Tuesday, October 15, 1996
By Paul ArnettThe UH football team needs to attract quality players at virtually every position
The former University of Hawaii head coach had to know the cupboards were bare, a reality first-year man Fred vonAppen is all too aware of at this point.
Recruiting at Hawaii in the post-Holiday Bowl era has been more miss than hit. Since 1993, the Rainbows are 14-28-1 overall and a meager 5-23 in the Western Athletic Conference.
Recruiting coordinator Don Dillon doesn't want to impugn any of the reputations of the current players, but Hawaii is in desperate need of help at most positions.
"We've definitely got a shopping list," Dillon said before yesterday's light workout at Cooke Field. "All 25 of these recruits will be very important to this team down the road."
How far down the road? Well, that's a question vonAppen can't answer. This year's recruiting class has several players making immediate contributions, but most are junior college transfers.
Dillon said Hawaii will hold three spots open for junior college players, who can join the team in January. Most of the other scholarships will go to current high school seniors.
Perhaps the Rainbows' sorest need is along the defensive front. The problem is, every major school in the country is looking for the same thing.
Hawaii also needs offensive linemen, a big tight end, a wide receiver who can get down field and a darting running back.
Defensively, every position needs help. The Rainbows aren't particularly big or quick up front. They need a true middle linebacker in Don Lindsey's 4-3 scheme and they want some cover guys in the secondary.
Too bad vonAppen can't mortgage the future. He could use the 25 scholarships designated for 1998 as well.
"We definitely need to find as many difference-makers as we can," vonAppen said. "We just don't have any right now. That's why this recruiting class is so important to us."
Dillon said the Rainbows took the first steps toward recruiting late last spring. They sent out about 7,000 questionnaires to players all over the country.
The coaches expect to get about 2,500 responses, way more than they can handle. Choosing the right 25 will be difficult, but filling the 56 recruiting trips allowed by the NCAA is trickier still.
"One of the nice things about the University of Hawaii, getting a kid to visit here is not a problem," Dillon said. "But you have to discover if they're here for the right reason or a three-day vacation."
That's why the coaches won't bring in any players from the mainland that they haven't already seen or had a chance to talk to at some length.
The Rainbows also want to do a character test. Problems with players in the past - troubles off the field and academic failures chief among them - are to be avoided if possible.
Dillon said a premium will be put on academics. After losing nearly 20 players from a year ago to grades, the Rainbows want a solid plan in place for the future.
"We want to know ahead of time if they are going to go to school and then come out to practice every day to work hard," Dillon said.
"If not, we don't want to take a chance on them to avoid some of the problems we've already faced here. The incoming recruits will thin themselves out."
Currently, the Rainbows can visit high school and junior college campuses around the country each Friday. They can talk to a recruit once a week by phone.
Dillon said he works about three hours a day coordinating his fellow coaches and talking to recruits. Starting in December, coaches can have face-to-face contact until the dead period.
Besides the state of Hawaii, the Rainbows will target California, Texas, Arizona, Oregon and Washington the most. Only seven coaches can go out at any one time, so vonAppen and coordinators Don Lindsey and Guy Benjamin will remain behind.
The top recruits locally include Punahou School offensive lineman Mike Souza, St. Louis School offensive lineman Dominic Raiola, Kamehameha Schools offensive lineman Steve Grace, Iolani defensive lineman Ed Taumu, St. Louis defensive back Wes Tufaga, Punahou wide receiver Tafiti Uso and St. Louis wide receiver Randyn Akiona.
"We're going to take local recruiting very seriously," Dillon said. "Each one of us is assigned to a certain area to see if we can keep some of these guys at home."