Wednesday, September 4, 1996
"He could be a fullback and a tailback, we just don't know for sure," vonAppen said. "He'll be all over the place because we plan to use him at wide receiver as well."
Macon said after practice that he had only four plays in Hawaii's 24-21 loss to Boston College last weekend. And in his mind, that wasn't enough.
"I just want to play more and contribute any way I can to help this team win," Macon said. "I played tailback for 12 years. I only played quarterback in high school and my first couple of years here."
Macon threw one pass from his wide receiver spot for 16 yards to Dillan Micus. Later in the game, he went in motion away from Micus as a decoy, clearing the way for the sophomore receiver to pull down a 45-yard pass from Freitas.
He was forced to return home to California on Friday after his mother suffered a heart attack.
She regained consciousness over the weekend, but is still too ill to care for her younger son. Because of that fact, Shrout is out indefinitely, vonAppen said.
"We don't know when he's coming back or if he's coming back this season," vonAppen said. "Chad has a younger brother living with her in a single home, so he needs to take care of that situation."
Freshman walk-on Eric Hannum will handle the punting duties. He had nine against Boston College for an average of 39.9 yards a kick.
Wentling is still on crutches after suffering a nasty ankle sprain on Glenn Freitas' fourth-down sneak for a touchdown.
"I heard something snap and thought somebody must have really got crunched," Wentling said. "I looked down at my ankle and realized it was me."
VonAppen said he doesn't expect Wentling to play, but the tough-minded senior said he would do everything he could to get back into the lineup.
As for Thomas, he suffered a bruised shoulder and wasn't able to scrimmage during yesterday's workout. Also slowed by an ankle sprain is Carlos Shaw, who didn't play against Boston College.
Top right cornerback Robbie Robinson missed Hawaii's opener as well because of a pinched nerve. He was back at practice, but has yet to be cleared for full contact.
Guard Michael Petersen returned to practice, but is still bothered by a sore shoulder he had operated on last spring.
Senior running back Paul Purdy is definitely out with a dislocated shoulder. He could be gone for as many as two months.
Champathong is working at Kalani High School, while Yamashita left to take a job to help pay his way through school.
"He went through fall camp and waited to see if a scholarship would come open for him," vonAppen said. "When it didn't, Tad said he had to go to work to support himself in school.