Analysis: Eastern Illinois vs. Hawai'i
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Will the last offense on the football field please turn off the lights?
Eastern Illinois and host Hawai'i have offenses that are fast and furious. The Panthers averaged 36 points per game last season. The Warriors averaged 40.2 points, and UH coach June Jones has said each play is designed with the end zone in mind.
Here's a closer look:
Panthers' passing
SE—80 Will Bumphus, 6-1, 211, Sr.
FL—9 Devon O'Neal, 5-10, 170, Jr.
TB—5 Andre Raymond, 5-10, 196, Jr.
QB—17 Tony Romo, 6-3, 220, Sr.
The skinny: Pick a play, any play. The Panthers probably run it. The playbook includes reverses, flea-flickers, and various pass routes off of bootlegs. Sometimes the Panthers will be aligned with two tight ends, and sometimes Raymond, a backup tailback, will slide out to become a third wideout. The Panthers even get tricky on pass patterns, with receivers running a lot of sprint-stop-go routes.
Romo isn't very mobile, but he has a strong arm, quick release and buys enough time with rollouts.
The key will be the return of Bumphus, who did not play after suffering a knee injury in last season's second game. In 12 games over the past two seasons, 10 of Bumphus' 15 catches have been touchdowns. Bumphus will wear a knee brace.
Panthers' rushing
LT—77 Mike Bujnak, 6-6, 288, So.
LG—76 Kevin Hill, 6-3, 287, Sr.
C—64 Scott Sholl, 6-3, 285, Sr.
RG—67 Chris Rosenlund, 6-6, 305, Sr.
RT—56 Frank Castagnoli, 6-4, 272, Sr.
TE—88 Nick Eller, 6-3, 273, Jr.
FB—48 Andre Jones, 5-11, 235, Sr.
TB—J.R. Taylor, 6-1, 221, Sr.
The skinny: Taylor, whose initials stand for "Junior" (he's Phil Jr.) — prefers to take shortcuts on apparent perimeter runs, often cutting back against the grain of blocks. He rushed for 241 yards against Southeast Missouri last year.
There are five returning starters on the line, but their experience is misleading. Bujnak and Castagnoli switched tackle positions during the offseason, Hill and Sholl were defensive linemen in 2000, and Rosenlund, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery two years ago, struggled early last season.
Jones, a three-year starter, is used as the second tight end.
Panthers' defensive front
LE—45 Alex Schmink, 6-0, 238, Jr.
LT—95 Damien McCottrell, 5-11, 290, Jr.
RT—97 Marcus Lorick, 6-2, 276, So.
RE—96 Kory Lothe, 6-4, 250, Fr.
OLB—99 Lance Thompson, 6-2, 225, Sr.
MLB—55 David Bentley, 5-8, 215, Jr.
OLB—2 Nick Ricks, 6-0, 229, Jr.
The skinny: The Panthers are always on the move. In either a 3-2 or 4-2 alignment, they will play games with their inside linebackers. A favorite tactic is for two linebackers to criss-cross and then attack the gaps between the center and guards. On another, a linebacker will be stacked behind a defensive end. When the defensive end powers in, sometimes drawing a double team, the linebacker will storm through the area vacated by the end.
The Panthers have made several personnel adjustments. Lorick moved from the offensive line, Thompson shifted from defensive end and Lothe is a former defensive tackle who redshirted last season. Schmink, a converted linebacker, missed last season because of a back injury and McCottrell suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game. Bentley, a backup last season, becomes the defensive signal-caller.
Ricks led the Ohio Valley Conference with 125 tackles last season.
Panthers' secondary
LCB—35 Roosevelt Williams, 5-11, 172, Sr.
SS—6 Fred Miller, 6-1, 211, Jr.
FS—24 Kevin Anderson, 6-0, 207, So.
RCB—8 Nick Allison, 5-9, 169, So.
The skinny: Miller, who played outside linebacker last season, still will be used as a pass-rusher in schemes in which a linebacker will drop back into pass coverage.
The corners are both converted safeties, but Allison, who can run 40 yards in 4.4 seconds, is the better cover defender.
Panthers' specialists
LS—66 Farley Schalk, 6-6, 285, Jr.
H—13 Kyle Kissack, 6-2, 200, Sr.
PK—10 Steve Kuehn, 6-0, 181, Fr.
P—33 Tom Schofield, 6-3, 197, Fr.
KOR/PR—5 Andre Raymond, 5-10, 196, Jr.
The skinny: The coaches are concerned that Kuehn and Schofield will open their college careers on the road.
Warriors' passing
LWR—18 Justin Colbert, 5-8, 170, Sr.
LSB—2 Chad Owens, 5-9, 177, So.
RSB—21 Clifton Herbert, 5-8, 157, Jr.
RWR—88 Neal Gossett, 5-10, 177, Sr.
QB—14 Tim Chang, 6-2, 191, So.
The skinny: Chang's return — he missed 10 days of practice with a broken right pinkie on his throwing hand — brings stability to an offense that is replacing three starting receivers. Chang's quick release gives him more time to scan his menu of options. While he often is questioned for not running more, Chang is difficult to sack and he has a knack for finding the protection bubble — the area in the pocket of blockers — to gain more time.
Much has been made about the plans to use the slotbacks on deep patterns this year. But in the early years of the run-and-shoot offense, the slots often ran deep while the wideouts ran the crossing routes. The new wrinkle this year is the slots will be used more on running plays, taking advantage of Herbert's speed and Owens' elusiveness.
Warriors' rushing
LT—70 Wayne Hunter, 6-6, 299, Jr.
LG—77 Shayne Kajioka, 6-3, 308, Jr.
C—53 Lui Fuata, 6-2, 315, Sr.
RG—65 Vince Manuwai, 6-2, 309, Sr.
RT—69 Uriah Moenoa, 6-3 327, So.
RB—24 Thero Mitchell, 5-10, 210, Sr.
The skinny: Kajioka's improved condition — he weighed 380 as a freshman in 1999 — should help the Warriors' running game. Nearly all of UH's running plays require the guards to trap or pull. If Kajioka can join the Manuwai-Moenoa caravan on plays to the right, Mitchell could have a breakout season.
Warriors' defensive front
LE—58 La'anui Correa, 6-5, 264, Sr.
LT—99 Lui Fuga, 6-1 301, Jr.
RT—92 Lance Samuseva, 5-11, 290, Jr.
RE—1 Travis Laboy, 6-4, 249, Jr.
SLB—44 Matt Wright, 6-1, 225, Sr.
MLB—54 Chris Brown, 6-1, 255, Sr.
WLB—10 Pisa Tinoisamoa, 6-0, 218, Sr.
The skinny: Brown, who is in charge of making the blitz calls, is not shy about gambling. He estimated that the Warriors blitzed 33 percent of the time last season, a figure that should increase this season because of the team's depth.
In the past, the tackles were divided into space eaters and pass-rushers. Fuga and Samuseva can do both, and their backup, Isaac Sopoaga, has the potential to be the best interior pass-rusher since nose guard Maa Tanuvasa in 1992. With the middle clogged, Tinoisamoa will be busy this season.
Warriors' secondary
LCB—3 Kelvin Millhouse, 6-1, 205, Jr.
SS—33 Hyrum Peters, 5-8, 188, Jr.
FS—23 Sean Butts, 6-3, 202, Sr.
RCB—37 Abraham Elimimian, 5-10, 173, So.
NB—13 Keith Bhonapha, 5-9, 197, Sr.
DB—27 Gary Wright, 5-10, 201, Jr.
The skinny: The coaches waited until two weeks ago before moving Peters from cornerback/nickelback to his more natural position of strong safety. Now, Peters can cover the third receiver or become the eighth defender in the tackle box — the imaginary rectangle near the line of scrimmage — in short-yardage situations.
Millhouse made several big plays last season, but the coaches hope he can play more aggressively now that he is is a full-time starter.
Warriors' specialists
LS/FG—53 Lui Fuata, 6-3, 315, Sr.
LS/P—Tanuvasa Moe, 5-11, 218, Fr.
H—7 Shawn Withy-Allen, 6-4, 219, Sr.
PK—47 Justin Ayat, 5-11, 193, So.
P—49 Mat McBriar, 6-0, 221, Sr.
KR—20 John West, 5-10, 180, Jr.
PR—1 Mike Bass, 5-6, 158, So.
The skinny: Ayat has found success using a tight-fitting soccer shoe. Ayat is a size-11, but he uses a size smaller for kicking shoes. "I buy it tight, and let the leather stretch to my foot, so it fits snugly and there's better contact when I kick," Ayat said. It apparently has worked. He was consistently converting kicks from 60 yards this summer.
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