Posted on: Friday, April 15, 2005
Hawai'i slotback is seizing the moment
By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
The most spectacular play of the University of Hawai'i football team's spring training yesterday was an incomplete pass.
The ball ricocheted off safety Leonard Peters and fell just beyond the outstretched grasp of gravity-defying Davone Bess.
"I should have had it," Bess would say later. "The one thing I've learned is you have to make the most of every chance."
That seize-the-moment belief has helped Bess earn raves as a speedy and sure-handed slotback in spring drills and backed UH coach June Jones' endorsement of a player who was released last September after serving 15 months in a juvenile detention ranch in Byron, Calif.
"He's been a great kid," Jones said. "He's worked hard. He's doing his classwork. He is appreciating the opportunity. He knows what he doesn't ever want to do again."
Bess, who is 5 feet 11 and 190 pounds, said: "I'm so thankful to be here. Most people who were in my situation don't get another chance."
In July 2003, Bess was convicted as an accessory for possessing stolen goods.
"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Bess, who was sentenced a month before he was supposed to start his freshman year at Oregon State. "My friends were out doing something they shouldn't be doing, and they needed a ride."
Bess, who was sentenced as a minor, served 15 months at the detention ranch where his schedule was dictated by others.
"I missed my freedom, just being able to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it," Bess said. "Going through that whole process, having to take orders from people I didn't even know, that kind of made me stronger. I made a mistake, and I wanted to turn everything I was going through into something positive for the long run."
Bess said he spent the recreation period in an open field, running sprints and laps. The ranch did not have a football.
Soon after his release, Oregon State offered a football scholarship. Instead, Bess, who has met the academic requirements to play as a freshman, chose the Warriors.
"I wanted to get away," he said. "I felt Hawai'i was the perfect place for me. It's a lot more relaxed, a way different environment from back home. I knew this was the place for me."
Bess enrolled at UH in January, and quickly bonded with teammates. Bess' closest friend — and competitor — is Jason Ferguson. They both play left slotback.
"That's the man right there," said Bess, pointing to Ferguson. Yesterday's practice ended 30 minutes earlier, but both remained on the grass practice field playing catch.
"He taught me a lot," Bess added. "Before spring camp started, I was in his room almost every day, going through the playbook with him. He knows his stuff. I was trying to suck up as much knowledge as I could."
During passing drills, each offers tips to the other.
On Tuesday, Ferguson was the slotback during an 11-on-11 drill when the Warriors called running play after running play. Bess offered to switch places in the order.
"He told me he wanted to trade so I could get a pass play," Ferguson said. "That's the type of guy he is. He's unselfish. He's a cool cat."
Two years ago, Ferguson's best friend was shot to death. "He reminds me of my best friend so much," Ferguson said of Bess. "I wouldn't say we're best friends because we've only known each other 2 1/2, three months. But we're close. We're helping each other have the best careers possible."
Former UH players Tim Chang and Chad Owens will be the featured instructors at the Hawai'i Speed and Quickness clinics tomorrow and Sunday at the UH athletic complex.
Chang is the NCAA's career passing leader. Owens is a 2004 All-America slotback/punt returner.
"It's good working with kids," Chang said. "The camp will teach them how to run properly and train the right way. It's a good thing."
For $10, each camper receives a Jamba Juice coupon and instruction in plyometrics and running techniques.
Each session offers different lessons.
Sessions are 8:30-10 a.m. for ages 7-12, and 10:30 a.m.-noon for ages 13 and older. For details, call 739-5444.
Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.
Chang, Owens at Speed and Quickness clinics
