UH QB
scrambles to return
With time running out,
By Paul Arnett
Carey hopes to come back from
shoulder injury in two weeks
Star-BulletinTim Carey spent a half-hour after practice throwing to wide receiver John Kirby while University of Hawaii head trainer Eric Okasaki looked on. "If you can throw the football better than me, you can play this weekend," Okasaki jokingly said to Carey.
Carey's passes had some zip, but not enough for him to stand on one hash mark and throw a sideline route across the field.
"Be careful," Kirby said after Carey backed up 30 yards before letting it fly. "You're making me nervous throwing it that far."
Carey's longest pass was 33 yards. Okasaki said Carey's chances of playing against San Diego State this weekend are slim, but don't tell that to UH offensive coordinator Wally English. He might need Carey.
"Even though he's not 100 percent ready, we've got to get him out there practicing again," English said. "He could at least be a backup this weekend."
Carey took several snaps during the light workout at Cooke Field, and threw short passes with some velocity.
"He can throw the football a lot better than he could last week," UH coach Fred vonAppen said. "I was surprised at how good he looked and how much zip he had on the ball. But I still think he's at least two weeks away from seeing any significant playing time."
Carey said that playing in two weeks, when Air Force comes to town, is much more likely than throwing bombs and sideline ropes against San Diego State.
"I would think being ready for the Air Force game (on Nov. 1) would be almost for sure," said Carey, who injured his shoulder against UNLV four weeks ago. "But a lot can still happen this week. I'm still hoping, but today I know I'm not in any condition to play a game.
"If the game were today, no way, but a lot can happen in a week. If I miss Air Force I will be really disappointed, but I could still maybe get a little playing time in this week. Possibly."
VonAppen said Carey might not be ready to start until Nov. 15, when the Rainbows travel to San Jose State.
That means the senior transfer from Stanford would only get to play in the final three games of the season. That would hurt Carey's chances of being selected by a National Football League team, even with vonAppen's connections.
"If he doesn't get much of a senior campaign, and that's looking more and more likely, then it's going to be a long, hard climb for him," vonAppen said.
"It will be hard getting him into a camp. (Former Wyoming quarterback) Josh Wallwork was by here the other day and wanted to work with us to get ready for next year. He was with the 49ers and they pushed him to the World League.
"There's so damn many quarterbacks. You have to be able to go some place and showcase your skills. The NFL is probably not it anymore because you can't get any time. Look at Wallwork. He was on a team that won 10 games last year and he's unemployed."
As expected, Josh Skinner will start Saturday against the Aztecs. Statistically, he struggled against BYU in his third start of the season. The sophomore connected on 10 of 24 passes for 97 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked four times.
Junior quarterback Dan Robinson also practiced for the first time in several weeks. He worked with the scout team against the No. 1 defense.
"My left leg is still pretty sore," said Robinson, who will seek a medical hardship, giving him two more years of eligibility. "But I feel a lot better than I did a month ago."
If Skinner went down, vonAppen said receiver Johnny Macon would be his replacement. The No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart is redshirt freshman Jerimi Bourland.
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