Ex-'Bow Sydner recalls '91 Heisman campaign
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
A dozen years ago, John Waihee was governor, the Stan Sheriff Center was not even on the drawing board, and Warriors were Rainbows.
It also was when slotback Jeff Sydner was promoted as the University of Hawai'i's first candidate for the Heisman Trophy as the nation's best college football player.
Unlike the glitzy DVD promoting UH quarterback Tim Chang, Sydner's 1991 campaign consisted of a cardboard pop-up picture.
"It was very low scale," Sydner recalled. "I probably can find one around the house."
Sydner did flash a Heisman pose during UH's 59-28 rout of Brigham Young in 1990. Earlier in the day, BYU's Ty Detmer was named the Heisman Trophy winner.
Sydner, 33, who will be vacationing in Hawai'i this month, also was the first UH underclassman to apply for the National Football League draft. The Philadelphia Eagles selected him in the sixth round in 1992. Later that year, UH won a share of its first Western Athletic Conference title and defeated Illinois, 27-17, in the Holiday Bowl.
"That showed how much they missed me," Sydner said, laughing.
But Sydner said he has no regrets over his decision to leave UH after his junior year.
"I'm a family-oriented person, and it was tough to be that far away from home," said Sydner, who attended high school in Ohio and often stayed with teammate John Veneri's family during the holidays. "If it wasn't for the Veneris, it would have been really tough. ... The people of Hawai'i were great. But from an athletic standpoint, I was ready to prove I could play in the NFL."
Sydner played five seasons for the Eagles and Jets, qualifying for an NFL pension and a 401-K plan. Sydner and his wife have three children, ages 9, 6 and 4. He is the manager of a Target store in Atlanta; his wife, also a manager, oversees 11 stores. His long-term goal? "I want to open the first Target in Hawai'i," he said.
Health report: Offensive tackle Tala Esera, a second-year freshman who moved from the defensive line, has yet to pass his physical examination, a UH spokeswoman said yesterday.
Earlier, Esera had suffered an irregular heartbeat.
With left tackle Samson Satele suffering from a strained left shoulder and right guard Uriah Moenoa recovering from a sprained left ankle, the Warriors juggled the line yesterday. Freshman Jeremy Inferrera worked out at left tackle and, for the second day in a row, center Phil Kauffman played right guard.
"When a teammate goes down, you have to step up," said Inferrera, a 2003 Saint Louis School graduate. "The team needs me to do that. They're calling on me. I have to step up."
