Cornerback's injury could shake up secondary

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i cornerback Abraham Elimimian still is bothered by a sprained ankle and might not start against San Jose State Saturday.

He said he can run forward, "but when I try to change directions, there's a problem," said Elimimian, a redshirt freshman from Los Angeles.

Elimimian has started the past four games, all victories. If he cannot play, Hyrum Peters, Josiah Cravalho or Keith Bhonapha will start opposite left cornerback Kelvin Millhouse.

"I'm not concerned until Saturday night," UH coach June Jones said. "We have a lot of depth back there. Those guys need an opportunity to play."

Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive backs, said another option is for free safety Nate Jackson to move to cornerback, allowing Robert Grant to start at free safety. When UH uses five defensive backs, Jackson usually moves to nickelback and Grant plays safety. Peters, who started the year at cornerback, played nickelback last season.

"We're going to get Nate Jackson ready in case we need him at cornerback," Miano said.

• Staying put: The Warriors' best offensive lineman, right guard Vince Manuwai, said he has no intention of applying for the 2002 NFL draft.

"I wish I redshirted (as a freshman) so I could stay here for five years," said Manuwai, a junior from Farrington High.

Manuwai said he recently was admitted into UH's School of Education. "I'm getting closer to my degree," he said. "Football only lasts for a few years. An education is forever."

Manuwai had a 1.2 grade-point average during the 1999 fall semester, his first at UH, and was placed on academic probation. Since then, he has had a 3.0 GPA in each of the ensuing three semesters.

"I got serious after my first semester," he said. "I didn't want to pick up the newspaper and see the headline, 'Manuwai is ineligible.' I couldn't handle that. My family couldn't handle that."

• We like you, we really do: Lamar Ferguson, San Jose State's 5-foot-4, 143-pound freshman running back, told reporters that Hawai'i recruited him last year, but then soon lost interest.

Not so, said George Lumpkin, UH's associate head coach.

"I visited his school," Lumpkin said. "I called him. I called him several times. He never returned my calls. I figured he wasn't interested. The next thing I know the head coach (at Ferguson's high school) was going to San Jose (as an assistant ) and he was going, too. So what do you think about that?"

Despite his slight build — he is the smallest to play in an NCAA Division I-A game this season — Ferguson would have been suited for slotback in the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense, Lumpkin said.

"I don't care about his height," Lumpkin said. "He's special. He's fast."