Far East not a far stretch
| • | Jones, Trapasso see recruiting potential in Japan |
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
Is there an Ichiro Suzuki out there for college football?
Specifically, perhaps a slotback or wide receiver who would give the University of Hawai'i a quality player and an international conversation piece?
UH football coach June Jones says he's convinced there could be and, even as the current recruiting campaign rages, he's started the search for the future.
Jones returned Friday from a five-day trip to Tokyo, where he said he started the ball rolling not only for a game for UH in Tokyo but also for the Warriors' first recruiting effort there.
Even before UH President Evan Dobelle came aboard with his "creative engagement" plans to broaden the school's ties with Asia, Jones has talked about building a niche for the Warriors by finding and showcasing a player from Japan.
The idea is that UH would recruit either somebody with football experience in Japan or find a pure athlete and develop him into a player. The plan, with Dobelle's blessing to grant an admission waiver, is that not only would UH have someone unique among the 117 schools that play NCAA Division IA football for a U. S. audience, but someone who might capture imaginations in Japan as well.
Jones envisions either recruiting a high school player and developing him into a starter by his third or fourth year or taking a college transfer, redshirting him and having him available for two years such as a junior college recruit.
A long shot? Definitely. Like finding a needle in a rice warehouse? Maybe. Japan isn't exactly American Samoa, where there is an appetite for football and schools, including UH, have a proven track record with developing players.
For the investment of a scholarship or two out of the 25 the Warriors award annually, it's not a bad gamble. After all, a decade ago who would have imagined that the Rainbows would have Yugoslavians and Lithuanians taking the men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament? Or, an Australian developing into one of the best punters?
Indeed, it might not be all that far a stretch says David Stant, a starting defensive lineman on UH's 1989 Aloha Bowl team who has coached football in Japan for 12 seasons. Stant believes UH can find somebody from Japan not only capable of playing Division IA football but doing it well enough to start.
Stant says five players from the X League, a conference of corporate teams, have played in the World League. Two players from his own team, the Recruit Corp. Seagulls, have 4.4 or better speed and have tryouts with the Arena League. Stant estimates that about 40 high schools and perhaps 50 colleges field varsity or club football teams.
When the Warriors announce their 2002 recruits next week, there will be players from many of the usual towns, Kailua, Kahuku, etc.
But the day may be coming when there is a wide receiver from Yokohama or Kamakura among them, too.
