THEY'RE starting to keep a few home, and they're doing it early. UH gets some early
success in recruitingThis bears watching.
During the 1996-97 recruiting season, the University of Hawaii football team didn't receive a single local commitment until Pac-Five lineman Chris Smith gave his on Jan. 19.
But as of midweek, UH will have two very good Hawaii prep athletes verbally committed.
It shows the UH recruiting campaign is a lot quicker off the snap this season. That factor, combined with Saturday's thrilling one-point loss to Notre Dame, might help UH keep several more home.
Craig Stutzmann , St. Louis' superb slotback (14 touchdowns on the year), gave his word last week, and Kalaheo's two-time all-star quarterback, Shawn Withy-Allen, is expected to call in his commitment as early as tomorrow.
If there's any position the Rainbows would love to solidify over the next few years, it is quarterback. And the idea of bringing in a promising young local talent who is eager to learn the UH scheme, has strong character references and a sterling academic background sounds pretty good.
Playing in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's White Conference last season and the Blue Conference this season, Withy-Allen didn't enjoy the visibility of St. Louis' Jason Gesser. And the competition he played against in those conferences couldn't compare with the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.
BUT Withy-Allen could be a sleeper in this recruiting class. Despite an unremarkable line, he led his conferences in passing yardage as a junior and as a senior. His stats topped the entire OIA this year. He's big and strong at 6-foot-4, 195 pounds, maneuverable and has an accurate arm. He'll probably mix well into the offensive UH formula.
"We used a semi-roll pocket system for him but he can be a straight dropback passer, too," said Kalaheo head coach John Kapele Jr.
The right-handed Withy-Allen had about 800 yards in two preseason games against Red Conference and White Conference teams and 1,125 yards in the Blue Conference's six-game season.
If you want to get a look at Withy-Allen and Stutzmann (four preseason and 10 ILH touchdowns), before the Rainbows open camp next summer, they'll be playing in the BTC Classic on Dec. 12 at Aloha Stadium.
Both are academically eligible. Withy-Allen is a 3.7 GPA student who stands sixth in his class.
SO you know that Rainbows' head coach Fred von Appen isn't taking any chances.
The 5-11, 185-pound Stutzmann, who's been told he might be used as a running back, slot and wideout, said he wouldn't have picked UH a few years ago. But he likes vonAppen and really believes the program will win a WAC title before he graduates.
It's significant that Stutzmann is a top St. Louis athlete who had also been recruited by Utah (where Cal Lee's brother, Tommy, coaches) and Wyoming.
Withy-Allen thinks well enough of UH's future to forego an Ivy League career.
Now, I won't venture to say UH is going to keep guys like defensive lineman Tony Tata (St. Louis), Gesser (St. Louis), or defensive lineman Ing Aleaga (Aiea) home. It would be a miracle if the program did.
But the fact that two very gifted local kids wanted to commit to the Rainbows so early might help some of the more indecisive local fence-sitters decide. Sure can't hurt.