Football Notebook

New look for
Rainbow uniforms

A change is in the works that would do away with the rainbow logo on the side of the University of Hawaii football helmet and alter the current shade of green to a more olive complexion.

"We're going to vote on it soon, but the color of green is more along the lines of the Philadelphia Eagles," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said after yesterday's practice. "We're probably going to put the rainbow logo just above the thigh pad on the pants.

"Right now, we're planning to offset the U and H in block letters on the side of the helmet -- similar to what Oklahoma does with the O and the U, and what the University of Houston does with their U and H."

Most of the players were in favor of the changes. Hawaii will wear green and white for home games, and white and green on the road. The helmet will be white and the block letters will be in green.

"It's something that's kind of fun and gives your team a new look," vonAppen said. "Look what it did for the Denver Broncos. They switch and win the Super Bowl."

FIRST SCRIMMAGE SET: The Rainbows will hold their first of three scrimmages tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at Cooke Field. It will be open to the public.

VonAppen said he wasn't sure how many plays they would try to run or what kind of format he was going to use. Because the Rainbows only have 60 players in camp, depth is a problem.

"We don't want to get too banged up out there," vonAppen said. "It will be similar to what we did today at the end of practice. We want to get some contact work against each other to see where we're at and where we need to go next week."

Yesterday was the first time the team was in full pads. There was supposed to be no tackling -- new spring rules allow only eight days of full contact -- but every once in a while, the players just couldn't help themselves.

"It's been four months since we've had any contact, so it's tough on the guys not to knock somebody over when they come by," vonAppen said. "But the new rules are specific about this. You can only have full contact in pads a certain amount of days."

Spring football practice consists of 15 days. Three of those can't be in pads, four can be contact in full pads, but no tackling, and eight can be full contact. Of those eight, three of those practices can be scrimmages.

"I'm not sure how much scrimmaging we're going to do on Friday," UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey said. "But the offense and defense need the work, and we need to grade our guys on film in a game-like situation."

INJURY REPORT: Defensive nose tackle Miles Garner wasn't in full pads yesterday, after suffering a full body cramp on Tuesday.

"And that's a lot of body to cramp," vonAppen said of the 6-foot-2, 325-pounder. "He should be back in there soon."

Fellow defensive lineman Olen Rosehill missed his second consecutive practice with a bad back. He injured it while lifting weights. Receiver Echo Charles was also sidelined with a hamstring pull.

JENKINS APPEALS DECISION: Mark Jenkins appealed the decision by the NCAA not to grant him a sixth season.

The UH inside linebacker said during yesterday's practice that he wasn't granted the sixth year because he played in four games during the 1995 season before injuring his knee.

"If I had played in only three games, then they would have considered it," said Jenkins, who also missed most of another year after a death in his family. "The thing is, in one of those games, I had only nine plays. I'm praying they change their mind."

ULBRICH IN CAMP: Inside linebacker Jeff Ulbrich is the only junior college transfer to join the program at midterm.

The 6-1, 254-pound product of Morgan Hill, Calif., had the best squat on the team at 595 pounds. He also was timed at 4.61 in the 40.

"I also had a 4.51, but the coaches said it was wind-aided," Ulbrich said. "I'm glad I'm getting to practice in the spring because this defense is different than what we ran at Gavilan College. We ran more of an eagle defense, so the responsibilities of the inside linebackers are different. Coming in at midterm will definitely help me when we start fall camp."

UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams likes what he sees of Ulbrich.

"He's big, strong and fast," Williams said. "He's the kind of guy, who can match up inside and outside. When he gets comfortable with what we're doing defensively, then watch out."

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--By Paul Arnett