC $4.05 million
-- Conference USA $3.34 million
-- Mid-American $2.64 million
-- Sun Belt $1.94 million
-- Total: $24.72 million
Others
-- FCS conferences $2.25 million
-- Notre Dame $1.7 million
-- Army $100,000
-- Navy $100,000
-- Total: $4.15 million
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-01-24/sbj-bcs-payouts-grow-along-with-big-shares-for-big-six-conferences
Tavita Woodard, Promise Amadi, Justin Vele, and Kendrick Van Ackeren commit to the Warriors!
» Kendrick Van Ackeren, a safety from Bellevue High who was named the Seattle Times' 3A Washington state defensive player of the year,
» Chinedu Amadi, a slotback from Chino (Calif.) High who goes by his middle name, Promise, and
» Justin Vele, an all-state linebacker from Farrington High. Vele told the coaches he made a "soft commitment," and will solidify it Feb. 2, the first day recruits can sign national letters of intent.
Van Ackeren's commitment came a week after his visit. The other three players' commitments came at the completion of their UH recruiting trips.
About why he wants to play for UH, Tavita Woodard said:
"I wanted to come back home, basically, and be with the family." (HSA)
Note: DE/LB Woodard went to Kahuku as a freshman before transferring to McKinley and played for Eastern Arizona this year. He said that he's 6'4" and 255 pounds, runs the 40 in 4.64 seconds, has a bench press max of 335 pounds and can bench 225 pounds 25 times. He redshirted at Eastern Arizona and then played for them in 2010 (7.5 sacks), so he has 3 years to play 3 seasons for UH.
About turning down offers from Nebraska, Kansas State, Iowa State, Nevada, Central Florida, and Bowling Green, Woodard said:
"I'm happy to come back home after two years away." (HSA)
About how he'll get his associate's degree at the end of this semester, Woodard said:
"I'll be there in May." (HSA)
About how he decided to go to UH, Kendrick Van Ackeren said:
"I decided to make my decision. I'm going to Hawaii." (HSA)
"I felt like Hawaii is the right place to be. The coaches were great. The players were awesome. I like the school and everything about it." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Van Ackeren said he had offers from UCLA and Idaho. Van Ackeren said he is 6-1 and 205 pounds. He can run 40 yards in 4.6 seconds, and bench press 270 pounds. He is projected to compete at weak-side linebacker at UH."
About switching from his commit to NMSU last week, 5'10", 185-pound Promise Amadi (who runs the 40 in 4.55 seconds) said:
"Coach Mack made a good impression on me. I'd love to play for him and Coach Rolo (offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich)." (HSA)
"I like the system a lot. And I like the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of some great Hawaii players." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Amadi is a senior at Chino High, which is former UH slotback Greg Salas' alma mater. Amadi said he will compete at slotback for the Warriors."
About his recruiting trip to UH, 6'1", 230-pound Justin Vele (who was OIA East Defensive Player of the Year and received offers from Washington, Colorado, and SDSU) said:
"I'm from here, so it was nice to experience the aloha spirit." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Vele said he "grew up with the Warriors," and that he is related to several former UH players. Among his relatives are Vince Manuwai of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Wayne Hunter of the New York Jets."
About how he constantly writes and wants to pursue a career in journalism, Vele said that the topic for his next story will be:
"The (recruiting) trip." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110124_Warriors_pick_up_4_recruits_including_3_defensive_players.html
» Chinedu Amadi, a slotback from Chino (Calif.) High who goes by his middle name, Promise, and
» Justin Vele, an all-state linebacker from Farrington High. Vele told the coaches he made a "soft commitment," and will solidify it Feb. 2, the first day recruits can sign national letters of intent.
Van Ackeren's commitment came a week after his visit. The other three players' commitments came at the completion of their UH recruiting trips.
About why he wants to play for UH, Tavita Woodard said:
"I wanted to come back home, basically, and be with the family." (HSA)
Note: DE/LB Woodard went to Kahuku as a freshman before transferring to McKinley and played for Eastern Arizona this year. He said that he's 6'4" and 255 pounds, runs the 40 in 4.64 seconds, has a bench press max of 335 pounds and can bench 225 pounds 25 times. He redshirted at Eastern Arizona and then played for them in 2010 (7.5 sacks), so he has 3 years to play 3 seasons for UH.
About turning down offers from Nebraska, Kansas State, Iowa State, Nevada, Central Florida, and Bowling Green, Woodard said:
"I'm happy to come back home after two years away." (HSA)
About how he'll get his associate's degree at the end of this semester, Woodard said:
"I'll be there in May." (HSA)
About how he decided to go to UH, Kendrick Van Ackeren said:
"I decided to make my decision. I'm going to Hawaii." (HSA)
"I felt like Hawaii is the right place to be. The coaches were great. The players were awesome. I like the school and everything about it." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Van Ackeren said he had offers from UCLA and Idaho. Van Ackeren said he is 6-1 and 205 pounds. He can run 40 yards in 4.6 seconds, and bench press 270 pounds. He is projected to compete at weak-side linebacker at UH."
About switching from his commit to NMSU last week, 5'10", 185-pound Promise Amadi (who runs the 40 in 4.55 seconds) said:
"Coach Mack made a good impression on me. I'd love to play for him and Coach Rolo (offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich)." (HSA)
"I like the system a lot. And I like the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of some great Hawaii players." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Amadi is a senior at Chino High, which is former UH slotback Greg Salas' alma mater. Amadi said he will compete at slotback for the Warriors."
About his recruiting trip to UH, 6'1", 230-pound Justin Vele (who was OIA East Defensive Player of the Year and received offers from Washington, Colorado, and SDSU) said:
"I'm from here, so it was nice to experience the aloha spirit." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Vele said he "grew up with the Warriors," and that he is related to several former UH players. Among his relatives are Vince Manuwai of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Wayne Hunter of the New York Jets."
About how he constantly writes and wants to pursue a career in journalism, Vele said that the topic for his next story will be:
"The (recruiting) trip." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110124_Warriors_pick_up_4_recruits_including_3_defensive_players.html
Sunday, January 23, 2011
LB Kendrick Van Ackeren committed to the Warriors!
About why he committed to UH, Kendrick Van Ackeren (Washington state 3A Player of the year who won three straight state championships with Bellevue) said:
"It felt right. The campus is solid, the program solid, and the weather can not be beat." (rivals.com)
Note: Van Ackeren said that UCLA kept telling him that they were going to offer him a scholarship, but they never did so.
Happy for Van Ackeren, Bellevue Assistant Coach Danny Razore said:
"The Warriors are getting a 3 time State Champ, a great leader, and an amazing young man. We are so happy for him." (rivals.com)
About how UH will use him at OLB, Van Ackeren said:
"I will be used as an outside linebacker in Hawaii's defensive scheme and that is fine with me. I will put on some good weight but I will be ready." (rivals.com)
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=1179653&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=
"It felt right. The campus is solid, the program solid, and the weather can not be beat." (rivals.com)
Note: Van Ackeren said that UCLA kept telling him that they were going to offer him a scholarship, but they never did so.
Happy for Van Ackeren, Bellevue Assistant Coach Danny Razore said:
"The Warriors are getting a 3 time State Champ, a great leader, and an amazing young man. We are so happy for him." (rivals.com)
About how UH will use him at OLB, Van Ackeren said:
"I will be used as an outside linebacker in Hawaii's defensive scheme and that is fine with me. I will put on some good weight but I will be ready." (rivals.com)
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/barrier_noentry.asp?ReturnTo=&sid=&script=content.asp&cid=1179653&fid=&tid=&mid=&rid=
Friday, January 21, 2011
UH football had $4.71 mil in ticket sales in 2010, up $200k from 2009 (thank you USC!)
HSA Note: "The Warriors' 10-3 regular-season finish in 2010 attracted $4.71 million from sales of home individual game and season tickets, up from $4.51 million in 2009, UH said. Premium fees were not included. It was the most since 2007, when the Warriors, who went 12-0 in the regular season, produced $5.84 million in ticket revenue on the way to a Bowl Championship Series loss to Georgia. This year UH averaged 33,835 through the turnstiles, compared with 32,519 in 2009 and 41,325 in 2007."
JD said that UH mad $200k more in ticket sales over 2009 because of:
"the USC game and the fact we had a long losing streak (six games) early in 2009 before rallying back." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The Warriors' season opener with then-nationally ranked Southern California and its new coach, Lane Kiffin, drew 41,766 to Aloha Stadium and produced net revenue of $1.1 million, according to UH. It was most of any home game in UH's history, helped by the attendance of an estimated 8,000-10,000 Trojans fans."
About how their revenue is down due to the economy, JD said:
"Although we're seeing positive signs (in the economy), it may be a while before we get back to where fans are attending more events." (HSA)
About how they might make a low 5-figure profit from the Hawaii Bowl (UH gets a $375k stipend from the WAC for the bowl and gets a bonus for selling tickets, paying its hotel/food/bonuses and other costs with that money) where they either broke even or lost money on previous non-BCS bowl games, JD said:
"Carl (associate athletic director Clapp) did an excellent job of keeping a handle on expenses for us." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110120_Warriors_catch_471M.html
JD said that UH mad $200k more in ticket sales over 2009 because of:
"the USC game and the fact we had a long losing streak (six games) early in 2009 before rallying back." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The Warriors' season opener with then-nationally ranked Southern California and its new coach, Lane Kiffin, drew 41,766 to Aloha Stadium and produced net revenue of $1.1 million, according to UH. It was most of any home game in UH's history, helped by the attendance of an estimated 8,000-10,000 Trojans fans."
About how their revenue is down due to the economy, JD said:
"Although we're seeing positive signs (in the economy), it may be a while before we get back to where fans are attending more events." (HSA)
About how they might make a low 5-figure profit from the Hawaii Bowl (UH gets a $375k stipend from the WAC for the bowl and gets a bonus for selling tickets, paying its hotel/food/bonuses and other costs with that money) where they either broke even or lost money on previous non-BCS bowl games, JD said:
"Carl (associate athletic director Clapp) did an excellent job of keeping a handle on expenses for us." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110120_Warriors_catch_471M.html
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Mack will get $40k in bonuses, Dave Shoji will get no bonus
HSA Note: "In the wake of a 10-4 season, McMackin's bonuses — $20,000 for winning a share of the Western Athletic Conference championship and $20,000 for taking UH to a non-Bowl Championship Series game, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl — are mandated by his contract."
About agreeing to having no bonus clauses when he signed his contract extension last year, UH Volleyball coach Dave Shoji said:
"I asked them for the higher base pay." (HSA)
About how his contract says that he'll only get a bonus if the Board of Regents approves one, if it is recommended by the AD, Shoji said:
"I'm not aware of any recommendation. I'm happy with my contract." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Shoji reportedly has an annual salary of approximately $175,000, while McMackin's contracted pay is $1.1 million, minus a 7 percent cut he began taking last year."
Declining to comment on head coach and assistant coaching bonuses, JD said:
"At this time I can't comment on pending issues." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The nine UH assistant football coaches are expected to receive slightly more than $9,000 each. UH policy says the amount of their bonuses is calculated "... by dividing the combined monthly salary of all assistant(s) by the total number of assistant coaches." Their total monthly salary totals about $82,000. Meanwhile, although Donovan qualifies for several bonuses based upon the performance of football and women's volleyball, under terms of his agreement he may not receive them until the athletic department is in the black or his contract is terminated. That language differs from the contract of his predecessor, under whom the nearly $10 million accumulated net deficit began."
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110119_McMackin_earns_bonus_for_WAC_title.html
About agreeing to having no bonus clauses when he signed his contract extension last year, UH Volleyball coach Dave Shoji said:
"I asked them for the higher base pay." (HSA)
About how his contract says that he'll only get a bonus if the Board of Regents approves one, if it is recommended by the AD, Shoji said:
"I'm not aware of any recommendation. I'm happy with my contract." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Shoji reportedly has an annual salary of approximately $175,000, while McMackin's contracted pay is $1.1 million, minus a 7 percent cut he began taking last year."
Declining to comment on head coach and assistant coaching bonuses, JD said:
"At this time I can't comment on pending issues." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The nine UH assistant football coaches are expected to receive slightly more than $9,000 each. UH policy says the amount of their bonuses is calculated "... by dividing the combined monthly salary of all assistant(s) by the total number of assistant coaches." Their total monthly salary totals about $82,000. Meanwhile, although Donovan qualifies for several bonuses based upon the performance of football and women's volleyball, under terms of his agreement he may not receive them until the athletic department is in the black or his contract is terminated. That language differs from the contract of his predecessor, under whom the nearly $10 million accumulated net deficit began."
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110119_McMackin_earns_bonus_for_WAC_title.html
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ijumaa Armstrong committed to the Warriors
About his commitment to UH, Ijumaa Armstrong said:
"I just love it out there - the coaches, the people, the atmosphere, everything. The coaches are very welcoming. You feel you're part of something special down there." (HSA)
"I love the coaches and the program. I really like Coach (Brian) Smith, Coach (Rich) Miano and Coach (Greg McMackin)." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Armstrong said he is 5 feet 11 and 180 pounds. He said he ran 40 yards in 4.48 seconds during a Culver City combine, and is capable of bench-pressing 275 pounds. He played receiver and cornerback at Culver City, but projects to compete at cornerback, safety or quarter (nickelback) for the Warriors."
About how he began skateboarding in the 7th grade, Armstrong said:
"I picked up a board one day, and started cruising. One day , I jumped on it, and figured out I could do tricks." (HSA)
About how he hikes difficult trails such as in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, Armstrong said:
"I like the challenge. People say they're afraid of heights. I was scared of heights when I was young. Hiking is a way to conquer that fear. I like challenges." (HSA)
About going surfing with Rich Miano during his recruiting visit, Armstrong said:
"I was kind of scared at first. I went out there, and I fell a couple of times. I got the hang of it. Then I was riding the wave. It was a lot of fun. They took a couple of photos. I can't wait to try again." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110118_Defensive_back_coming_to_UH.html
"I just love it out there - the coaches, the people, the atmosphere, everything. The coaches are very welcoming. You feel you're part of something special down there." (HSA)
"I love the coaches and the program. I really like Coach (Brian) Smith, Coach (Rich) Miano and Coach (Greg McMackin)." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Armstrong said he is 5 feet 11 and 180 pounds. He said he ran 40 yards in 4.48 seconds during a Culver City combine, and is capable of bench-pressing 275 pounds. He played receiver and cornerback at Culver City, but projects to compete at cornerback, safety or quarter (nickelback) for the Warriors."
About how he began skateboarding in the 7th grade, Armstrong said:
"I picked up a board one day, and started cruising. One day , I jumped on it, and figured out I could do tricks." (HSA)
About how he hikes difficult trails such as in the Santa Monica Mountains and the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, Armstrong said:
"I like the challenge. People say they're afraid of heights. I was scared of heights when I was young. Hiking is a way to conquer that fear. I like challenges." (HSA)
About going surfing with Rich Miano during his recruiting visit, Armstrong said:
"I was kind of scared at first. I went out there, and I fell a couple of times. I got the hang of it. Then I was riding the wave. It was a lot of fun. They took a couple of photos. I can't wait to try again." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110118_Defensive_back_coming_to_UH.html
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Chad Owens is negotiating with the Jets but might stay in the CFL with Toronto
TS = Toronto Star
TS Note: "Richard Burnoski, agent for the 28-year-old Hawaiian, told the Star that after tryouts with four National Football League teams he is negotiating with the Jets. The other teams were the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
About how he thinks that Chad will stay in Toronto, GM and head coach Jim Barker said:
"That's going to run its course and Chad is going to do what's best for him and his family. He loves Toronto, loves being an Argonaut, but this is the reality of what we're in. Chad has told me that unless the upfront money is real strong, he's staying here. . . . I still think there's a good chance he'll be an Argonaut for the rest of his career." (TS)
TS Note: "The lure of a $325,000 U.S. minimum salary — compared with the CFL's average $60,000 Canadian — still might entice players who are willing to take the chance."
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/920759--chad-owens-in-talks-with-new-york-jets
TS Note: "Richard Burnoski, agent for the 28-year-old Hawaiian, told the Star that after tryouts with four National Football League teams he is negotiating with the Jets. The other teams were the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers."
About how he thinks that Chad will stay in Toronto, GM and head coach Jim Barker said:
"That's going to run its course and Chad is going to do what's best for him and his family. He loves Toronto, loves being an Argonaut, but this is the reality of what we're in. Chad has told me that unless the upfront money is real strong, he's staying here. . . . I still think there's a good chance he'll be an Argonaut for the rest of his career." (TS)
TS Note: "The lure of a $325,000 U.S. minimum salary — compared with the CFL's average $60,000 Canadian — still might entice players who are willing to take the chance."
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/920759--chad-owens-in-talks-with-new-york-jets
Monday, January 10, 2011
Colt Brennan has no memory of the November 19 auto accident that he was injured in
About how he has recovered from his injuries and may start training again as early as next week, Colt Brennan said:
"I'm doing fine. Right now all of my thoughts and prayers are out to (Wang) and her family." (HSA)
Colt said that he has no memory of the accident, but just "woke up" in Queen's Hospital a few days after clavicle surgery and learned that :
"my life had changed. The doctors said, 'It's a good thing you don't remember much. You don't have to relive it.'" (HSA)
About how pictures and other people's statements have taught him about his accident, Colt said:
"I saw some pictures of the (accident), but I have no vivid memory. I've had to learn through other people's accounts or seeing random photos. ... I've had to learn from other people how serious the situation was." (HSA)
About how he was lucky that he was not injured more severely, Colt said:
"Of all the things that happened, from head to toe ... I'm lucky. I'm lucky I had what I had." (HSA)
About how he received excellent medical care, Colt said:
"I want to thank the doctors and paramedics and nurses. They were great to me." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110110_Brennan_recovers_from_crash_injuries.html
"I'm doing fine. Right now all of my thoughts and prayers are out to (Wang) and her family." (HSA)
Colt said that he has no memory of the accident, but just "woke up" in Queen's Hospital a few days after clavicle surgery and learned that :
"my life had changed. The doctors said, 'It's a good thing you don't remember much. You don't have to relive it.'" (HSA)
About how pictures and other people's statements have taught him about his accident, Colt said:
"I saw some pictures of the (accident), but I have no vivid memory. I've had to learn through other people's accounts or seeing random photos. ... I've had to learn from other people how serious the situation was." (HSA)
About how he was lucky that he was not injured more severely, Colt said:
"Of all the things that happened, from head to toe ... I'm lucky. I'm lucky I had what I had." (HSA)
About how he received excellent medical care, Colt said:
"I want to thank the doctors and paramedics and nurses. They were great to me." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/hawaiinews/20110110_Brennan_recovers_from_crash_injuries.html
Saturday, January 8, 2011
CB Brian Clay Jr. commits to the Warriors! Green and Letuli will play in the East-West Shrine Game
About why he picked UH, Brian Clay Jr. (who took a recruiting trip to UH in early December) said:
"I love the family atmosphere there. That's important because it's so far away from home." (HSA)
"Hawaii is going to win a lot of games. It's going in the right direction. I want to be a part of that." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Clay said he is 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, and can run 40 yards in 4.59 seconds. He is projected to compete as a cornerback and on special teams. Scouts liken Clay to UH freshman John Hardy-Tuliau. Clay will put his commitment in writing Feb. 2, the first day recruits may sign binding national letters of intent. He will turn down offers from Army, Air Force, Colorado State, San Diego State, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Jose State and Utah State. His father played for Fresno State, and now is an agent representing football and baseball players."
About why he works for a car wash, Clay said:
"I don't like to rely on my family for money. They already do a lot for me." (HSA)
About how people often ask him if he's related to the gold-medal-winning decathlete of the same name, Clay said:
"It's pretty good that people think that. He's one of the world's greatest athletes." (HSA)
About Alex Green and Laupepa Letuli being invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game, Rich Miano said:
"It's huge for them. And it's good for our program. It gives Hawaii exposure." (HSA)
About how Letuli will play tackle in the game even though the NFL scouts project him as a guard, Letuli's agent Leo Goeas said:
"This will help him more. It's much easier to move inside (from tackle to guard) than to play tackle." (HSA)
About how he hopes to impress in the East-West Shrine game because he was injured throughout his UH career, Letuli said:
"The whole time I've been (at UH), I've been hurt. Hopefully, I can start doing something in the Shrine game." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110108_Cornerback_Brian_Clay_commits_to_Warriors.html
"I love the family atmosphere there. That's important because it's so far away from home." (HSA)
"Hawaii is going to win a lot of games. It's going in the right direction. I want to be a part of that." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Clay said he is 6 feet 1, 185 pounds, and can run 40 yards in 4.59 seconds. He is projected to compete as a cornerback and on special teams. Scouts liken Clay to UH freshman John Hardy-Tuliau. Clay will put his commitment in writing Feb. 2, the first day recruits may sign binding national letters of intent. He will turn down offers from Army, Air Force, Colorado State, San Diego State, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Jose State and Utah State. His father played for Fresno State, and now is an agent representing football and baseball players."
About why he works for a car wash, Clay said:
"I don't like to rely on my family for money. They already do a lot for me." (HSA)
About how people often ask him if he's related to the gold-medal-winning decathlete of the same name, Clay said:
"It's pretty good that people think that. He's one of the world's greatest athletes." (HSA)
About Alex Green and Laupepa Letuli being invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game, Rich Miano said:
"It's huge for them. And it's good for our program. It gives Hawaii exposure." (HSA)
About how Letuli will play tackle in the game even though the NFL scouts project him as a guard, Letuli's agent Leo Goeas said:
"This will help him more. It's much easier to move inside (from tackle to guard) than to play tackle." (HSA)
About how he hopes to impress in the East-West Shrine game because he was injured throughout his UH career, Letuli said:
"The whole time I've been (at UH), I've been hurt. Hopefully, I can start doing something in the Shrine game." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110108_Cornerback_Brian_Clay_commits_to_Warriors.html
Sunday, January 2, 2011
UH and Washington are trying to get Baldwin kicker Ceejay Santos to walk-on
MN = Maui News
About being named the MIL Utility Player of the Year, the first time they gave out that award, Baldwin's Ceejay Santos said:
"It makes me feel good that we have such a good team that gives me opportunities like that. To make things work when people need me." (MN)
MN Note: "A first-team all-state selection by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as a placekicker, he matched a league record he set as a sophomore with a 51-yard field goal, later broke it with a 53-yarder and was 8-for-8 on field goals overall in 11 games this season, with four of 50 yards or more. One of three senior wide receivers for the Bears, he also caught 15 passes in MIL play for four touchdowns and returned kickoffs, including a 99-yarder for a touchdown against San Clemente, Calif., in a preseason game.
Santos played defensive back in some key situations, punted at times and routinely sailed kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks."
About how UH and Washington are both trying to get him to walk-on, Santos said:
"I am still talking with a few other coaches, but those are the top two. They want me to walk on and try to earn a scholarship. I have until signing day (in February) but there are a few more schools that are going to offer. I have to decide whether I want to stay at home and be part of Hawaii and play or take a better offer and go somewhere not as close to home." (MN)
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/544608/The-Maui-News-MIL-Football-All-Stars--League-champs-recognized.html?nav=11
About being named the MIL Utility Player of the Year, the first time they gave out that award, Baldwin's Ceejay Santos said:
"It makes me feel good that we have such a good team that gives me opportunities like that. To make things work when people need me." (MN)
MN Note: "A first-team all-state selection by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as a placekicker, he matched a league record he set as a sophomore with a 51-yard field goal, later broke it with a 53-yarder and was 8-for-8 on field goals overall in 11 games this season, with four of 50 yards or more. One of three senior wide receivers for the Bears, he also caught 15 passes in MIL play for four touchdowns and returned kickoffs, including a 99-yarder for a touchdown against San Clemente, Calif., in a preseason game.
Santos played defensive back in some key situations, punted at times and routinely sailed kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks."
About how UH and Washington are both trying to get him to walk-on, Santos said:
"I am still talking with a few other coaches, but those are the top two. They want me to walk on and try to earn a scholarship. I have until signing day (in February) but there are a few more schools that are going to offer. I have to decide whether I want to stay at home and be part of Hawaii and play or take a better offer and go somewhere not as close to home." (MN)
http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/544608/The-Maui-News-MIL-Football-All-Stars--League-champs-recognized.html?nav=11
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Greg Salas, Kealoha Pilares and Alex Green have been invited to the NFL Combine!
About being invited to the NFL Combine, Greg Salas said:
"I'm excited and honored. I always watched (the combine) as a kid in high school. To be invited, and take part, is exciting." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The combine, held in Indianapolis from Feb. 23 through March 1, invites the top 300 NFL prospects."
About how each NFL team will send up to 50 people to the combine to interview, evaluate and test the draft prospects, Salas' agent Kenny Zuckerman said:
"Owners, general managers, scouts, coaches -- everyone involved in the decision process -- will be there." (HSA)
About preparing for the combine and the other draft events, Salas said:
"It's a fun time. I'm focusing 100 percent on training and football." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Beginning Monday, Salas and Green will train at the Athletes' Performance facility in the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. They will be roommates in an extended-stay hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Salas will play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 29 in Mobile, Ala. Green will play in the Feb. 5 NFL Players Game (previously known as the Texas vs. The Nation bowl) in San Antonio's Alamodome."
About how he will lift weights at the combine but probably won't run the 40-yard dash until UH's Pro Day in early April, Kealoha Pilares said:
"You want to be smart about this." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110101_Combine_calls_for_3_Warriors.html
"I'm excited and honored. I always watched (the combine) as a kid in high school. To be invited, and take part, is exciting." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The combine, held in Indianapolis from Feb. 23 through March 1, invites the top 300 NFL prospects."
About how each NFL team will send up to 50 people to the combine to interview, evaluate and test the draft prospects, Salas' agent Kenny Zuckerman said:
"Owners, general managers, scouts, coaches -- everyone involved in the decision process -- will be there." (HSA)
About preparing for the combine and the other draft events, Salas said:
"It's a fun time. I'm focusing 100 percent on training and football." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Beginning Monday, Salas and Green will train at the Athletes' Performance facility in the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. They will be roommates in an extended-stay hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Salas will play in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 29 in Mobile, Ala. Green will play in the Feb. 5 NFL Players Game (previously known as the Texas vs. The Nation bowl) in San Antonio's Alamodome."
About how he will lift weights at the combine but probably won't run the 40-yard dash until UH's Pro Day in early April, Kealoha Pilares said:
"You want to be smart about this." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110101_Combine_calls_for_3_Warriors.html
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Feature article on Alex Green
About accepting an invitation to play in the Texas vs. The Nation All-Star football game on February 5, Alex Green said:
"I'm looking forward to it." (HSA)
About leaving his home on Sunday to begin training at the Home Depot Center on Monday, Green said:
"I'll be roommates with Greg Salas." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Salas' agent, Kenny Zuckerman, and Hoffman are friends. They have arranged for Green and Salas to live together in an extended-stay hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif., while they train."
Looking forward to trying to earn a spot in pro football, Green said:
"I'm ready to get things rolling, and start a new chapter in my life." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101230_Green_invited_to_NFL_combine.html
"I'm looking forward to it." (HSA)
About leaving his home on Sunday to begin training at the Home Depot Center on Monday, Green said:
"I'll be roommates with Greg Salas." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Salas' agent, Kenny Zuckerman, and Hoffman are friends. They have arranged for Green and Salas to live together in an extended-stay hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif., while they train."
Looking forward to trying to earn a spot in pro football, Green said:
"I'm ready to get things rolling, and start a new chapter in my life." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101230_Green_invited_to_NFL_combine.html
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Greg Salas chose Kenny Zuckerman for his agent
About selecting Kenny Zuckerman to be his agent, Greg Salas said:
"I'm impressed with the people he represents, and I felt really comfortable with him." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Zuckerman also represents former UH players Davone Bess of the Miami Dolphins, Ryan Mouton of the Tennessee Titans, Isaac Sopoaga of the San Francisco 49ers, Wayne Hunter and Brashton Satele of the New York Jets, and David Veikune of the Denver Broncos."
Praising Greg Salas, Zuckerman said:
"Greg has the 'it' factor. Most Hawaii players don't get on the scene until the postseason. Having the stage at the Senior Bowl is going to be really big." (HSA)
About how Salas will impress NFL scouts, Zuckerman said:
"I like his competitive nature. After he dropped a punt (in the Hawaii Bowl), he tried to put the team on his back. He felt very obligated to pull them back into the game. He's a winner. He's extremely coachable and extremely grounded. I expect big things from the guy at the next level." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101229_Salas_chooses_agent_Zuckerman.html
"I'm impressed with the people he represents, and I felt really comfortable with him." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Zuckerman also represents former UH players Davone Bess of the Miami Dolphins, Ryan Mouton of the Tennessee Titans, Isaac Sopoaga of the San Francisco 49ers, Wayne Hunter and Brashton Satele of the New York Jets, and David Veikune of the Denver Broncos."
Praising Greg Salas, Zuckerman said:
"Greg has the 'it' factor. Most Hawaii players don't get on the scene until the postseason. Having the stage at the Senior Bowl is going to be really big." (HSA)
About how Salas will impress NFL scouts, Zuckerman said:
"I like his competitive nature. After he dropped a punt (in the Hawaii Bowl), he tried to put the team on his back. He felt very obligated to pull them back into the game. He's a winner. He's extremely coachable and extremely grounded. I expect big things from the guy at the next level." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101229_Salas_chooses_agent_Zuckerman.html
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
UH projects travel subsidies between $1.1 million and $1.2 million for the MWC/Big West conferences in 2012
About how the $1.1 million to $1.2 million they project for annual travel subsidies when they join the MWC and Big West in 2012, but it could be made up by reduced travel costs, improved rights fees, and improved ticket sales, JD said:
"It could be a wash." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Terms call for UH to pay a maximum of $150,000-$175,000 for each of the four MWC football opponents who come to Aloha Stadium, depending upon which time zones they come from. Meanwhile, UH will pay approximately $500 per person for Big West teams in men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, women's volleyball, soccer and water polo and other sports to come here."
HSA Note: "Until the WAC expanded to 16 teams, for example, UH paid for 65 roundtrip tickets from the West Coast for conference football opponents and 18 in men's basketball and other sports provided they did not make use of the so-called "Hawaii Exemption," an NCAA policy that permitted an extra contest. The mounting cost of unreimbursed travel to Hawaii was one reason cited for not including UH when the MWC was formed in 1999 by eight renegade members from the old WAC -- Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming. In the Big West, opponents received a flat $4,500 per team for women's volleyball, basketball and softball teams. A Big West request for enhanced travel subsidies in 1991 helped put UH on the road to the WAC in women's sports."
HSA Note: "For MWC football teams, the numbers are set to approximate the cost of a charter flight for a travel party of up to 130 people. The roster limit for MWC football travel squads is 64 players, with the remainder made up of coaches, support staff, broadcasters and officials. MWC opponents from the Pacific Time Zone -- Fresno State, Nevada, UNLV and San Diego State -- would have the $150,000 ceiling, while foes from the Mountain or Central time zones would receive up to $175,000, according to an agreement in principle. If UH can demonstrate a cheaper fare, it can negotiate a lower cost. UH has offered opponents in both the MWC and Big West an option to book travel themselves under the agreed-upon ceilings or to have UH book it for them though a designated travel agency, assuming responsibility for the cost."
About how some of their schools will take the option to have UH book their travel through a designated travel agency, with UH taking responsibility for the cost, Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said:
"There are probably a pretty good number that will opt for the Hawaii booking option." (HSA)
HSA Note: "UH paid nearly $100,000 in airfare to bring USC here for the 2010 season and will pay nearly $150,000 to bring Tulane in from New Orleans for a nonconference game in 2011.:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101228_Travel_tab_may_top_1M.html
"It could be a wash." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Terms call for UH to pay a maximum of $150,000-$175,000 for each of the four MWC football opponents who come to Aloha Stadium, depending upon which time zones they come from. Meanwhile, UH will pay approximately $500 per person for Big West teams in men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, women's volleyball, soccer and water polo and other sports to come here."
HSA Note: "Until the WAC expanded to 16 teams, for example, UH paid for 65 roundtrip tickets from the West Coast for conference football opponents and 18 in men's basketball and other sports provided they did not make use of the so-called "Hawaii Exemption," an NCAA policy that permitted an extra contest. The mounting cost of unreimbursed travel to Hawaii was one reason cited for not including UH when the MWC was formed in 1999 by eight renegade members from the old WAC -- Air Force, Brigham Young, Colorado State, New Mexico, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State, Utah and Wyoming. In the Big West, opponents received a flat $4,500 per team for women's volleyball, basketball and softball teams. A Big West request for enhanced travel subsidies in 1991 helped put UH on the road to the WAC in women's sports."
HSA Note: "For MWC football teams, the numbers are set to approximate the cost of a charter flight for a travel party of up to 130 people. The roster limit for MWC football travel squads is 64 players, with the remainder made up of coaches, support staff, broadcasters and officials. MWC opponents from the Pacific Time Zone -- Fresno State, Nevada, UNLV and San Diego State -- would have the $150,000 ceiling, while foes from the Mountain or Central time zones would receive up to $175,000, according to an agreement in principle. If UH can demonstrate a cheaper fare, it can negotiate a lower cost. UH has offered opponents in both the MWC and Big West an option to book travel themselves under the agreed-upon ceilings or to have UH book it for them though a designated travel agency, assuming responsibility for the cost."
About how some of their schools will take the option to have UH book their travel through a designated travel agency, with UH taking responsibility for the cost, Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said:
"There are probably a pretty good number that will opt for the Hawaii booking option." (HSA)
HSA Note: "UH paid nearly $100,000 in airfare to bring USC here for the 2010 season and will pay nearly $150,000 to bring Tulane in from New Orleans for a nonconference game in 2011.:
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101228_Travel_tab_may_top_1M.html
Monday, December 27, 2010
MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson says that football-only UH is a win-win for UH and the MWC
Happy about having UH as a football-only member, Craig Thompson said:
"I think it (Hawaii as a football-only member) is a win-win for everybody. I'm very excited about his model." (HSA)
Asked if he's been to Hawaii, Thompson said:
"Once, when my alma mater (Minnesota) played Hawaii and got beat (17-3 in 1997). I remember ... driving back from the stadium to the hotel everybody was talking about Princess Diana had died." (HSA)
Asked if he was surprised to be approached with a football-only offer from UH, Thompson said:
"I don't know that I was expecting it, but I was not surprised. I thought it made a lot of sense. I had conversations on several occasions with Jim (Donovan, UH athletic director) and Dennis (Farrell, Big West Conference commissioner). And I thought it was a very workable model." (HSA)
Asked if he's surprised with how quickly things came together, Thompson said
"No, I'm not (surprised), not anymore. I think if I've learned one thing -- and I've been in conference offices since 1983 -- is this was the strangest six months in my previous 27 years. Nothing surprises me (now). Geography seems to be somewhat out the window. But geography plays such a huge part of the University of Hawaii just because the islands aren't going to get any closer to the mainland and vice versa." (HSA)
Asked what he considered the MWC footprint, Thompson said:
"I would think Texas is the extreme from the eastern front. I think geography plays more of a role in the MWC than maybe it does in other leagues because there is such a vast difference. There is a long way, in some regards, from here to there." (HSA)
Asked if Houston and UTEP are being looked at or considered for expansion, Thompson said:
"I don't think there is anybody that has been targeted at this juncture, but certainly institutions in Texas are of interest." (HSA)
Asked how the MWC has changed over the past decade, Thompson said:
"I think the biggest change has been in the principals. We've had, I'm guessing, 25 athletic directors, 25 board of directors over the eight or nine schools in that time frame. That's a lot of turnover. That's a lot of change. The philosophies are different.
I'll give you an example: In 2004, eight presidents said willingly and knowingly, leave ESPN because we don't want to play basketball games at 10 at night or 10 o'clock on Sunday morning or, certainly not on Tuesday and Wednesdays. And, now there are some people in the league that said, "you know it might be worth looking at non-Saturdays," which is a big departure. Ninety-five percent of our football games are on Saturday. Ninety-five percent of our football games are televised. But because not everybody who wants to see those games can see those games, the trade-off is playing on a network that is seen by 100 million but playing a football game on a Tuesday night which is just a nonstarter. When it is Oct. 1 and 6 o'clock and the sun goes down it is cold here. People aren't going to go to a football game on a Tuesday night in the Mountain West." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20101227_Strangest_6_months.html
"I think it (Hawaii as a football-only member) is a win-win for everybody. I'm very excited about his model." (HSA)
Asked if he's been to Hawaii, Thompson said:
"Once, when my alma mater (Minnesota) played Hawaii and got beat (17-3 in 1997). I remember ... driving back from the stadium to the hotel everybody was talking about Princess Diana had died." (HSA)
Asked if he was surprised to be approached with a football-only offer from UH, Thompson said:
"I don't know that I was expecting it, but I was not surprised. I thought it made a lot of sense. I had conversations on several occasions with Jim (Donovan, UH athletic director) and Dennis (Farrell, Big West Conference commissioner). And I thought it was a very workable model." (HSA)
Asked if he's surprised with how quickly things came together, Thompson said
"No, I'm not (surprised), not anymore. I think if I've learned one thing -- and I've been in conference offices since 1983 -- is this was the strangest six months in my previous 27 years. Nothing surprises me (now). Geography seems to be somewhat out the window. But geography plays such a huge part of the University of Hawaii just because the islands aren't going to get any closer to the mainland and vice versa." (HSA)
Asked what he considered the MWC footprint, Thompson said:
"I would think Texas is the extreme from the eastern front. I think geography plays more of a role in the MWC than maybe it does in other leagues because there is such a vast difference. There is a long way, in some regards, from here to there." (HSA)
Asked if Houston and UTEP are being looked at or considered for expansion, Thompson said:
"I don't think there is anybody that has been targeted at this juncture, but certainly institutions in Texas are of interest." (HSA)
Asked how the MWC has changed over the past decade, Thompson said:
"I think the biggest change has been in the principals. We've had, I'm guessing, 25 athletic directors, 25 board of directors over the eight or nine schools in that time frame. That's a lot of turnover. That's a lot of change. The philosophies are different.
I'll give you an example: In 2004, eight presidents said willingly and knowingly, leave ESPN because we don't want to play basketball games at 10 at night or 10 o'clock on Sunday morning or, certainly not on Tuesday and Wednesdays. And, now there are some people in the league that said, "you know it might be worth looking at non-Saturdays," which is a big departure. Ninety-five percent of our football games are on Saturday. Ninety-five percent of our football games are televised. But because not everybody who wants to see those games can see those games, the trade-off is playing on a network that is seen by 100 million but playing a football game on a Tuesday night which is just a nonstarter. When it is Oct. 1 and 6 o'clock and the sun goes down it is cold here. People aren't going to go to a football game on a Tuesday night in the Mountain West." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20101227_Strangest_6_months.html
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Warrior Quotes from the Star-Advertiser 12/26/10
About how his knee injury changed his plans to prepare for the NFL draft after the season, Kealoha Pilares said:
"Everything changes with this." (HSA)
"If I didn't have this, I'd start training. Now I'll probably have rehab, stuff I wasn't planning on." (HSA)
About how their struggles in the Hawaii Bowl will motivate them to work hard during the offseason, Bryant Moniz said:
"It was frustrating. It's going to make us work harder in the offseason." (HSA)
About how they have a lot of talented players to replace those who have just finished their Warrior careers, Greg Salas said:
"There's a lot of talent." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Salas returned to his home in California yesterday. He said he will choose an agent this week, then begin preparing for the Senior Bowl in January."
About his career at UH, Salas said:
"I had a great time in Hawaii. I want to thank everybody." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101226_pilares_warriors_regroup_for_future.html
"Everything changes with this." (HSA)
"If I didn't have this, I'd start training. Now I'll probably have rehab, stuff I wasn't planning on." (HSA)
About how their struggles in the Hawaii Bowl will motivate them to work hard during the offseason, Bryant Moniz said:
"It was frustrating. It's going to make us work harder in the offseason." (HSA)
About how they have a lot of talented players to replace those who have just finished their Warrior careers, Greg Salas said:
"There's a lot of talent." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Salas returned to his home in California yesterday. He said he will choose an agent this week, then begin preparing for the Senior Bowl in January."
About his career at UH, Salas said:
"I had a great time in Hawaii. I want to thank everybody." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101226_pilares_warriors_regroup_for_future.html
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Quotes from the UH-Tulsa Hawaii Bowl, 12/24/10
AP = Associated Press
UH = University of Hawaii website
TW = Tulsa World
HSA = Honolulu Star-Advertiser
ESPN = ESPN.com
------------------------ Quotes from the UH coaches --------------------------
About how he felt that their special teams did a great job at limiting the damage from Demaris Johnson, Mack said:
"I thought our kickoff team and our punt team did a good job of minimizing his (Demaris Johnson) ability. He's a great player, one of the best in the country, but he made some big plays to hurt us. He's fast, he out-ran some of our guys and out-quicked some of our guys." (UH)
About how they accomplished a lot this season, Mack said:
"We've accomplished a lot of things this year. We've won a championship, we've won 10 games which has happened only 4 or 5 times in the history of the school. We've had some good times playing football, tonight wasn't necessarily one of those. One of our goals was to get 11 wins and remain in the Top 25 but obviously today we're not going to get that. Up until today, everything's been pretty good." (UH)
Giving credit to Tulsa, Mack said:
"I thought their quarterback was outstanding, he threw some great balls. I think they have a good football team." (UH)
"Give credit to Tulsa. They flat did a good job of beating us." (UH)
"You're not going to win a game if you turn the ball over six times. Give credit to Tulsa. They did a good job. They have good players and they have good speed. They ran by us a couple times — more than a couple times." (AP)
About how he felt sorry for their seniors and how their defense played well in the first half, Offensive Coordinator Nick Rolovich (Rolo) said:
"We wanted to start fast and be mistake free and felt if we took care of the football we'd have a very good chance in this game. Defense played great in the first half, it should have been a different game. I feel sorry for the seniors who had to go out like this." (HSA)
About how losing Pilares hurt their offense, Rolo said:
"He gets the majority of the reps, and he and Salas have a good relationship, and he and Moniz have a good relationship." (HSA)
About how they tried to get their defense to not be too aggressive in this game, to avoid how the defense struggled against their biggest competition (USC, BSU, Colorado), Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda said:
"We made a big point not to say it was a big game, looked at it as another game. I think there was some pressing going on that doesn't need to be pressed." (HSA)
About how Tulsa scored in 2 plays in each of their first 3 drives after halftime, Aranda said:
"All those plays, the first three series (of the second half) however many plays they had, I think six, seven, eight were gadget plays. They felt they needed to score quickly, they needed to score now. So they went to their top 100 gadget plays, and they reeled them off. All those things are defendable, but we've got to defend it as a team and, like I said, I take responsibility for. I should have made a bigger point at halftime how we got to this point, by playing team defense, and we should've finished playing that way." (HSA)
About how they only gave up 95 yards to Tulsa's offense in the first half but gave up 436 yards in the second half, Rich Miano said:
"We handled their speed in the first half. In the third quarter, they had three momentum plays when our offense was starting to get back into the groove. We needed to make a stop, and we didn't. That's the frustrating thing." (HSA)
------------------------ Quotes from the UH players ---------------------------
About how Tulsa was successful at getting interceptions, Bryant Moniz said:
"They had good pressure and were jumping all our routes. They jumped a lot of the short stuff, and it gave them a lot of points." (ESPN)
"They got good pressure up front and they studied real hard and knew our route. They jumped all our routes." (HSA)
"Terrible performance in our last game. They had good pressure up front. They studied really hard in those four weeks that they had to prepare. It seemed like they were jumping all of our routes, so in the second half we went a little more deep." (AP)
About how Tulsa alternated between man and 4-deep zone defenses and defended UH's routes, not the receivers, Moniz said:
"They were on all of our routes. They were cutting it. They knew our offense. They made some great plays. They were getting good pressure up front. They were jumping the lanes. I wasn't able to read them." (HSA)
About how this loss will linger during the offseason, Moniz said:
"This will sit in our stomach for a while." (HSA)
About how he suffered a hip pointer on a second-quarter sack and had to be kept out of 2 series and played in discomfort the rest of the game, Moniz said:
"I was trying to stretch on the sidelines, anything to get my hip loose." (HSA)
About his four first-half interceptions, Moniz said:
"Everything bad that could have went on, went on in that first half. It's a tough one to swallow, but I'm just going to go home tomorrow spend some time with my family on Christmas and try to enjoy the holidays a little bit and get back to work." (HSA)
About how he had a pass intercepted and returned for a TD when he was hit while trying to throw it out of bonds, Shane Austin said:
"I was trying to throw it away. I think I had Salas up the seam, but I lost sight of him, and moved on. I tried to throw it out of bounds, but I didn't get enough on it. Their guy was in my face. But I have to do better. This one was on me. That's the way it goes sometimes." (HSA)
About how they made too many mistakes, Greg Salas said:
"We just shot ourselves in the foot. We had way too many turnovers, and it cost us. We turned the ball over in key situations. It just goes to show you that the team with the most yards doesn't always win." (ESPN)
"We had way too many turnovers, and it cost us. We turned the ball over in key situations. It just goes to show you that the team with the most yards doesn't always win." (AP)
About how it is tough to lose their final game of the season, Salas said:
"Losing that last game is tough. We wanted to go out with a win, and be the team to be remembered. We didn't get it." (HSA)
"Right now I just have to get this taste out of my mouth with this loss. But I'm sure I'll look back on it and be happy with what I did here and what I was able to accomplish and all of my teammates and coaches putting me in position to do that." (HSA)
About how Kealoha Pilares suffered an injured left knee on a 0-yard punt return before their first drive on offense and was lost for the game, Salas said:
"We definitely missed Kealoha. He's a big part of our offense. He's an explosive playmaker. He's done it all season. It affected our chemistry." (HSA)
"I felt bad for him that he had to miss his last game here. We were looking forward to this all week. We were roommates the entire season and had real good chemistry on the field and off the field. And I just feel bad for him that he didn't get to finish out his last game." (HSA)
About suffering an injured knee in his final UH game before their offense even took the field, Kealoha Pilares said:
"It just sucks how I ended in my last game. But I just have to stay positive and just have to remember things happen for a reason. I know God has something planned for me. I just have to try to stay positive." (HSA)
About how they missed Pilares and Bradley, Royce Pollard said:
"I felt we were a unit with them. Nothing against the guys stepping in, but it's a rhythm we had. We didn't execute, and we needed to execute more. There were pieces that were missing." (HSA)
About catching 2 passses for 72 yards, including a 54-yard reception to the 1-yard-line to set up a TD, Miah Ostrowski (who replaced the injured Dustin Blount who replaced the injured Pilares) said:
"I was ready, I could have done a few things better on my route running to open somebody up. It's a bowl game and everybody has to step up." (HSA)
About their struggles on defense in the second half, Corey Paredes said:
"It was a weird game. It's hard to explain what happened. We came up short. The defense kicked in the first half, and then was kicked in the second half." (HSA)
About how Tulsa saw how aggressive they were and made adjustments at halftime to take advantage of that, Jeramy Bryant said:
"I guess they saw how aggressive we were on defense, and started doing a lot of play-action. Started opening things up, draw people out of their quarters. Guys sitting on routes, guys coming up ... and dumping off. And that was the story of the second half. Play-action." (HSA)
About how they missed too many assignments on defense in the second half, Aaron Brown said:
"They have a lot of explosive athletes. We contained them the first half, we let them get away from us the second half by missed assignments, and look what happened — they gashed us." (HSA)
About ending his UH career 105-for-105 on PATs and breaking the UH single-season record for PATs with 71 and the total points in a season with 122, Scott Enos said:
"I gotta give a lot of credit to my offense and defense both for giving me the opportunity to do what I did. It was tough losing the last game, but you know what, I'm so proud of these guys, I feel special relationships with all these guys. I'll never forget it. It's great." (HSA)
----------------------- Quotes from the Tulsa coaches -----------------------
Proud of their players, Tulsa head coach Jeff Graham said:
"I am extremely proud of players today, this team did a great job of preparing. They're truly champions on and off the field. It was a spectacular day—the takeaways defensively were unbelievable, and what an exciting football game to watch." (UH)
About how they exploded on offense in the second half, Graham said:
"We came back out and had some unbelievably explosive plays in the second half—it was a tremendous game for us beating a ranked team very soundly and hopefully I believe we should be in the Top 25." (UH)
About getting 10 wins in 3 of their last 4 seasons, Graham said:
"We have 10 wins for three of the last four years and we've been in three bowls in the last four years. I'm very proud of our guys and what we've been able to accomplish this year." (UH)
Feeling that they dominated both sides of the football in this physical game, Graham said:
"It was very physical today and I think that was the key—we impacted their quarterback and got after it on both sides of the ball. I thought we dominated both sides of the football and we had some special players make some brilliant plays." (UH)
"We were very, very physical today, I thought that was the key. I thought we dominated both sides of the football." (ESPN)
About how the Hawaii Bowl is the best bowl game he's been to over his 26 years of coaching, Graham said:
"We are a very close football team and I'm very proud of them and I'm very, very honored to come to Hawai`i. I've been to a lot of Bowl games over 26 years of coaching and this is the finest Bowl I've been to—absolutely spectacular—the events, it's a tremendous place to come and the people were incredible and it's been a great experience for our players and it's a great reward for the finest team I've ever coached." (UH)
Hoping that they end the season in the top 25, Graham said:
"What an exciting football game to watch. We made some unbelievably explosive plays in the second half and we beat a Top 25 team today. And hopefully, we should be the Top 25 in the country." (AP)
HSA Note: "The Golden Hurricane were such underdogs that ESPN analyst Todd McShay picked Hawaii over Tulsa as his most confident bowl pick of the season. Three minutes in, Alex Singleton scored one play after a Bryant Moniz interception, and Tulsa never trailed on its way to demolishing the Warriors, who were a double-digit favorite at game time."
About how UH was heavily favored to win this game, Graham said:
"(There was) a lot of talk going in that we were picked as the lock to get beat (in bowl games), and this football team did a great job of preparing." (HSA)
---------------------- Quotes from the Tulsa players -------------------------
Happy that he has one more season to play with Demaris Johnson, G.J. Kinne (343 yards passing and 3 TD passes in the game) said:
"He's a great player. He breaks records every week, it feels like it. It's a privilege to play with him. We got one more year together." (AP)
About how Johnson set an NCAA record for all-purpose yards with 7,796 in his career (and he has 1 more year to play), Kinne said:
"It seems like he breaks records every week. The exciting thing is I know we've got another year, another summer and another offseason together." (HSA)
About their 3 drives to start the second half that each took 2 plays to get a TD, Kinne said:
"I think our pace started to get to them." (AP)
About how they return 17 starters next year and want to win C-USA, Kinne said:
"I think we can be really good, definitely Top 25. Our goal every year is to win (Conference USA) and that's something we're really going to harp on next year." (HSA)
About his 9-yard TD pass with 76 seconds left in the game which was originally supposed to be a running play, Kinne said:
"Maybe, they shouldn't have booed our highlight film at the banquet." (HSA)
About how their team was fired up when UH booed their highlight film at the Hawaii Bowl banquet, RB Alex Singleton (who scored 2 TDs) said:
"That boosted us up. That fired us up. After that happened, I knew we were going to win." (HSA)
About how they avoided being distracted by being in Hawaii and got the win, Demaris Johnson (who had a career-high 326 all-purpose yards to break the NCAA career record) said:
"Coming on this trip out to Hawaii, we knew in the back of our minds that there were a lot of distractions, but we played good and came out with this win. We have to get on this eight-hour plane ride back home now, so maybe I'll get some sleep on the plane and it'll hit me in the morning." (ESPN)
Looking forward to getting some rest on their 8-hour flight home after the game, Johnson said:
"We came (to Hawaii) and played pretty good and now we've got this 8-hour flight home. I'll be thinking about getting a little sleep in." (HSA)
About how he needed to play well to help their team beat UH, Johnson said:
"I knew I had to step up my game. Hawaii has a great team, and we had to play a great game to win." (HSA)
About how their coaches had worried about how the humidity could affect their team, Johnson said:
"I'm from Louisiana, so I was OK. We have a lot of humidity there. It was hot, but our guys persevered, and came through with the win." (HSA)
Asked if he would enter the NFL draft or return next year, Johnson said:
"I'm going to come back (to Tulsa) next year." (HSA)
About how the critics of their passing defense motivated them (Tulsa came into this game rated #119 out of the 120 D-IA teams for passing defense), LB Curnelius Arnick (2 interceptions in the first half) said:
"For us, it was just motivation. We always hear about our bad our defense is and it just motivates just to come back and play harder," Arnick said. "We were just disguising our coverages, moving around and confusing the quarterback." (ESPN)
"I can't speak for everyone, but me, personally, I was very motivated hearing people talk about our defense. We had a lot of time to prepare and study for this game and it came down to making the plays when they were there." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Arnick, the team's leading tackler, did it again with a team-high 10 tackles and two sacks. But his biggest contribution was the two interceptions that matched his career total."
About scoring a TD on one of his interceptions and returning another interception 52 yards to the UH 3 to set up an easy TD run, Arnick said:
"Our offense carried us a lot this year, scoring a lot of points, so it was a good feeling to be able to help them out." (HSA)
About how he set up the pass that Moniz threw that he returned for a TD, Arnick said:
"I faked like I was coming, and the quarterback threw it straight to me. After that, it was straight to the end zone." (HSA)
About his interception that he returned for a TD when Shane Austin was hit by DE Tyrunn Walker when trying to throw the ball out of bounds, CB John Flanders said:
"We were playing, man, and he just lobbed it up. Big T hit him, and I returned it. I was happy to make a play." (HSA)
About how their seniors are from Graham's first recruiting class and averaged 9 wins during their 4-year careers, with wins in all 3 of their bowl games (63-7, 45-13, 62-35), senior Trae Johnson said:
"We were challenged to leave the program in better shape than we found it," TU senior Trae Johnson said. "We did that." (TW)
-- Notes I had from the game (I flew to Hawaii and went straight to the airport --
My Dad and I saw the coaches before and after the game. Before the game, we were walking on the ramp towards our section when the coaches were walking to the booth. Mouse Davis said to my Dad that he liked the hat he was wearing (Dad had a Christmas-themed hat on). The coaches looked focused and determined, they really had their game faces on.
After the game we were walking down the stairs at the same time as the coaches were walking down from the booth. Mouse, Brian Smith, and Dave Aranda were in front of me and the other coaches were behind me. I said to Coach Aranda that at least UH had a great season...but all he did was grimace and it was clear that he and the rest of the coaches did *not* want to be consoled after that game.
The look on the coaches after the game was completely different than the look they had before the game. You could see that the game meant a lot to them and that they were not happy about how things turned out.
I sat in the yellow section (in J, about the 30-yard line) in the first half and the seats there are in HORRIBLE condition. It really looks bad there!
It was also sad that after 5 drives in the game, there were *no* people in the 8 seats to the left of me and *no* people in the 7 seats to the right of me, with nobody in the 9 seats in front of me. However, every seat was filled by the end of the first quarter. Heck, I came all the way from San Diego and I got to the game on time!
Congratulations to Tulsa for truly earning this win. Their passing defense was *horrible* this year, truly one of the worst in the country. Their coaches and players worked extremely hard over those 15 practices and in countless film sessions to prepare for UH's offense.
You could see how Tulsa was prepared for the game in countless plays...
* The first time Salas got a WR screen pass, the Tulsa safety was running towards Salas BEFORE THE BALL WAS SNAPPED. They knew by formation and some other tipoff thing that Salas was going to get that pass and they stopped him from getting a big gain. WAC teams were devastated by that play all season, but Tulsa was ready.
* The pass that Moniz threw where a Tulsa player was standing right where the pass was going to be throws *before* Moniz even through the ball.
* The running plays to Green were not getting the same lanes as Green had in some WAC games, no matter how much Tulsa focused on stopped UH's passing attack.
I thought in the first half that it was clear that UH had athletes that Tulsa couldn't stop, like Salas, and the turnovers were the only thing that stopped UH. However, in the second half Tulsa came up with stops that were the difference.
I'm going to look at this game as one that Tulsa won, a win they earned that wasn't just given to them by UH. To read some of the comments here, it seems like some people think that Tulsa wasn't any good and UH should have easily beaten them...that sounds like the type of disrespect that UH fans are always complaining about being directed towards UH.
UH = University of Hawaii website
TW = Tulsa World
HSA = Honolulu Star-Advertiser
ESPN = ESPN.com
------------------------ Quotes from the UH coaches --------------------------
About how he felt that their special teams did a great job at limiting the damage from Demaris Johnson, Mack said:
"I thought our kickoff team and our punt team did a good job of minimizing his (Demaris Johnson) ability. He's a great player, one of the best in the country, but he made some big plays to hurt us. He's fast, he out-ran some of our guys and out-quicked some of our guys." (UH)
About how they accomplished a lot this season, Mack said:
"We've accomplished a lot of things this year. We've won a championship, we've won 10 games which has happened only 4 or 5 times in the history of the school. We've had some good times playing football, tonight wasn't necessarily one of those. One of our goals was to get 11 wins and remain in the Top 25 but obviously today we're not going to get that. Up until today, everything's been pretty good." (UH)
Giving credit to Tulsa, Mack said:
"I thought their quarterback was outstanding, he threw some great balls. I think they have a good football team." (UH)
"Give credit to Tulsa. They flat did a good job of beating us." (UH)
"You're not going to win a game if you turn the ball over six times. Give credit to Tulsa. They did a good job. They have good players and they have good speed. They ran by us a couple times — more than a couple times." (AP)
About how he felt sorry for their seniors and how their defense played well in the first half, Offensive Coordinator Nick Rolovich (Rolo) said:
"We wanted to start fast and be mistake free and felt if we took care of the football we'd have a very good chance in this game. Defense played great in the first half, it should have been a different game. I feel sorry for the seniors who had to go out like this." (HSA)
About how losing Pilares hurt their offense, Rolo said:
"He gets the majority of the reps, and he and Salas have a good relationship, and he and Moniz have a good relationship." (HSA)
About how they tried to get their defense to not be too aggressive in this game, to avoid how the defense struggled against their biggest competition (USC, BSU, Colorado), Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda said:
"We made a big point not to say it was a big game, looked at it as another game. I think there was some pressing going on that doesn't need to be pressed." (HSA)
About how Tulsa scored in 2 plays in each of their first 3 drives after halftime, Aranda said:
"All those plays, the first three series (of the second half) however many plays they had, I think six, seven, eight were gadget plays. They felt they needed to score quickly, they needed to score now. So they went to their top 100 gadget plays, and they reeled them off. All those things are defendable, but we've got to defend it as a team and, like I said, I take responsibility for. I should have made a bigger point at halftime how we got to this point, by playing team defense, and we should've finished playing that way." (HSA)
About how they only gave up 95 yards to Tulsa's offense in the first half but gave up 436 yards in the second half, Rich Miano said:
"We handled their speed in the first half. In the third quarter, they had three momentum plays when our offense was starting to get back into the groove. We needed to make a stop, and we didn't. That's the frustrating thing." (HSA)
------------------------ Quotes from the UH players ---------------------------
About how Tulsa was successful at getting interceptions, Bryant Moniz said:
"They had good pressure and were jumping all our routes. They jumped a lot of the short stuff, and it gave them a lot of points." (ESPN)
"They got good pressure up front and they studied real hard and knew our route. They jumped all our routes." (HSA)
"Terrible performance in our last game. They had good pressure up front. They studied really hard in those four weeks that they had to prepare. It seemed like they were jumping all of our routes, so in the second half we went a little more deep." (AP)
About how Tulsa alternated between man and 4-deep zone defenses and defended UH's routes, not the receivers, Moniz said:
"They were on all of our routes. They were cutting it. They knew our offense. They made some great plays. They were getting good pressure up front. They were jumping the lanes. I wasn't able to read them." (HSA)
About how this loss will linger during the offseason, Moniz said:
"This will sit in our stomach for a while." (HSA)
About how he suffered a hip pointer on a second-quarter sack and had to be kept out of 2 series and played in discomfort the rest of the game, Moniz said:
"I was trying to stretch on the sidelines, anything to get my hip loose." (HSA)
About his four first-half interceptions, Moniz said:
"Everything bad that could have went on, went on in that first half. It's a tough one to swallow, but I'm just going to go home tomorrow spend some time with my family on Christmas and try to enjoy the holidays a little bit and get back to work." (HSA)
About how he had a pass intercepted and returned for a TD when he was hit while trying to throw it out of bonds, Shane Austin said:
"I was trying to throw it away. I think I had Salas up the seam, but I lost sight of him, and moved on. I tried to throw it out of bounds, but I didn't get enough on it. Their guy was in my face. But I have to do better. This one was on me. That's the way it goes sometimes." (HSA)
About how they made too many mistakes, Greg Salas said:
"We just shot ourselves in the foot. We had way too many turnovers, and it cost us. We turned the ball over in key situations. It just goes to show you that the team with the most yards doesn't always win." (ESPN)
"We had way too many turnovers, and it cost us. We turned the ball over in key situations. It just goes to show you that the team with the most yards doesn't always win." (AP)
About how it is tough to lose their final game of the season, Salas said:
"Losing that last game is tough. We wanted to go out with a win, and be the team to be remembered. We didn't get it." (HSA)
"Right now I just have to get this taste out of my mouth with this loss. But I'm sure I'll look back on it and be happy with what I did here and what I was able to accomplish and all of my teammates and coaches putting me in position to do that." (HSA)
About how Kealoha Pilares suffered an injured left knee on a 0-yard punt return before their first drive on offense and was lost for the game, Salas said:
"We definitely missed Kealoha. He's a big part of our offense. He's an explosive playmaker. He's done it all season. It affected our chemistry." (HSA)
"I felt bad for him that he had to miss his last game here. We were looking forward to this all week. We were roommates the entire season and had real good chemistry on the field and off the field. And I just feel bad for him that he didn't get to finish out his last game." (HSA)
About suffering an injured knee in his final UH game before their offense even took the field, Kealoha Pilares said:
"It just sucks how I ended in my last game. But I just have to stay positive and just have to remember things happen for a reason. I know God has something planned for me. I just have to try to stay positive." (HSA)
About how they missed Pilares and Bradley, Royce Pollard said:
"I felt we were a unit with them. Nothing against the guys stepping in, but it's a rhythm we had. We didn't execute, and we needed to execute more. There were pieces that were missing." (HSA)
About catching 2 passses for 72 yards, including a 54-yard reception to the 1-yard-line to set up a TD, Miah Ostrowski (who replaced the injured Dustin Blount who replaced the injured Pilares) said:
"I was ready, I could have done a few things better on my route running to open somebody up. It's a bowl game and everybody has to step up." (HSA)
About their struggles on defense in the second half, Corey Paredes said:
"It was a weird game. It's hard to explain what happened. We came up short. The defense kicked in the first half, and then was kicked in the second half." (HSA)
About how Tulsa saw how aggressive they were and made adjustments at halftime to take advantage of that, Jeramy Bryant said:
"I guess they saw how aggressive we were on defense, and started doing a lot of play-action. Started opening things up, draw people out of their quarters. Guys sitting on routes, guys coming up ... and dumping off. And that was the story of the second half. Play-action." (HSA)
About how they missed too many assignments on defense in the second half, Aaron Brown said:
"They have a lot of explosive athletes. We contained them the first half, we let them get away from us the second half by missed assignments, and look what happened — they gashed us." (HSA)
About ending his UH career 105-for-105 on PATs and breaking the UH single-season record for PATs with 71 and the total points in a season with 122, Scott Enos said:
"I gotta give a lot of credit to my offense and defense both for giving me the opportunity to do what I did. It was tough losing the last game, but you know what, I'm so proud of these guys, I feel special relationships with all these guys. I'll never forget it. It's great." (HSA)
----------------------- Quotes from the Tulsa coaches -----------------------
Proud of their players, Tulsa head coach Jeff Graham said:
"I am extremely proud of players today, this team did a great job of preparing. They're truly champions on and off the field. It was a spectacular day—the takeaways defensively were unbelievable, and what an exciting football game to watch." (UH)
About how they exploded on offense in the second half, Graham said:
"We came back out and had some unbelievably explosive plays in the second half—it was a tremendous game for us beating a ranked team very soundly and hopefully I believe we should be in the Top 25." (UH)
About getting 10 wins in 3 of their last 4 seasons, Graham said:
"We have 10 wins for three of the last four years and we've been in three bowls in the last four years. I'm very proud of our guys and what we've been able to accomplish this year." (UH)
Feeling that they dominated both sides of the football in this physical game, Graham said:
"It was very physical today and I think that was the key—we impacted their quarterback and got after it on both sides of the ball. I thought we dominated both sides of the football and we had some special players make some brilliant plays." (UH)
"We were very, very physical today, I thought that was the key. I thought we dominated both sides of the football." (ESPN)
About how the Hawaii Bowl is the best bowl game he's been to over his 26 years of coaching, Graham said:
"We are a very close football team and I'm very proud of them and I'm very, very honored to come to Hawai`i. I've been to a lot of Bowl games over 26 years of coaching and this is the finest Bowl I've been to—absolutely spectacular—the events, it's a tremendous place to come and the people were incredible and it's been a great experience for our players and it's a great reward for the finest team I've ever coached." (UH)
Hoping that they end the season in the top 25, Graham said:
"What an exciting football game to watch. We made some unbelievably explosive plays in the second half and we beat a Top 25 team today. And hopefully, we should be the Top 25 in the country." (AP)
HSA Note: "The Golden Hurricane were such underdogs that ESPN analyst Todd McShay picked Hawaii over Tulsa as his most confident bowl pick of the season. Three minutes in, Alex Singleton scored one play after a Bryant Moniz interception, and Tulsa never trailed on its way to demolishing the Warriors, who were a double-digit favorite at game time."
About how UH was heavily favored to win this game, Graham said:
"(There was) a lot of talk going in that we were picked as the lock to get beat (in bowl games), and this football team did a great job of preparing." (HSA)
---------------------- Quotes from the Tulsa players -------------------------
Happy that he has one more season to play with Demaris Johnson, G.J. Kinne (343 yards passing and 3 TD passes in the game) said:
"He's a great player. He breaks records every week, it feels like it. It's a privilege to play with him. We got one more year together." (AP)
About how Johnson set an NCAA record for all-purpose yards with 7,796 in his career (and he has 1 more year to play), Kinne said:
"It seems like he breaks records every week. The exciting thing is I know we've got another year, another summer and another offseason together." (HSA)
About their 3 drives to start the second half that each took 2 plays to get a TD, Kinne said:
"I think our pace started to get to them." (AP)
About how they return 17 starters next year and want to win C-USA, Kinne said:
"I think we can be really good, definitely Top 25. Our goal every year is to win (Conference USA) and that's something we're really going to harp on next year." (HSA)
About his 9-yard TD pass with 76 seconds left in the game which was originally supposed to be a running play, Kinne said:
"Maybe, they shouldn't have booed our highlight film at the banquet." (HSA)
About how their team was fired up when UH booed their highlight film at the Hawaii Bowl banquet, RB Alex Singleton (who scored 2 TDs) said:
"That boosted us up. That fired us up. After that happened, I knew we were going to win." (HSA)
About how they avoided being distracted by being in Hawaii and got the win, Demaris Johnson (who had a career-high 326 all-purpose yards to break the NCAA career record) said:
"Coming on this trip out to Hawaii, we knew in the back of our minds that there were a lot of distractions, but we played good and came out with this win. We have to get on this eight-hour plane ride back home now, so maybe I'll get some sleep on the plane and it'll hit me in the morning." (ESPN)
Looking forward to getting some rest on their 8-hour flight home after the game, Johnson said:
"We came (to Hawaii) and played pretty good and now we've got this 8-hour flight home. I'll be thinking about getting a little sleep in." (HSA)
About how he needed to play well to help their team beat UH, Johnson said:
"I knew I had to step up my game. Hawaii has a great team, and we had to play a great game to win." (HSA)
About how their coaches had worried about how the humidity could affect their team, Johnson said:
"I'm from Louisiana, so I was OK. We have a lot of humidity there. It was hot, but our guys persevered, and came through with the win." (HSA)
Asked if he would enter the NFL draft or return next year, Johnson said:
"I'm going to come back (to Tulsa) next year." (HSA)
About how the critics of their passing defense motivated them (Tulsa came into this game rated #119 out of the 120 D-IA teams for passing defense), LB Curnelius Arnick (2 interceptions in the first half) said:
"For us, it was just motivation. We always hear about our bad our defense is and it just motivates just to come back and play harder," Arnick said. "We were just disguising our coverages, moving around and confusing the quarterback." (ESPN)
"I can't speak for everyone, but me, personally, I was very motivated hearing people talk about our defense. We had a lot of time to prepare and study for this game and it came down to making the plays when they were there." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Arnick, the team's leading tackler, did it again with a team-high 10 tackles and two sacks. But his biggest contribution was the two interceptions that matched his career total."
About scoring a TD on one of his interceptions and returning another interception 52 yards to the UH 3 to set up an easy TD run, Arnick said:
"Our offense carried us a lot this year, scoring a lot of points, so it was a good feeling to be able to help them out." (HSA)
About how he set up the pass that Moniz threw that he returned for a TD, Arnick said:
"I faked like I was coming, and the quarterback threw it straight to me. After that, it was straight to the end zone." (HSA)
About his interception that he returned for a TD when Shane Austin was hit by DE Tyrunn Walker when trying to throw the ball out of bounds, CB John Flanders said:
"We were playing, man, and he just lobbed it up. Big T hit him, and I returned it. I was happy to make a play." (HSA)
About how their seniors are from Graham's first recruiting class and averaged 9 wins during their 4-year careers, with wins in all 3 of their bowl games (63-7, 45-13, 62-35), senior Trae Johnson said:
"We were challenged to leave the program in better shape than we found it," TU senior Trae Johnson said. "We did that." (TW)
-- Notes I had from the game (I flew to Hawaii and went straight to the airport --
My Dad and I saw the coaches before and after the game. Before the game, we were walking on the ramp towards our section when the coaches were walking to the booth. Mouse Davis said to my Dad that he liked the hat he was wearing (Dad had a Christmas-themed hat on). The coaches looked focused and determined, they really had their game faces on.
After the game we were walking down the stairs at the same time as the coaches were walking down from the booth. Mouse, Brian Smith, and Dave Aranda were in front of me and the other coaches were behind me. I said to Coach Aranda that at least UH had a great season...but all he did was grimace and it was clear that he and the rest of the coaches did *not* want to be consoled after that game.
The look on the coaches after the game was completely different than the look they had before the game. You could see that the game meant a lot to them and that they were not happy about how things turned out.
I sat in the yellow section (in J, about the 30-yard line) in the first half and the seats there are in HORRIBLE condition. It really looks bad there!
It was also sad that after 5 drives in the game, there were *no* people in the 8 seats to the left of me and *no* people in the 7 seats to the right of me, with nobody in the 9 seats in front of me. However, every seat was filled by the end of the first quarter. Heck, I came all the way from San Diego and I got to the game on time!
Congratulations to Tulsa for truly earning this win. Their passing defense was *horrible* this year, truly one of the worst in the country. Their coaches and players worked extremely hard over those 15 practices and in countless film sessions to prepare for UH's offense.
You could see how Tulsa was prepared for the game in countless plays...
* The first time Salas got a WR screen pass, the Tulsa safety was running towards Salas BEFORE THE BALL WAS SNAPPED. They knew by formation and some other tipoff thing that Salas was going to get that pass and they stopped him from getting a big gain. WAC teams were devastated by that play all season, but Tulsa was ready.
* The pass that Moniz threw where a Tulsa player was standing right where the pass was going to be throws *before* Moniz even through the ball.
* The running plays to Green were not getting the same lanes as Green had in some WAC games, no matter how much Tulsa focused on stopped UH's passing attack.
I thought in the first half that it was clear that UH had athletes that Tulsa couldn't stop, like Salas, and the turnovers were the only thing that stopped UH. However, in the second half Tulsa came up with stops that were the difference.
I'm going to look at this game as one that Tulsa won, a win they earned that wasn't just given to them by UH. To read some of the comments here, it seems like some people think that Tulsa wasn't any good and UH should have easily beaten them...that sounds like the type of disrespect that UH fans are always complaining about being directed towards UH.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Quotes before the UH-Tulsa Hawaii Bowl game 12/24/10
Note: I am writing this post from California, but I will be arriving in Hawaii right before the game and going straight to Aloha Stadium to get there right in time for kickoff!
About how Mack talked about how it is important that they win the Hawaii Bowl, especially since UH has been blown out in their final game the last 3 seasons, Bryant Moniz said:
"Coach said: 'You're only as good as your last game.' Right now, we're pretty good because we beat UNLV in our last game. If we lose this game, that's how we'll be remembered for the offseason, and it's a long offseason. I know we're working hard to make it different this year." (HA)
About how they want to win their final game of the season, Kealoha Pilares said:
"You only remember the last game you play, and this is our last game. We want to finish strong." (HSA)
Praising their equipment coordinator for dealing with their 6 road trips that totaled about 35,000 miles of travel, Mack said:
"They made a mistake on coach of the year. It should go to Al (Ginoza, UH's equipment coordinator). He did a heck of a job with all of the traveling we did." (HSA)
About how they have had more than enough practice time to prepare for the game, despite having practices canceled or disrupted by finals so they did not have a fully attended practice until Sunday's practice in stormy weather, Corey Paredes said:
"This is more than we get for some of our other games." (HSA)
About how they want to win their final game of the season, Paredes said:
"It's a big game. We want to win out. It's such a great season. We don't want it to end with a bad taste in our mouth." (HSA)
About how this game is important for their team, with a chance to end the season ranked in the top 25, Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne said:
"We have a chance to win 10 games. This is a huge game." (HSA)
About how their win at Notre Dame on October 30 was their chief momentum source during their 6-game winning streak, Kinne said:
"Ever since, we've been on a roll. We've been going into games expecting to win. It's going to be a great matchup. We have to go in there and execute our game plan." (HSA)
Graham said that their fast-paced offense helps with recruiting QBs, RBs, and WRs because:
Graham said the offense is attractive to quarterbacks, running backs and receivers because numbers. It's a very attractive system to sell to recruits, to sell season tickets. It's great for the University of Tulsa." (HSA)
About how the Hawaii Bowl has a great matchup, Graham said:
"Two of the most prolific teams in the country going head-to-head. The winner is going to finish in the Top 25 in the country. The winner has a lot to play for." (HSA)
About how the Hawaii Bowl features high-scoring offenses led by head coaches who were defensive coordinators before becoming head coaches, Mack said:
"When you're a defensive coordinator, you get tired of people throwing the ball at you. You want to throw at other people." (HSA)
About how throwing the ball makes the game more appealing to fans, Graham said:
"When you take your son to the front yard, you don't hand him the ball off. You throw it to him, right?" (HSA)
About initially going to UT-Austin to play for the Longhorns, Kinne said:
"It's the biggest name school in the state." (HSA)
About transferring to Tulsa because he didn't want to spend years at Colt McCoy's backup, Kinne said:
"I wanted to go to a place where I could start for three years." (HSA)
About their fast-paced offense, Graham said:
"We don't want to just play fast, we want to play effectively." (HSA)
About how LaCount, Leonard, and Stutzmann will start in the Hawaii Bowl in place of their regular lineup on the left side of their offense, Moniz said:
"They can do the job." (HSA)
About how their scout team ran a play every 14 seconds, Vaughn Meatoga said:
"We're trying to recognize plays as fast as we can." (HSA)
About how Kamalu has gone from a pass-rushing specialist to an all-around DE, Tony Tuioti said:
"The biggest question was: would he be able to play the run? He proved he can, and at a high level." (HSA)
Crediting the DTs for his success (he leads the team with 12.5 tackles for loss), Umu said:
"The D-Tackles make it easy for me. When you have that much talent next to you, it really helps." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101224_All_that_offense_comes_from_coaches_whose_specialty_is_defense.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101224_Last_but_not_least.html
About how Mack talked about how it is important that they win the Hawaii Bowl, especially since UH has been blown out in their final game the last 3 seasons, Bryant Moniz said:
"Coach said: 'You're only as good as your last game.' Right now, we're pretty good because we beat UNLV in our last game. If we lose this game, that's how we'll be remembered for the offseason, and it's a long offseason. I know we're working hard to make it different this year." (HA)
About how they want to win their final game of the season, Kealoha Pilares said:
"You only remember the last game you play, and this is our last game. We want to finish strong." (HSA)
Praising their equipment coordinator for dealing with their 6 road trips that totaled about 35,000 miles of travel, Mack said:
"They made a mistake on coach of the year. It should go to Al (Ginoza, UH's equipment coordinator). He did a heck of a job with all of the traveling we did." (HSA)
About how they have had more than enough practice time to prepare for the game, despite having practices canceled or disrupted by finals so they did not have a fully attended practice until Sunday's practice in stormy weather, Corey Paredes said:
"This is more than we get for some of our other games." (HSA)
About how they want to win their final game of the season, Paredes said:
"It's a big game. We want to win out. It's such a great season. We don't want it to end with a bad taste in our mouth." (HSA)
About how this game is important for their team, with a chance to end the season ranked in the top 25, Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne said:
"We have a chance to win 10 games. This is a huge game." (HSA)
About how their win at Notre Dame on October 30 was their chief momentum source during their 6-game winning streak, Kinne said:
"Ever since, we've been on a roll. We've been going into games expecting to win. It's going to be a great matchup. We have to go in there and execute our game plan." (HSA)
Graham said that their fast-paced offense helps with recruiting QBs, RBs, and WRs because:
Graham said the offense is attractive to quarterbacks, running backs and receivers because numbers. It's a very attractive system to sell to recruits, to sell season tickets. It's great for the University of Tulsa." (HSA)
About how the Hawaii Bowl has a great matchup, Graham said:
"Two of the most prolific teams in the country going head-to-head. The winner is going to finish in the Top 25 in the country. The winner has a lot to play for." (HSA)
About how the Hawaii Bowl features high-scoring offenses led by head coaches who were defensive coordinators before becoming head coaches, Mack said:
"When you're a defensive coordinator, you get tired of people throwing the ball at you. You want to throw at other people." (HSA)
About how throwing the ball makes the game more appealing to fans, Graham said:
"When you take your son to the front yard, you don't hand him the ball off. You throw it to him, right?" (HSA)
About initially going to UT-Austin to play for the Longhorns, Kinne said:
"It's the biggest name school in the state." (HSA)
About transferring to Tulsa because he didn't want to spend years at Colt McCoy's backup, Kinne said:
"I wanted to go to a place where I could start for three years." (HSA)
About their fast-paced offense, Graham said:
"We don't want to just play fast, we want to play effectively." (HSA)
About how LaCount, Leonard, and Stutzmann will start in the Hawaii Bowl in place of their regular lineup on the left side of their offense, Moniz said:
"They can do the job." (HSA)
About how their scout team ran a play every 14 seconds, Vaughn Meatoga said:
"We're trying to recognize plays as fast as we can." (HSA)
About how Kamalu has gone from a pass-rushing specialist to an all-around DE, Tony Tuioti said:
"The biggest question was: would he be able to play the run? He proved he can, and at a high level." (HSA)
Crediting the DTs for his success (he leads the team with 12.5 tackles for loss), Umu said:
"The D-Tackles make it easy for me. When you have that much talent next to you, it really helps." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101224_All_that_offense_comes_from_coaches_whose_specialty_is_defense.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101224_Last_but_not_least.html
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Warrior Quotes from the Star-Advertiser (12/23/10, Kainoa LaCount earned the starting LT spot, Mouse Davis is unsure if he'll coach next season)
Disputing what the UH Media Guide said about him, Kainoa LaCount said:
"I'm 6-7, not 6-6. Don't let the books fool you." (HSA)
About how LaCount earned a starting left tackle spot, Gordy Shaw said:
"He's ready to meet the challenge." (HSA)
HSA Note: "LaCount is part of the shakeup to the left side of the UH offense. Billy Ray Stutzmann will start at left wideout ahead of Rodney Bradley, and Brett Leonard will open at left guard in place of Brysen "Bula" Ginlack."
About how his Mom raised him and his brother Kahai by herself after his parents divorced when he was 2, LaCount said:
"My mom always stuck by me. She gave me good advice, whether I listened to it or not. She's a great woman. And she had to feed us. That was the hardest part." (HSA)
About how Kahai (a former UH player) was a big influence in his life, LaCount said:
"He was a big influence. I don't think I left his side until I was 10. It wasn't, 'Please, leave.' It was kicking me out because, 'You cruise with me too much.' " (HSA)
About how he suffered a broken toe while playing TE as a freshman at Kailua High School, LaCount said:
"That's when I moved to tackle, and I haven't moved since." (HSA)
About how he signed with Oregon State out of high school but ended up going to the College of the Canyons in California since he needed 50 more points on his SAT, where he got to spend time with his father who lived in California, LaCount said:
"I got close to the LaCount side of my family." (HSA)
HSA Note: "He signed with UH in February 2008, but then learned he did not have enough transferable credits to play that year. When he reported in August 2009, he weighed about 360 pounds, and the scholarship offer had lapsed. His mother paid for his tuition and school expenses during his UH career."
About how LaCount needed to lose 50 pounds and then learn the fundamentals needed for the OL, Shaw said:
"We had to peel about 50 pounds off of him. Then we had to get him fundamentally sound. He was used to being big and latching on to guys." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Last year, LaCount was moved to right tackle, where he had difficulty adjusting. This past summer, he was down to 320 pounds, and comfortable playing at either tackle position."
Praising LaCount, Mack said:
"I like his long arms, his attitude. He's really worked himself into shape. He has pro measurables. He works his tail off. He couldn't have gotten himself into that shape if he didn't work hard. I'm really proud of him. He's got everything going for him. I like the heck out of him." (HSA)
About how he plays with fury on the field even though he's easygoing off the field, LaCount laughed and said:
"I think bad thoughts. I guess it's hidden emotions. I let them out. It's fun to go out and hit people legally."
Unsure if he'll coach during the 2011 season, Mouse Davis said:
"We have to play it out and see. I don't have a timetable (for deciding). I'm enjoying myself. We're winning, and winning is important." (HSA)
About how they had their last full workout of the season yesterday and they will have their final walk-through today, Kamalu Umu said:
"It's sad. It didn't really hit me yet. I'm sure it will after the game." (HSA)
About how he's focused on the bowl game and not thinking about how this will end his UH career, Kealoha Pilares said:
"I'm not really into sad thoughts right now. We have a game to play." (HSA)
Todd Graham said that he thinks that UH has more talent than SMU had this season and that defending against UH's offense will:
"be a lot bigger challenge for us." (HSA)
About how UH's offense is even better than when he last faced UH in 2003 and 2004, Graham said:
"You can see the past they've had with the run-and-shoot, they haven't missed a beat. As a matter of fact they've even, I think, taken it to another level. I've prepared against it for a lot of years; doesn't make it any easier. I think it's one of the hardest offenses to defend." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101223_warriors_learn_today_whos_eligible_to_play.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101223_Perseverance_pays_off_as_LaCount_gets_first_start_for_Warriors.html
"I'm 6-7, not 6-6. Don't let the books fool you." (HSA)
About how LaCount earned a starting left tackle spot, Gordy Shaw said:
"He's ready to meet the challenge." (HSA)
HSA Note: "LaCount is part of the shakeup to the left side of the UH offense. Billy Ray Stutzmann will start at left wideout ahead of Rodney Bradley, and Brett Leonard will open at left guard in place of Brysen "Bula" Ginlack."
About how his Mom raised him and his brother Kahai by herself after his parents divorced when he was 2, LaCount said:
"My mom always stuck by me. She gave me good advice, whether I listened to it or not. She's a great woman. And she had to feed us. That was the hardest part." (HSA)
About how Kahai (a former UH player) was a big influence in his life, LaCount said:
"He was a big influence. I don't think I left his side until I was 10. It wasn't, 'Please, leave.' It was kicking me out because, 'You cruise with me too much.' " (HSA)
About how he suffered a broken toe while playing TE as a freshman at Kailua High School, LaCount said:
"That's when I moved to tackle, and I haven't moved since." (HSA)
About how he signed with Oregon State out of high school but ended up going to the College of the Canyons in California since he needed 50 more points on his SAT, where he got to spend time with his father who lived in California, LaCount said:
"I got close to the LaCount side of my family." (HSA)
HSA Note: "He signed with UH in February 2008, but then learned he did not have enough transferable credits to play that year. When he reported in August 2009, he weighed about 360 pounds, and the scholarship offer had lapsed. His mother paid for his tuition and school expenses during his UH career."
About how LaCount needed to lose 50 pounds and then learn the fundamentals needed for the OL, Shaw said:
"We had to peel about 50 pounds off of him. Then we had to get him fundamentally sound. He was used to being big and latching on to guys." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Last year, LaCount was moved to right tackle, where he had difficulty adjusting. This past summer, he was down to 320 pounds, and comfortable playing at either tackle position."
Praising LaCount, Mack said:
"I like his long arms, his attitude. He's really worked himself into shape. He has pro measurables. He works his tail off. He couldn't have gotten himself into that shape if he didn't work hard. I'm really proud of him. He's got everything going for him. I like the heck out of him." (HSA)
About how he plays with fury on the field even though he's easygoing off the field, LaCount laughed and said:
"I think bad thoughts. I guess it's hidden emotions. I let them out. It's fun to go out and hit people legally."
Unsure if he'll coach during the 2011 season, Mouse Davis said:
"We have to play it out and see. I don't have a timetable (for deciding). I'm enjoying myself. We're winning, and winning is important." (HSA)
About how they had their last full workout of the season yesterday and they will have their final walk-through today, Kamalu Umu said:
"It's sad. It didn't really hit me yet. I'm sure it will after the game." (HSA)
About how he's focused on the bowl game and not thinking about how this will end his UH career, Kealoha Pilares said:
"I'm not really into sad thoughts right now. We have a game to play." (HSA)
Todd Graham said that he thinks that UH has more talent than SMU had this season and that defending against UH's offense will:
"be a lot bigger challenge for us." (HSA)
About how UH's offense is even better than when he last faced UH in 2003 and 2004, Graham said:
"You can see the past they've had with the run-and-shoot, they haven't missed a beat. As a matter of fact they've even, I think, taken it to another level. I've prepared against it for a lot of years; doesn't make it any easier. I think it's one of the hardest offenses to defend." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101223_warriors_learn_today_whos_eligible_to_play.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101223_Perseverance_pays_off_as_LaCount_gets_first_start_for_Warriors.html
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Warrior Quotes from the Star-Advertiser (12/22/10)
About how he's going to be aggressive as their punt returner in the Hawaii Bowl, Kealoha Pilares said:
"I'm not fair-catching anything." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The past three games, the Warriors have returned two of 21 punts for zero yards. Greg Salas, UH's leading receiver, was instructed to fair catch every punt. Pilares was used as a punt returner against Idaho. He had two returns for 28 yards. But he suffered a strained hamstring while warming up at halftime. Salas was told he could be the punt returner if he promised not to attempt any returns."
Pilares said that returning punts:
"is another opportunity to make a big play. It's fun. It's an adrenaline rush. ... I know the guys will block for me. I have faith in them." (HSA)
About how he won't worry about injury since this is his final UH game, Pilares said:
"Why not take risks? That's what I'm going to do. We'll see what happens." (HSA)
About designing their rings, Mack said:
"I've been to a lot of bowls,. I know what a real ring looks like." (HSA)
About how the ring helps in recruiting, Mack said:
"It doesn't hurt recruiting when you have a championship ring on." (HSA)
About practicing as a starting offensive tackle over the past 2 weeks, Kainoa LaCount said:
"Just trying to give guys rest." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Brett Leonard and center Matagisila Lefiti have been rotating at left guard, a position usually played by Brysen "Bula" Ginlack."
About how Spencer Smith served as a mentor to freshman John Hardy-Tuilau while sitting out due to his fractured right forearm, Rich Miano said:
"I'll tell Spencer: 'Just watch John.' Spencer has done a good job mentoring John all season long. I know John looks up to his work ethic." (HSA)
About how he was injured in their second game and when he came back 8 weeks later he only lasted one series against Boise State, Smith said:
But Smith injured his forearm in the second game. He didn't play again for another eight weeks, but lasted only one defensive series against Boise State.
"After that, I wasn't sure if I would be OK." (HSA)
About how he has limited himself to only 15 snaps in each of their last 3 games, Smith said:
"John has done such a great job all year. It's been his season. I don't want to take anything away from him. When my times come, I'll try to make the best of it." (HSA)
Appreciating the advice that Smith gives him, Hardy-Tuilau said:
"Spencer helps me a lot in games. He always looks at the plays to help me do better. He's like an extra coach." (HSA)
About how Hardy-Tuilau could play a variety of positions for them in the future, Dave Aranda said:
"He's an athletic player, and a smart player. He's able to decipher things quickly." (HSA)
About how he has focused mostly on power-clean lifts this season, the 5'11", 170-pound Hardy-Tuilau said:
"It's all about being physical in the weight room." (HSA)
About how Hardy-Tuilau's intelligence makes him a great player, Miano said:
"John is tough, fast, quick and athletic. If he had only those things but wasn't smart, he'd be a good player, and we'd be glad to have him. But he is very smart, and that's what makes him a great player. The ability to get to the next level depends on how smart you are, and he's very smart." (HSA)
Spencer Smith said that if the Hawaii Bowl is his last football game:
"my whole experience in Hawaii has been awesome. I'm doing some of the things a lot of people won't ever do in their lifetime. I've been blessed. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe my arm breaking will take me to better things than if it didn't break." (HSA)
About how Damaris Johnson, their leading receiver/returner, is similar to Chad Owens (who had 253 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs to beat Tulsa when Graham was Tulsa's defensive coordinator), Todd Graham said:
"They're real simila. Big-play guys, guys that catch the ball, yards after catch, great quickness and acceleration. ... It's big time to have a guy like that." (HSA)
About Johnson, who was named to a second-team AP All-American this year, Graham said:
"He's been special in so many ways. He is no question our most valuable player." (HSA)
HSA Note: "This season Johnson, Conference USA's special teams player of the year, averages 27.4 yards on kickoff returns, 12.5 on punt returns and is Tulsa's top receiver and second-leading rusher. The junior enters Friday's matchup with Hawaii with 7,470 career yards, rising to fourth on the NCAA all-purpose yardage list and 294 yards away from the record."
About how Tulsa gave him a chance to play early while recruiters from other teams might have been scared off by his 5'8" listed height, Johnson said:
"I knew coming in they would let me do different things with the ball and give me a chance to come in and play early." (HSA)
About how they use Johnson everywhere, Graham said:
"He lines up at quarterback, at running back, at receiver, returns kicks and punts. He does everything except play defense and he could probably do that. We knew he was special. From the time he's walked onto our practice field he's been spectacular." (HSA)
About his punt return for a 59-yard TD against Notre Dame when they were down 27-18 in the 3rd quarter, Johnson said:
"It was a real spark in the game. Just gave guys more confidence. It was just a play that needed to be made and I'm happy I was that person to make that play." (HSA)
Praising his blockers for making his success possible, Johnson said:
"Those guys want me to score touchdowns more than I want to score touchdowns. That helps me a lot that they're going out there excited to block for me. I love that a lot." (HSA)
Considering his height an advantage, Johnson said:
"Since I'm small I can get in and out of places and don't take big hits every time." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_Mentor_An_experienced_person_in_a_company_college_or_school_who_trains_and_counsels_new_employees_or_students_See_Smith_Spencer.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_This_time_Tulsa_comes_armed_with_its_own_Chad_Owens_weapon.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_Pilares_ready_for_risk-taking_returns.html
"I'm not fair-catching anything." (HSA)
HSA Note: "The past three games, the Warriors have returned two of 21 punts for zero yards. Greg Salas, UH's leading receiver, was instructed to fair catch every punt. Pilares was used as a punt returner against Idaho. He had two returns for 28 yards. But he suffered a strained hamstring while warming up at halftime. Salas was told he could be the punt returner if he promised not to attempt any returns."
Pilares said that returning punts:
"is another opportunity to make a big play. It's fun. It's an adrenaline rush. ... I know the guys will block for me. I have faith in them." (HSA)
About how he won't worry about injury since this is his final UH game, Pilares said:
"Why not take risks? That's what I'm going to do. We'll see what happens." (HSA)
About designing their rings, Mack said:
"I've been to a lot of bowls,. I know what a real ring looks like." (HSA)
About how the ring helps in recruiting, Mack said:
"It doesn't hurt recruiting when you have a championship ring on." (HSA)
About practicing as a starting offensive tackle over the past 2 weeks, Kainoa LaCount said:
"Just trying to give guys rest." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Brett Leonard and center Matagisila Lefiti have been rotating at left guard, a position usually played by Brysen "Bula" Ginlack."
About how Spencer Smith served as a mentor to freshman John Hardy-Tuilau while sitting out due to his fractured right forearm, Rich Miano said:
"I'll tell Spencer: 'Just watch John.' Spencer has done a good job mentoring John all season long. I know John looks up to his work ethic." (HSA)
About how he was injured in their second game and when he came back 8 weeks later he only lasted one series against Boise State, Smith said:
But Smith injured his forearm in the second game. He didn't play again for another eight weeks, but lasted only one defensive series against Boise State.
"After that, I wasn't sure if I would be OK." (HSA)
About how he has limited himself to only 15 snaps in each of their last 3 games, Smith said:
"John has done such a great job all year. It's been his season. I don't want to take anything away from him. When my times come, I'll try to make the best of it." (HSA)
Appreciating the advice that Smith gives him, Hardy-Tuilau said:
"Spencer helps me a lot in games. He always looks at the plays to help me do better. He's like an extra coach." (HSA)
About how Hardy-Tuilau could play a variety of positions for them in the future, Dave Aranda said:
"He's an athletic player, and a smart player. He's able to decipher things quickly." (HSA)
About how he has focused mostly on power-clean lifts this season, the 5'11", 170-pound Hardy-Tuilau said:
"It's all about being physical in the weight room." (HSA)
About how Hardy-Tuilau's intelligence makes him a great player, Miano said:
"John is tough, fast, quick and athletic. If he had only those things but wasn't smart, he'd be a good player, and we'd be glad to have him. But he is very smart, and that's what makes him a great player. The ability to get to the next level depends on how smart you are, and he's very smart." (HSA)
Spencer Smith said that if the Hawaii Bowl is his last football game:
"my whole experience in Hawaii has been awesome. I'm doing some of the things a lot of people won't ever do in their lifetime. I've been blessed. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe my arm breaking will take me to better things than if it didn't break." (HSA)
About how Damaris Johnson, their leading receiver/returner, is similar to Chad Owens (who had 253 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs to beat Tulsa when Graham was Tulsa's defensive coordinator), Todd Graham said:
"They're real simila. Big-play guys, guys that catch the ball, yards after catch, great quickness and acceleration. ... It's big time to have a guy like that." (HSA)
About Johnson, who was named to a second-team AP All-American this year, Graham said:
"He's been special in so many ways. He is no question our most valuable player." (HSA)
HSA Note: "This season Johnson, Conference USA's special teams player of the year, averages 27.4 yards on kickoff returns, 12.5 on punt returns and is Tulsa's top receiver and second-leading rusher. The junior enters Friday's matchup with Hawaii with 7,470 career yards, rising to fourth on the NCAA all-purpose yardage list and 294 yards away from the record."
About how Tulsa gave him a chance to play early while recruiters from other teams might have been scared off by his 5'8" listed height, Johnson said:
"I knew coming in they would let me do different things with the ball and give me a chance to come in and play early." (HSA)
About how they use Johnson everywhere, Graham said:
"He lines up at quarterback, at running back, at receiver, returns kicks and punts. He does everything except play defense and he could probably do that. We knew he was special. From the time he's walked onto our practice field he's been spectacular." (HSA)
About his punt return for a 59-yard TD against Notre Dame when they were down 27-18 in the 3rd quarter, Johnson said:
"It was a real spark in the game. Just gave guys more confidence. It was just a play that needed to be made and I'm happy I was that person to make that play." (HSA)
Praising his blockers for making his success possible, Johnson said:
"Those guys want me to score touchdowns more than I want to score touchdowns. That helps me a lot that they're going out there excited to block for me. I love that a lot." (HSA)
Considering his height an advantage, Johnson said:
"Since I'm small I can get in and out of places and don't take big hits every time." (HSA)
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_Mentor_An_experienced_person_in_a_company_college_or_school_who_trains_and_counsels_new_employees_or_students_See_Smith_Spencer.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_This_time_Tulsa_comes_armed_with_its_own_Chad_Owens_weapon.html
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101222_Pilares_ready_for_risk-taking_returns.html
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
UH might go to other non-BCS bowls instead of just the Hawaii Bowl
About having UH play in the Hawaii Bowl every time they are not in a BCS bowl like they do as a WAC member, Craig Thompson said:
"I think that's an opportunity, if that's what Hawaii wants, if that's what ESPN Regional wants and if that's what the other remaining members of the (MWC) want, that certainly is one option. But, maybe, one of those three parties would like a different structure. I don't know. I haven't gotten into it." (HSA)
"I have spoken to (UH athletic director) Jim Donovan just very briefly about it. But is that Hawaii's goal as an institution: to stay home and play in that game three out of four years or two out of three years or whatever? Or, would they prefer more of a one out of four?" (HSA)
About how it would be a big expense for the conference to send UH to a different non-BCS game, Thompson said:
"I know finances play a huge role for the conference because if Hawaii travels to the mainland, that's a flight and you're paying (for) a second flight and a charter to pay for a team to go from the mainland over to Hawaii. So, that's two flights instead of one, so to speak. I look forward to sitting around a table with the athletic directors discussing that whole topic." (HSA
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101221_Warriors_might_not_be_locked_into_future_Hawaii_Bowls.html
"I think that's an opportunity, if that's what Hawaii wants, if that's what ESPN Regional wants and if that's what the other remaining members of the (MWC) want, that certainly is one option. But, maybe, one of those three parties would like a different structure. I don't know. I haven't gotten into it." (HSA)
"I have spoken to (UH athletic director) Jim Donovan just very briefly about it. But is that Hawaii's goal as an institution: to stay home and play in that game three out of four years or two out of three years or whatever? Or, would they prefer more of a one out of four?" (HSA)
About how it would be a big expense for the conference to send UH to a different non-BCS game, Thompson said:
"I know finances play a huge role for the conference because if Hawaii travels to the mainland, that's a flight and you're paying (for) a second flight and a charter to pay for a team to go from the mainland over to Hawaii. So, that's two flights instead of one, so to speak. I look forward to sitting around a table with the athletic directors discussing that whole topic." (HSA
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101221_Warriors_might_not_be_locked_into_future_Hawaii_Bowls.html
Feature on Tulsa's "Run and Gun" offense
About how their offense averages a play every 23 seconds, many times using just 14 seconds with their no-huddle offense, Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said:
"We call it the 'Run and Gun,' man. It's put it in the left lane, and put the hammer down." (HSA)
About how their players have to be in great shape to run their offense, Graham said:
"We want to get 85 snaps on offense, and we want the other team to have 65 snaps. To do that, we run a fast-paced, no-huddle (offense). We practice like that, therefore our kids are in better shape. It takes two, three years to get in shape to run this system. It hurts your defense at first. But it starts to pick up as the years go by." (HSA)
Asked why they have such a fast-paced offense, Graham said:
"I'm tryin' to make a livin', man. It sells tickets." (HSA)
About how he based him offense on concepts from Rich Rodriguez's no-back, no-huddle offense, Graham (who was defensive coordinator for East Central when they faced Rodriguez's Glenville State for the 1993 NAIA championship, and who was head coach at West Virginia when Graham was hired to be LB coach) said:
"The origin of the offense comes from Coach Rodriguez." (HSA)
About how he kept notes on the offense that made things hard on him as a defensive coach and installed the offense when he became a head coach, Graham said:
"I spent a lot of time developing this system based on attacking defensive principles. It's been in the making for well over a decade. We basically run everything I hate to defend." (HSA)
About how both high-powered offense should make the Hawaii Bowl fun to watch, Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne said:
"It's an awesome offense. We've got a great system. Hawaii has a great offense, too. It's going to be a fun game to watch." (HSA)
About how they weren't bothered by the rain in Hawaii over the past 2 days, Kinne said:
"When we left Tulsa, it was 30 degrees. We get here, it was in the upper 70s." (HSA)
About how his players preferred to go to the Hawaii Bowl so he faked them out for 30 seconds before telling them the good news, Graham said:
"I was really concerned if we weren't going to go to Hawaii, how was I going to get them ready to go to Fort Worth? Nothing against Fort Worth, but when I heard we were invited to Hawaii, I decided to play a little joke on them. I told them we were going to Fort Worth. They were all like, 'Oh, no.' I let that go on for about 30 seconds. Then I told them we were going to Hawaii, and they all cheered. They were extremely fired up to come to Hawaii."
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101221_Tulsas_offense_built_on_what_coach_couldnt_defend.html
"We call it the 'Run and Gun,' man. It's put it in the left lane, and put the hammer down." (HSA)
About how their players have to be in great shape to run their offense, Graham said:
"We want to get 85 snaps on offense, and we want the other team to have 65 snaps. To do that, we run a fast-paced, no-huddle (offense). We practice like that, therefore our kids are in better shape. It takes two, three years to get in shape to run this system. It hurts your defense at first. But it starts to pick up as the years go by." (HSA)
Asked why they have such a fast-paced offense, Graham said:
"I'm tryin' to make a livin', man. It sells tickets." (HSA)
About how he based him offense on concepts from Rich Rodriguez's no-back, no-huddle offense, Graham (who was defensive coordinator for East Central when they faced Rodriguez's Glenville State for the 1993 NAIA championship, and who was head coach at West Virginia when Graham was hired to be LB coach) said:
"The origin of the offense comes from Coach Rodriguez." (HSA)
About how he kept notes on the offense that made things hard on him as a defensive coach and installed the offense when he became a head coach, Graham said:
"I spent a lot of time developing this system based on attacking defensive principles. It's been in the making for well over a decade. We basically run everything I hate to defend." (HSA)
About how both high-powered offense should make the Hawaii Bowl fun to watch, Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne said:
"It's an awesome offense. We've got a great system. Hawaii has a great offense, too. It's going to be a fun game to watch." (HSA)
About how they weren't bothered by the rain in Hawaii over the past 2 days, Kinne said:
"When we left Tulsa, it was 30 degrees. We get here, it was in the upper 70s." (HSA)
About how his players preferred to go to the Hawaii Bowl so he faked them out for 30 seconds before telling them the good news, Graham said:
"I was really concerned if we weren't going to go to Hawaii, how was I going to get them ready to go to Fort Worth? Nothing against Fort Worth, but when I heard we were invited to Hawaii, I decided to play a little joke on them. I told them we were going to Fort Worth. They were all like, 'Oh, no.' I let that go on for about 30 seconds. Then I told them we were going to Hawaii, and they all cheered. They were extremely fired up to come to Hawaii."
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20101221_Tulsas_offense_built_on_what_coach_couldnt_defend.html
Monday, December 20, 2010
OL Thomas Olds and JC LB Brenden Daley commit to the Warriors!
About committing to the Warriors, Thomas Olds said:
"I just love it in Hawaii. The school is nice, and the football team is amazing." (HSA)
About how he will compete at OL for UH, 6'3', 265-pound Olds said:
"Either center or guard." (HSA)
About how his hobbies include surfing, snowboarding and hanging out at the beach, Olds said:
"Hawaii is the perfect place." (HSA)
HSA Note: "Daley is 6 feet 4 and 255 pounds. According to Rivals.com, Daley is capable of bench pressing 435 pounds. He can bench 225 pounds 35 times. In 10 games this past season, he made seven sacks and averaged 15.5 tackles per game. He will have three years to play two UH seasons."
About how they canceled their water park trip after practicing in the rain, Mana Silva said:
"We just had our water park." (HSA)
About practicing in the heavy rain yesterday, Bryant Moniz said:
"This isn't Wahiawa weather, it's Wahiawa Heights weather." (HSA)
"I enjoyed it. I wish we had a muddy field so it would be more fun. Football is about playing in the elements. I think it's one of the few sports you can play in except lightning. And we did that for a little while at Leilehua. We ran a few more plays (in that game), until we realized we had to get out of there." (HSA)
HSA Note: "After practice, Moniz took off his cleats, then turned them over to empty the accumulated water."
About how Greg Salas missed last week's 3 practices to complete a class project, Moniz said:
"The last time I saw Greg was in the study-hall office." (HSA)
About being back at practice, Salas said:
"It was nice to get back out there with the boys. I spent a lot of time in the library. My legs are fine. I was running on my own. I'm going to enjoy these last practices." (HSA)
About how their game plan was completed a week ago and the practices help their players "work on details", Defensive Coordinator Dave Aranda said:
"The guys are locked in. They feel their best efforts are going to be needed on Friday. They didn't mind the weather. They had a good practice." (HSA)
About how they were focused on practice despite the rain, Corey Paredes said:
"Even though it was raining hard, we were focused. ... We really want to win this game." (HSA)
JC LB Brenden Daley committed to the Warriors
VCS = Ventura County Star
About when he will leave Ventura College and join UH, Brenden Daley said:
"I get out here in May. I'm going to be representing for the Mainlanders. ... Oh, man, I'm excited to win over this crowd." (VCS)
VCS Note: "The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Moorpark High product, who had 100 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and seven sacks for the Pirates as a sophomore, joins Moorpark College's record-breaking receiver Chris Gant, who committed to Hawaii earlier this month."
About how his teammate, DE Jon Lattimore, is also considering UH, Daley said:
"Hopefully, Latt will come here, too." (VCS)
About how he can fill the hole that UH has at MLB, Daley said:
"I'm coming into a perfect situation." (VCS)
About how other schools had been recruiting him but he's firm in his commitment to UH, Daley said:
"This is it. I'm happy here. I gave them my word and I'm going to stand by it. I'm ready to rock." (VCS)
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/dec/19/Sb3FCccnotes20CLG-fc/
About when he will leave Ventura College and join UH, Brenden Daley said:
"I get out here in May. I'm going to be representing for the Mainlanders. ... Oh, man, I'm excited to win over this crowd." (VCS)
VCS Note: "The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Moorpark High product, who had 100 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and seven sacks for the Pirates as a sophomore, joins Moorpark College's record-breaking receiver Chris Gant, who committed to Hawaii earlier this month."
About how his teammate, DE Jon Lattimore, is also considering UH, Daley said:
"Hopefully, Latt will come here, too." (VCS)
About how he can fill the hole that UH has at MLB, Daley said:
"I'm coming into a perfect situation." (VCS)
About how other schools had been recruiting him but he's firm in his commitment to UH, Daley said:
"This is it. I'm happy here. I gave them my word and I'm going to stand by it. I'm ready to rock." (VCS)
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/dec/19/Sb3FCccnotes20CLG-fc/
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Tulsa hopes to not lose money by going to the Hawaii Bowl, are not sending its band or spirit squad
OK = Oklahoman
About how they will basically break even going to the Hawaii Bowl, Tulsa AD Bubba Cunningham said:
"It's gonna be plus or minus $20,000 or $30,000. That's typically how we go into a bowl thinking." (OK)
OK Note: "Forget the $600,000 the Hawaii Bowl reportedly will pay its participating schools. Tulsa will never see that cash. Payouts from each of the six bowls affiliated with Conference USA go directly to the league and are pooled to cover expenses for the league's participating bowl teams. TU's compensation will come in the form of the roughly $580,000 to $600,000 C-USA will pay to fly the team to Oahu and house and feed 220 people for five nights. The air charter alone will cost about $425,000, according to reliable estimates."
Happy that their conference subsidizes their bowl game expenses, Cunningham said:
"It's very expensive to go. But I think our conference policy of putting all revenue in one bucket and taking all the expenses out of that same bucket, and then dividing what's left among the member institutions is really a smart way to do it and allows participating teams to break even and actually make a little money if you can sell tickets." (OK)
OK Note: "But TU must avoid cost overruns. That probably explains why the school isn't sending its roughly 100-member band or spirit squad."
http://newsok.com/hawaii-bowl-not-big-money-maker-for-tu/article/3525059
About how they will basically break even going to the Hawaii Bowl, Tulsa AD Bubba Cunningham said:
"It's gonna be plus or minus $20,000 or $30,000. That's typically how we go into a bowl thinking." (OK)
OK Note: "Forget the $600,000 the Hawaii Bowl reportedly will pay its participating schools. Tulsa will never see that cash. Payouts from each of the six bowls affiliated with Conference USA go directly to the league and are pooled to cover expenses for the league's participating bowl teams. TU's compensation will come in the form of the roughly $580,000 to $600,000 C-USA will pay to fly the team to Oahu and house and feed 220 people for five nights. The air charter alone will cost about $425,000, according to reliable estimates."
Happy that their conference subsidizes their bowl game expenses, Cunningham said:
"It's very expensive to go. But I think our conference policy of putting all revenue in one bucket and taking all the expenses out of that same bucket, and then dividing what's left among the member institutions is really a smart way to do it and allows participating teams to break even and actually make a little money if you can sell tickets." (OK)
OK Note: "But TU must avoid cost overruns. That probably explains why the school isn't sending its roughly 100-member band or spirit squad."
http://newsok.com/hawaii-bowl-not-big-money-maker-for-tu/article/3525059
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