Robinson suffered
concussion against BYU

Dan Robinson suffered a mild concussion on the late hit he took in the second half of Hawaii's 31-9 loss to Brigham Young.

It is the second week in a row the UH quarterback was dinged during a game, prompting Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen to say prior to yesterday's practice that Bronson Liana needs to be up and ready in case Robinson can't go.

"We wondered why Dan was having a hard time getting some plays called after that hit," vonAppen said. "Now, we know. If he's not up to the task, then Bronson would go against New Mexico."

But don't count Robinson out just yet. Yes, he was dinged. And yes, it probably resulted in a concussion. But that doesn't mean Robinson won't be fit for duty.

The UH trainers cleared him to practice and Robinson said he'll be under center this Saturday night against New Mexico at Aloha Stadium.

"I don't remember if I had a concussion," Robinson deadpanned after practice. "Yeah, I probably did, but I'll be fine. It just took some time for my head to clear."

Robinson didn't have a great night for the Rainbows. He hit only 10 of 24 passes for 183 yards and one touchdown to freshman fullback Derek Zoller.

Liana wasn't any better. He had one completion in five attempts for minus-2 yards. And he rushed six times for minus-7 yards.

"But what pleased me about Bronson was him recognizing that we needed a timeout because we couldn't get the play in, and to get off a play before the 25-second clock expired," vonAppen said. "He has good presence out there."

VonAppen also was hopeful that Josh Skinner could return from the land of the dead. The junior quarterback has been under center for only one play in the last four games due to a pulled hamstring.

He took part in yesterday's practice and has been cleared to play by the UH trainers.

"Josh's problem is, he can't run," vonAppen said. "He's not explosive enough in our option phase and we need him to be."

INJURY UPDATE: You don't have to tell defensive coordinator Tom Williams the Rainbows are banged up, and have been since fall camp.

"We've had eight guys go down with injuries that figured prominently in our plans during fall camp," Williams said yesterday.

"Those were our bell-cow guys. And we've got several others who won't be at full speed this weekend against New Mexico."

Since fall camp, cornerback Celnell Bobbitt (broken leg), linebackers Rinda Brooks (concussion), Stephen Gonzales (ankle), Jeff Ulbrich (knee), Steve Dietschy (knee), and Yaphet Warren (hamstring), and safeties Daniel Ho-Ching (hamstring and chicken pox) and Phil Austin (knee) have missed at least two games.

Ulbrich is the latest casualty of war. He will rehabilitate his knee for four weeks before undergoing season-ending surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

There had been some suggestion that the talented inside linebacker went down on a cheap shot by a BYU offensive lineman, but Williams claims that's not true.

"Actually, it was Ben Bright, who hit him from the side," Williams said. "Ben had his head down to make the tackle on the quarterback and never even saw Jeff coming from a different angle."

Fellow linebackers Kamuela Cobb-Adams, who has played in 42 consecutive games, is bothered by an ankle, and Houdini Jackson had an MRI done yesterday to see if he suffered a hip pointer.

Safety Donnell Williams underwent surgery yesterday to have a pin put into his dislocated thumb, but he is not expected to miss any playing time.

On the offensive side of the football, the only serious injury is to fullback Calvin Mims (knee), who said yesterday he won't be back this weekend.

SECONDARY SET: The one good thing about all the injuries on the defensive side of the ball is it allowed Damien Arafiles and Nate Jackson to see some playing time at strong and free safety.

"I was pleased with the way those guys performed," Williams said. Arafiles had seven tackles against BYU and Jackson had one. "We're going to start the same four guys back there this weekend."

The two cornerbacks will be Quincy LeJay and Jovon Jiles. Coach Williams said he also wants to get Donnell Williams back at corner.

"He's better at reacting, so corner may be better suited for Donnell," Williams said. "We'll have to wait and see what happens."

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By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin