By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
By the dawn’s early light yesterday at Cooke Field, the University of Hawai‘i football team proudly hailed the next phase — more-than-limited contact — of spring practice.
"We had all of this anxiety and all of this tension we wanted to let out," linebacker Chris Brown said of the first two-hour workout in shoulder pads.
NCAA rules limited protective equipment to only helmets for last week’s three workouts. Beginning with the fourth day of workouts, NCAA teams are allowed to wear full padding.
But to prevent full-contact hitting (and subsequent injuries), UH associate head coach George Lumpkin, who is overseeing spring practice in place of hospitalized head coach June Jones, added only shoulder pads to the protective-equipment list and warned defenders against forcing ballcarriers to the ground during drills.
"They can still go full speed," Lumpkin said. "They just have to stay up. It helps eliminate injuries."
Still, the workout, which began at 6:30 a.m., featured cavity-inducing hits. On one, reserve linebacker Bobby Morgan floored slotback Craig Stutzmann. On another, defensive tackle Mike Iosua butter-knifed between two blockers to engulf running back Colin O’Reilly.
"The thing I liked is the guys are still trying to go hard," said Lumpkin, who shared tips with former UH head coach Dick Tomey during breaks. Two months ago, Tomey resigned as Arizona’s head coach and is spending the spring semester in the Islands, where he still maintains a home.
Lumpkin said he will allow full padding for scrimmages the next two Saturdays. But he said he prefers only shoulder pads because it teaches defenders how to correctly wrap up ballcarriers.
"It puts you in a better position, really," Lumpkin said. "It helps you to understand how to tackle better when you aren’t leaving your feet and diving for people’s legs."
Still, Brown said, any contact is good.
"I just can’t go out there with a jersey," Brown said. "I need to get all of the feeling out. (To hit) feels good. It feels relaxing. That’s who I am. I need to hit."
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