Whenever a University of Hawai'i football player makes a stunning move, a growing number of his teammates will say:

"Un ... be ... lievable."

"Nate started that," Jazen Anderson said of fellow running back Nate Ilaoa. "It started in spring ball. Somebody made one of those what-the-hell plays, and he said, 'un ... be ... lievable,' and we all started saying it. That's one of those 'Nate' phrases."

And it is one that Ilaoa, a sixth-year senior from Stafford, Va., is hearing more frequently.

In Saturday's 42-13 rout of UNLV, Ilaoa rushed nine times for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught three passes for 32 yards. Yesterday, he was named the Western Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week.

"It's a credit to my teammates — the receivers, Colt (Brennan, the starting quarterback), the O-line," Ilaoa said. "The receivers are always running around like crazy, spreading the field. And when they stretch the field, that allows for bigger lanes for me. The guys on the O-line work extra hard on their blocking. If you get good blocking, you have to complement it back. It would be a waste to have good blocking and not take advantage of it. The guys do a good job of allowing me to run in space. After that, I try to make the best of it."

Ilaoa, who is 5 feet 9 and 250 pounds, accumulated most of his yards on "Tampa Right," a play in which he follows left guard Hercules Satele, who pulls to the right, while right tackle Dane Uperesa and right guard John Estes block inward to seal the perimeter.

"Nate makes that play because he has that unbelievable lateral quickness for a 250-pound player," head coach June Jones said. "You don't see that in a guy that size."

Mouse Davis, who coaches the running backs, said Ilaoa "is a little bit of a freak" — too big for a running back, too quick for a fullback.

"When he was a receiver," Davis said of Ilaoa, who moved to running back last year, "he was very quick. He was a blaze coming out of high school. Then he gained that weight. He still has that quickness and that ability, but now he's a bigger kid. Those freaks are good."

Ilaoa said: "My mentality has always been the same. I run hard, no matter if I'm 180 or 250 pounds. I'm glad my body allows me to do those type of things."

ELIMIMIAN RUNNING

As much as inside linebacker Solomon Elimimian enjoyed thinking inside the box, he would prefer to play on the field.

"It was fun being up there," said Elimimian, who worked in the coaches box as a spotter for defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville during the UNLV game.

Elimimian, who was unavailable to play because of a sprained right knee, helped identify the formations.

"It was like I was one of the coaches," he said. "It was intense. It was a different perspective. But it wasn't as fun as playing."

Elimimian has made progress in his recovery.

Yesterday, he participated in the post-practice windsprints. After that, he ran up and down a hill adjacent to UH's grass practice field.

He did not experience any pain while running laterally. He said he hopes to be cleared to practice as early as today.

He said he will continue to wear a brace on his right knee.

"It keeps my leg straight," he said. "It's light. It's not going to slow me down. Overall, it'll help me out."

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