UH is upbeat in Seattle |
By Stephen Tsai
HawaiiWarriorBeat.com Editor
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When: 1:05 p.m. today Hawai'i time Where: Qwest Field, Seattle Radio: 1420 AM TV: Oceanic pay-per-view (digital 255). To order, call 808-643-3333. Also telecast delayed on KFVE at 9:30 p.m. today NOTES: Hawai'i won previous meeting, 24-10, Nov. 29, 2008. ... Former Saint Louis School and Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser will be on the sideline as part of the game's broadcast team. ...UH is 0-6 against BCS teams on the road. ... Qwest Field seats 67,000
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SEATTLE — For the sequel to last week's season-opening 25-20 victory, the Hawai'i football team is changing the script.
Quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich will call the offensive plays in today's game against Washington State. Offensive coordinator Ron Lee will focus on the receivers.
Shane Austin also arrived in town last night as an injury replacement for No. 2 quarterback Brent Rausch. Raush was wearing a splint on his right hand yesterday after suffering what is believed to be a fractured pinkie during Thursday's practice.
Bryant Moniz is elevated to No. 2 quarterback.
The Warriors also have stirred the defense. R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane moves over to middle linebacker, and backup middle linebacker Jake Heun is now the starting left end in the base 4-3 defense.
Here's a look at today's matchup:
HAWAI'I OFFENSE
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
LWO—3 Rodney Bradley 6-0 190 Jr.
LSB—1 Greg Salas 6-2 200 Jr.
LT—77 Aaron Kia 6-5 290 Sr.
LG—64 Ray Hisatake 6-3 315 Sr.
C—55 John Estes 6-3 300 Sr.
RG—74 Raphael Ieru 6-2 315 Sr.
RT—50 Laupepa Letuli 6-4 310 Sr.
RSB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 200 Jr.
RWO—7 Jovonte Taylor 5-9 170 Jr.
QB—12 Greg Alexander 6-4 225 Sr.
RB—23 L. Wright-Jackson 6-1 215 Sr.
RB—25 Alex Green 6-2 220 Jr.
Outlook: It took only one game to validate Salas' move from left wideout. In last week's opener against Central Arkansas, Salas caught seven of the nine passes in which he was the intended receiver (the two incompletions were on overthrows). Last year, he caught 60.4 percent of the passes thrown in his direction. Last week, his yards-after-catch (YAC) average was 17.1. Most significant, Salas' presence was a present to his cohorts. On a bubble screen to Kealoha Pilares, Salas cleared a path by flooring an outside linebacker. On the winning touchdown play, Salas broke off a route, forcing a safety in a two-deep zone to freeze. Bradley, a step ahead of a cornerback, curled behind the safety to make the leaping catch in the end zone.
Bradley and Pilares also have been effective blockers. Pilares delivered the biggest block last week — a hit-first knockdown he attributed to wanting to protect his smile after losing his mouthpiece on the previous play.
Alexander spent the past week working on his progression reads. Although he is getting better at identifying his third or fourth option — last week, he eye-juked a defender to complete a pass to Bradley, and he made an on-the-move lateral to Pilares — he too often ditches the pocket. Alexander is an effective runner. Last week his yards-after-hit (YAH) average was 10.1 yards, a statistic calculated by the number of yards gained after eluding a would-be tackler on a scramble. But the painful abrasions on his left shin should serve as a deterrent. Green, who had a YAH of 6.0, is a better choice of runner.Hawai'i defense
HAWAI'I DEFENSE
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
LE—5 Jake Heun 6-2 240 Jr.
LE—42 Paipai Falemalu 6-3 230 Fe.
LT—95 Vaughn Meatoga 6-2 290 So.
DT—99 Rocky Savaiigaea 6-1 305 Sr.
RT—49 Tuika Tufaga 6-2 285 Sr.
RE—98 Liko Satele 6-2 255 So.
SLB—53 Blaze Soares 6-1 245 Sr.
MLB—59 R.J. K-Kauhane 5-11 225 Sr.
WLB—41 Corey Paredes 5-11 230 So.
NLB—24 Aaron Brown 6-1 215 Jr.
LCB—4 Tank Hopkins 5-9 165 Jr.
SS—9 Spencer Smith 5-11 205 Jr.
FS—43 Mana Silva 6-1 220 Jr.
RCB—18 Jeramy Bryant 5-10 180 Jr.
NB—19 Richard Torres 5-8 175 So.
Outlook: Satele wore a blank green jersey during four practices the past week after his usual workout jersey went AWOL. Even without an identifying number, Satele has earned recognition as a dependable defensive end. He played 59 snaps last week — a lifetime high — as an injury replacement for Fetaiagogo Fonoti (hyperextended left kneecap). Satele fulfilled his assignment of narrowing the parameters of Central Arkansas' offense, allowing linebackers Soares, Paredes and Brown to storm the backfield. Even if Fonoti and left end Elliott Purcell (bruised left quadriceps) were fully healthy, Satele was assured a starting job this week. Purcell is expected to play; Fonoti's availability remains in question. And for yesterday's practice, Fonoti loaned his jersey to Satele.
Heun, who moved from middle linebacker on Monday, and Falemalu will share the No. 1 left end's role. Heun will play in the four-man front; Falemalu is used in the 3-3-5 Okie alignment. Of his first start in 19 months — he missed last season because of a herniated disk — Heun is hardly nervous. After all, he has a big-game background: his family in Alaska won't attend because this is moose-hunting season.
Kiesel-Kauhane moves from weakside linebacker to the middle. Mana Lolotai started there last week in place of Brashton Satele, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery two weeks ago. Kiesel-Kauhane is a natural middle. He's fast (sub-4.6 seconds over 40 yards), strong (maximum 455 bench press) and a leader (one of three team captains). He will make the on-field calls in the no-huddle defense.Hawai'i SPECIAL TEAMS
HAWAI'I SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
PK—20 Scott Enos 5-9 180 Jr.
LS—45 Luke Ingram 6-5 220 Fr.
H—11 Inoke Funaki 5-11 205 Sr.
P—31 Alex Dunnachie 6-3 235 Fr.
KR—7 Jovonte Taylor 5-9 170 Jr.
KR—25 Alex Green 6-2 220 Jr.
PR—88 Ryan Henry 5-9 170 Jr.
Outlook: In last week's game, his first event in front of a crowd of more than a few hundred, Dunnachie's punts averaged about 4.5 seconds of hangtime — good by Division I standards, not-so-good by Dunnachie's. He hopes to match the 5.0 hangtime he averaged during preseason practices. During Thursday's practice, he wowed two NFL scouts by booming a punt over the 50-foot-high roof of Brigham Field.
During the 2 1/2-week training camp, Enos struggled with his field-goal accuracy because of a tight left hamstring. Since healing, he has been consistently accurate. He also vowed to overcome the bouts of anxiousness that caused him to shank two kickoffs last week.
Ingram might be as good as his older brother, Jake Ingram, a long-snapper now with the New England Patriots. During warmups the past two days, each of his snaps reached the holder with the football laces facing away from the kicker.
WASHINGTON STATE OFFENSE
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
WR—85 Jeshua Anderson 6-2 192 Jr.
F—1 Gino Simone 5-11 174 Fr.
LT—78 Steven Ayers 6-4 311 So.
LG—54 Zack Williams 6-4 303 Jr.
C—69 Kenny Alfred 6-3 280 Sr.
RG—72 B.J. Guerra 6-3 318 So.
RT—7 Micah Hannam 6-4 290 Jr.
TE—14 Tony Thompson 6-2 239 Sr.
RWO—84 Jared Karstetter 6-4 205 So.
QB—9 Kevin Lopina 6-3 241 Sr.
RB—31 Dwight Tardy 5-11 204 Sr.
Outlook: In a last-man-standing competition, Lopina retained the starting quarterback's job. Lopina threw a scoring pass in last week's opener, surpassing last year's TD total. He was intercepted 11 times in 2008. During an online poll in July, Lopina received 21-percent support. In his defense, last year he suffered from a hip injury that made it painful on follow-throughs, and he endured two concussions. Lopina is most effective off bootlegs or play-action throws.
Wideout Daniel Blackledge, who caught a team-high six passes last week, missed a couple of practices this past week because of swine-flu-like symptoms. He has been medically cleared, and might open in the slot. But slotback Simone, a true freshman, also will be used. Anderson is fast — he is the NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles (48.69 seconds) — and dangerous on straight-ahead routes. Karstetter is the possession receiver. At 6 feet 4, Karstetter is a favorite red-zone target. Thompson has switched to the jersey number worn by his father, Jack "The Throwin' Samoan" Thompson. When the Cougars go to a double-tight-end formation, Thompson serves as a slotback; Skyar Stormo is the blocker.
Tardy has led the Cougars in rushing the past three seasons, mostly on stretch and zone plays, but the speedy Montgomery, a Cal transfer, might split the workload.
Alfred and Hannam anchor an offensive line that shuffled eight combinations last year. Some believe Williams is the Cougars' best blocker.
WASHINGTON STATE DEFENSE
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
LE—89 Travis Long 6-4 247 Fr.
LT—95 Bernard Wolfgramm 6-3 291 Jr.
94 Josh Luapo 6-0 311 Jr.
RE—93 Kevin Kooyman 6-6 260 Sr.
SLB—45 Andy Mattingly 6-4 249 Sr.
MLB—46 Louis Bland 5-10 221 So.
WLB—51 Jason Stripling 5-11 242 Sr.
LCB—3 Brandon Jones 5-9 183 Jr.
FS—26 Xavier Hicks 6-0 219 Sr.
SS—21 Chima Nwachukwu 5-11 198 Jr.
RCB—24 Daniel Simmons 5-10 188 Fr.
Outlook: The Cougars might be without their best defensive lineman, Kooyman, who suffered a knee injury in practice. If Kooyman is not available, Jesse Feagin, a senior who did not play last season because of academic issues, opens at right end. Mattingly regained his mojo after moving back to outside linebacker for last year's Hawai'i game. Mattingly was a chaos-inducing rusher as a sophomore linebacker. He moved to defensive end in 2008, struggling with his burst out of the three-point stance. Bland, meanwhile, has improved with each move. He moved from safety to outside linebacker last year. A few days before last week's opener, he moved to the middle.
The Cougars still are searching for answers at right cornerback. Aire Justin was No. 1 entering training camp. But he was eclipsed by Simmons, a second-year freshman, and now Justin is injured. Last week, Nwachukwu started at right corner. Nwachukwu is expected to move back to safety. If the Cougars go with five defensive backs, LeAndre Daniels becomes the nickelback.
WASHINGTON ST. SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.
PK—18 Nico Grasu 6-1 223 Jr.
LS—63 Zach Enyeart 6-1 249 Jr.
H—8 Reid Forrest 6-0 184 Jr.
KR—21 James Montgomery 5-10 193 Jr.
PR—3 Brandon Jones 5-9 183 Jr.
Outlook: Kevin Norrell, a receiver who was the No. 1 punt returner and kick returner, was booted from the team after his DUI arrest the past Monday. Jones will handle the punt returns, and Montgomery will return kicks.
Forrest moved into the WSU top-10 list for most career punts. That means the Cougars are giving up possessions way too frequently.
Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.
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