But if the early returns are any indication, the University of Hawaii had a good recruiting class that addressed the immediate needs of size and speed on both sides of the football.

Not surprisingly, that's what Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen and recruiting coordinator Don Dillon claimed yesterday after releasing the names of the 23 players who signed national letters of intent to play for Hawaii.

Eight of those joined the program at midterm as early junior college signees, but the remaining 15 are a blend of high school seniors and JC transfers who should help the program improve on last year's dismal 2-10 record.

"This is an athletic class that should have immediate impacts on our program," vonAppen said. "How many of those will help our program right away, we won't know until next fall.

"It's usually very difficult for a freshman, especially in the offensive and defensive lines, to play right away. But all of the junior college guys - particularly the ones who transferred at midterm - expect to play right away. Or they wouldn't be here."

Dillon was particularly pleased with the signing of the eight midterm players. He expects them to pay dividends next month when spring football begins.

VonAppen originally announced seven midterm transfers, but has since added an eighth. He is Rinda Brooks, a rover-type linebacker out of New Mexico Military Junior College.

Quarterback Dan Robinson and wide receiver Wesley Morris are also midterm acquisitions, and two of the four players listed as a top signee by the coaching staff.

The other two are defensive lineman Miles Garner, who at 6-foot-2 and 325 pounds, is an imposing force, and running back Charles Tharp. At 5-8 and 183 pounds, Tharp is the antithesis of Garner, but could provide just as much of an impact next season.

Garner was named most valuable player at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif., last year. Tharp rushed for more than 1,500 yards his junior and senior seasons at St. Francis High in Mountain View, Calif. He also rushed for more than 200 yards in his last four games of his senior season in leading St. Francis to back-to-back Central Coast Section Division I championships.

The Rainbows also signed two players with local ties and two more, who verbally committed, but will join the program next spring. The two signees are defensive lineman Matt Elam and offensive lineman Manly Kanoa.

The two verbal commitments are Radford High's Aaron Leverenz and Mid-Pacific Institute's Chris Smith.

Elam is a 6-2, 255-pound defensive lineman who transferred from Eastern Washington Junior College. The Sugarland, Texas, resident grew up in Hawaii and his father played for the Rainbows in the 1970s.

Kanoa is a Kamehameha Schools senior, who at 6-4 and 260 pounds, should help the Rainbows along the forward offensive wall. He is the only local prospect expected to play for UH in the fall.

Dillon echoed those sentiments.

"We aren't going to use anything as an excuse," Dillon said. "Our staff wants to improve relations with the local high schools.

"We tell local recruits they can either help build the bandwagon or jump on it when we start winning down the road. But we're also happy with the players we recruited in California.

"It's amazing how many good football players there are in California. A lot of times the fourth and fifth guy on a high school team is a Division I player, but he doesn't get looked at as closely because he is the fifth guy."

In all, the Rainbows signed 16 players with ties to California, three from Texas and one each from Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Hawaii.

The players from the Lone Star State are Lonnie Williams of Eastern Hills High School in Fort Worth, defensive lineman Chuck Thompson from Haltom High of Haltom City, and Brooks, who grew up in Houston.

Robinson is from Utah by way of Ricks Junior College in Idaho, and strong safety Brian Maney, who played at Scottsdale (Ariz.) Junior College, is actually from Florence, Kent.

The Rainbows signed six defensive linemen, four defensive backs, three linebackers, four offensive linemen, three wide receivers, one quarterback, one running back and one tight end.

"There were a couple of guys we thought we had who signed with other schools," vonAppen said. "But for the most part, we got what we wanted.

"We have three other players coming in over the next couple of weeks who we hope to sign. I'd say we had a good recruiting class, but we need to have several good to excellent classes to turn around this program."