Thursday, August 20, 1998

’Bows lose
a QB

The departure of junior college
transfer Tom Racius leaves
Hawaii with four quarterbacks

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

University of Hawaii quarterback Tom Racius walked off the field after yesterday's morning practice and hasn't been seen since.

"We know he turned in his playbook, but that's about it," Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen said of the Los Angeles Valley College transfer. "I've never been a coach who tries to talk players in to or out of anything. If he doesn't want to play for this program, then good riddance."

Racius' sudden departure leaves four quarterbacks in the Hawaii stable. They are Josh Skinner, Dan Robinson, Shawn Withy-Allen and walk-on Bronson Liana from Kamehameha Schools.

UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey said that plans to redshirt Withy-Allen might have to be put on hold. With Skinner missing significant practice time with a hip pointer, the possibility the former Kalaheo High star will play this year just went up significantly.

"Shawn has been a pleasant surprise," Lindsey said. "We might have thought about redshirting him just so we could have five years to help him with his development.

"But that has probably changed somewhat with the loss of Racius. Shawn has an excellent feel for the game. I could probably take the IQ test twice and not equal his score once.

"He understands football. He sees the play developing and those are things you can't really teach. He could definitely play this year because in this day and age, you need three quarterbacks."

At this point, Skinner and Robinson are the leaders of the pack. They have the experience and feel for what it takes to play at the Division I level.

Racius might have thought he was prepared for it, but anyone who saw him during last Saturday's scrimmage witnessed a player clearly out of his league.

"You saw how many mistakes he made," vonAppen said. "Twice, he went one way and everyone else went the other. Maybe he was nervous, but if he can't play out here, then I can't count on him at Aloha Stadium."

During Monday morning's practice, Racius told UH trainers he had a strained shoulder. But then that afternoon, he was back throwing the football, much to the chagrin of the UH medical staff.

Lindsey addressed the possibility that Racius might not have known what he was getting into when he signed his letter of intent last February. He was recruited by former UH offensive coordinators Wally English and Guy Benjamin to be a drop-back passer.

"But we told him early on what kind of offense we planned on running," said Lindsey, once it was announced he would be the new offensive coordinator. "He knew the option was going to be what we were planning to use for our running game.

"I also gave him every opportunity in practice. The only player to throw more footballs this fall camp is Dan. And look at Dan. He isn't an option quarterback, but the Stormin' Mormon isn't afraid to run those plays when they're called. And that's what we're looking for as coaches."

Skinner returned to practice yesterday, but only in a limited capacity. He hasn't had any full contact since injuring his hip last Saturday afternoon.

"I might be able to take a hit on my hip, but I'm not going to rush it," Skinner said. "If I feel like I can go (today), then I will. I don't want it to become a chronic injury that stays with me all season."

A year ago, Skinner was all set to be redshirted, but recruited quarterbacks Hunter Young and John Gurasich left in fall camp. Later in the season, quarterback-turned-receiver Jerimi Bourland also returned to the Lone Star State.

"You don't like to see players leave your program this way, but it happens," vonAppen said of Racius. "That scholarship is now lost to us. We can't go get somebody off the waiver wire.

"I like the guys we have back there. They want to play for this program. We wish Tom God's speed, but we're not going to waste anymore time worrying about him."