UH receiver's playing status undetermined

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of Hawai'i receiver Nate Ilaoa yesterday underwent a magnetic resonance imaging to determine the severity of his injured right knee.

Nate Ilaoa has a sprained right knee, at the least. Advertiser library photo

At the least, Ilaoa, a third-year sophomore who starts at right slotback, has a sprained right knee. By definition, all sprains involve some degree of tearing.

UH coach June Jones said Ilaoa's availability "will be a doctor's decision."

Ilaoa suffered the injury in the second quarter of Saturday's 40-17 victory over Appalachian State. But the UH coaches were encouraged that Ilaoa continued for several more plays before alerting the medical staff.

"He didn't feel right," said Ron Lee, who coaches the UH receivers. "Hopefully, it's nothing serious."

After the game, Ilaoa said, "It's going to be OK."

UH has a bye this coming weekend, and if Ilaoa is not available for the Sept. 13 road game against Southern California, the Warriors are prepared to go with backups Clifton Herbert and Gerald Welch. Herbert could not secure three passes thrown in his direction Saturday, but "he'll break out of it," Lee said.

Welch, who received a medical hardship because of a knee injury last season, has lost weight and improved his conditioning.

Although Herbert and Welch do not have Ilaoa's after-the-catch running ability, "they run good routes," Lee said.

Lee said there are no plans to move starting left wideout Britton Komine, who played slotback last season, or backup left slotback Ross Dickerson. Lee said Dickerson, who scored on a 100-yard kickoff return, is more comfortable playing on the left side.

Jones said he believes starting right cornerback Abraham Elimimian will be able to play against Southern Cal. Elimimian suffered a strained left shoulder against ASU.

"He's pretty sore, but hopefully in three or four days he'll be OK," Jones said.

After reviewing videotapes of the ASU game, Jones praised several defenders — strong safety Hyrum Peters, middle linebacker Chad Kalilimoku and rush end Travis LaBoy — and said quarterback Jason Whieldon "did some nice things. We didn't protect him so well and we dropped a couple of balls that probably would have made him look even better."

Whieldon, playing in place of suspended Tim Chang, threw for 359 yards, the second-best debut as a starter by a UH quarterback, and three touchdowns.

Jones said Chang, promoted by the school as a candidate for the Heisman Trophy as the nation's best college football player, will start against Southern Cal.

It has not been determined if the Warriors' starting offensive line will remain intact.

Jones said left tackle Samson Satele, center Derek Faavi and right guard Phil Kauffman played well. UH used several offensive linemen — in part to test their game readiness, in part because "we weren't getting the job done," Jones said.

In the second half, freshman Jeremy Inferrera played left tackle and Satele, a second-year freshman, moved to left guard.

"We'll evaluate (the line)," Jones said, "and the best five guys will play" against Southern Cal.

Jones said he will give his team some rest days this week, although he has not set the schedule.

"You have to make the best of the bye," he said. "You prefer to get (byes) later in the season, but this one is good because we're a little banged up at key spots. We have to get well in a hurry."

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