Top prep QB eyeing Hawai'i
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The son of an ESPN football analyst might be calling signals in Hawai'i.
Alex Mortensen, one of the top high school quarterbacks in the South, and his father, NFL Insider's Chris Mortensen, yesterday attended the University of Hawai'i's spring football practice.
"It's a school I'm interested in unquestionably," Alex Mortensen said.
As a junior at Landmark Christian High in Fairburn, Ga., the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Mortensen completed 62 percent of his passes for more than 2,200 yards and 25 touchdowns.
He has made unofficial visits to Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.
"Those are probably the front-runners," he said, although "I've got a lot of interest in Hawai'i."
Mortensen's father and UH coach June Jones are close friends. Mortensen has long been enchanted with the run-and-shoot offense, a scheme that Jones has used for nearly three decades.
"In the fourth grade, he brought home a book, 'Run and Shoot Football,' by Glenn Ellison," Chris Mortensen recalled. "It was an early '60s book, but he checked it out 40 times. He's always had a fascination with the offense. He knows of June. He knows what June does with quarterbacks. He loves the weather, obviously. Even though he's been offered (scholarships) by a good number of SEC schools, Hawai'i is very much on his radar, which is kind of interesting. When he tells people that, it's, 'really?' "
Alex Mortensen said: "You've got great weather here and they're throwing the ball. What more can you ask for as a quarterback? I love the run-and-shoot offense. Coach Jones is a great guy. As a quarterback, you like to throw the ball. Nobody throws it more and better than Hawai'i."
Sensing the draft: Chris Mortensen predicts that former UH players Wayne Hunter, Vince Manuwai and Pisa Tinoisamoa will be early selections in this month's NFL Draft.
He said Hunter, an offensive tackle, "is going to go in the bottom of the first round."
He predicted Manuwai, an offensive guard, and Tinoisamoa, an outside linebacker, are potential second-round selections.
"They've got a chance," he said of the three.
Weighty solution: Running back Mike Bass said he believes added weight will improve his running style. In his first two seasons, Bass often slipped while trying to change directions quickly.
"I was running too fast, and I didn't have enough strength in my legs, so my balance was off," he said.
He has worked extensively on strengthening his legs. Bass, who weighed 155 pounds as a freshman in 2001, now weighs 170.
He also has fully healed from a partially torn knee ligament.
"I'm back to being 100 percent," said Bass, who also hopes to resume returning punts.
He said looks forward to his brother, highly recruited cornerback Ray Bass, joining the team in August.
"I had a big influence on him deciding to come here," he said. "He wanted to come play football with me, and I wanted to do the same. I'm definitely happy he's coming. It's going to be a lot of fun."
