WARRIORS NOTEBOOK
Punter Milne pins down WAC honor

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

One week Hawai'i punter Kurt Milne is idle, the next he's a matinee idol.

Such is the life of Milne, who was named the Western Athletic Conference's player of the week for special teams after befuddling Alabama in a 37-29 victory last Saturday afternoon. He did not attempt a punt in the Warriors' previous game against Army.

"That's definitely nice," Milne said of the honor.

Against the Crimson Tide, six of his punts were downed inside the 20, including four inside the 3. One led to a safety. Milne, a second-year freshman from Georgia, credited the cover sprinters — Gary Wright and Omega Hogan — and Aloha Stadium's newly installed soft FieldTurf.

"When a sky punt hits the turf, it won't bounce forward," Milne said.

On short-punt situations, Milne said he will "drop the ball a little higher, (with) the nose up, and swing my leg a little slower." He said he tries to place the ball near the opponent's 10-yard line.

"That's pretty much the general idea, and then I let Gary and Omega go after it," he said. "I can always count on those guys."

Tyson Helton, who coaches UH's special teams, said Milne has "good height on his punts. He doesn't outkick his coverage."

Milne said several friends from Alabama and Georgia contacted him after watching the nationally televised game.

"They called and told me I had a good game," he said. "That was the first time some of them saw me play."

One of his supporters is his brother, Ryan Hebert, who used to be stationed at Schofield Barracks. Hebert helped arrange for Milne to join the Warriors as a nonscholarship player.

"It's funny," Milne said. "My brother is now based in Alabama."

All the right moves: ESPN, which had an all-access arrangement with UH, showed wide receiver Jeremiah Cockheran's pre-game ritual on Saturday's telecast of the UH-Alabama game.

Cockheran said he styled his head-snapping, arms-flapping dance moves after fighting chickens. He concocted the dance this year, and performs it in the locker room before games.

"We're getting into a cock fight every time we play a team," Cockheran said. "I give them a little cock dance and get them all hyped."

Cockheran said he wants to do his dance after a touchdown. UH coach June Jones permits his players creative expression only when a Warrior lead reaches 30 points.

"We're never up by 30," Cockheran said. "If we're up good enough, I can do the dance."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.