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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, January 13, 2003

Quarterback depth chart bolstered by JC transfer

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Quarterback Kyle Rice of Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., has transferred to the University of Hawai'i and will compete in spring practice.

Rice, who is 6 feet 2 and 193 pounds, already has enrolled and will begin attending classes today, the first day of UH's spring semester.

As a sophomore last season, he completed 98 of 197 passes for 1,587 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was intercepted seven times. His 135.4 pass-efficiency rating ranked 20th among California community college quarterbacks.

Rice, who is not on scholarship at UH, will be one of at least seven quarterbacks on the Warriors' spring roster. Starter Tim Chang will be backed up by Jason Whieldon, Jeff Rhode, Ryan Stickler, Kainoa Akina and Preston Maloney.

Also, outside linebacker Chad Kapanui, who played quarterback at Roosevelt High and during UH's training camp in 2000, and Orlando Wong, a 2000 Kahuku High graduate who recently returned from a church mission, will audition at quarterback this spring. Wong also can play wide receiver and defensive back.

The list of quarterback candidates is expected to grow during training camp in August. On Saturday, Jack Rolovich, the younger brother of former UH quarterback Nick Rolovich, accepted a scholarship offer. Rolovich has lost only two games during a four-year career at San Marin High in Novato, Calif.

UH is expected to sign at least one more quarterback. Quarterback Tyler Tharp of Fairview High in Denver yesterday completed his UH recruiting trip. Tharp, the son of Colorado athletic director Dick Tharp, also has received offers from Boise State and Arizona. Tharp is not expected to make a decision for at least a week.

Running back Mike Liti of Foothill High in Santa Ana, Calif., also visited UH during the weekend. UCLA, Southern California, Boise State and Utah have expressed interest in Liti, who is not expected to make a decision until next week. He also is awaiting visits to UCLA and Utah.

Feb. 5 is the first day recruits may signing binding national letters of intent. Rolovich could not wait, and decided to commit to UH without taking an official recruiting visit to another school.

Nick Rolovich said, "I let him make his own decision. But I think he understands that if you're a quarterback, unless you want to run the option, you either want to go to Hawai'i, Marshall or some school with that type of throwing offense. Hawai'i is one of the top teams in the nation in passing every year. I know Coach (June) Jones will throw it all of the time. He treats you like a man. And Hawai'i is a beautiful, beautiful place. What's better than to go to a beautiful place, spend four or five years learning a lot of football, having fun and getting a degree? You can't be disappointed going to Hawai'i."

The Warriors have two more big recruiting weekends scheduled. About a dozen recruits are expected to visit this coming weekend. Jones and assistant coach Rich Miano also will spend four days this week recruiting in American Samoa. UH is a finalist for four recruits from American Samoa.