Battered Robinson
doubtful

Dan Robinson is listed as doubtful for Saturday's game with Texas-El Paso.

The Hawaii quarterback has so many bumps and bruises from the beating he took in the 30-20 loss to New Mexico last Saturday, Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen said the list of his injuries is too long to recite. After reviewing the film of UH's 13th consecutive defeat, vonAppen said Robinson was knocked down 22 times.

"He has blood in his lymph nodes, two horrible bruises on his right elbow, two bad shoulders, a bruised knee and a bad ankle," vonAppen said yesterday. "And that's the short version.

"We're going to rest him all week and hopefully he'll heal some and see some playing time this weekend. But right now, Bronson Liana and Josh Skinner will be our top two quarterbacks on Saturday."

To make matters worse, left tackle Adrian Klemm will not make the trip because of a sprained knee. That means freshman Aaron Leverenz will get the start at the most important spot up front.

It also means UH offensive coordinator Don Lindsey will start his sixth different offensive line in eight games, which has contributed to the Rainbows' lack of consistency this season.

"Aaron is going to be a good one for us someday, but he's probably not ready to start at this level," Lindsey said. "A bigger concern is the possible loss of Dan.

"First of all, he (Robinson) probably won't practice any this week. The trainers told us, if we didn't rest him, he probably wouldn't make it through the end of the season.

"We're trying to win games, but we have to do what the trainers tell us, so that means Bronson and Josh have to get themselves ready to play. Hopefully, Dan can see some time, but you don't know how much."

Skinner is still slowed by a nasty hamstring pull. As a result, the junior quarterback can't explode off the ball to get clear of the defense.

That means Liana could see a majority of the playing time out of the option phase of Hawaii's attack, which will challenge an already struggling offense.

"Our emergency quarterback is Ricky Lumford," vonAppen said. "We're going to redshirt Shawn Withy-Allen no matter what."

Robinson has completed 95 of 214 passes for 1,308 yards and eight touchdowns. He has also thrown five interceptions and been sacked 21 times.

Liana isn't much of a passer. He has completed only 3 of 12 passes for 14 yards. Skinner hasn't completed a pass in seven attempts.

"I'm holding out hope that Dan can pull himself together and see some spot duty," vonAppen said. "But we have to worry about the big picture and Dan's overall health. We don't want to put him into harm's way."

SECONDARY CHANGES: UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams will take a hard look at Celnell Bobbitt, Jovon Jiles, James Polk and Donnell Williams at the two cornerback spots.

Bobbitt and Donnell Williams are the likely starters, but all four will see some playing time. It's doubtful cornerback Quincy LeJay will recover from a bruised shoulder in time to play this weekend.

"We wanted to start Nate Jackson and Damien Arafiles at the two safety spots, but Damien reinjured his leg and may not be at full speed," vonAppen said. "If he can't go, then Anthony Smith would get the start."

INJURY UPDATE: Daniel Ho-Ching is back from a bad hamstring pull and will compete at free safety this weekend.

That's good news because fellow safety Phil Austin (knee) is still sidelined. Fullback Calvin Mims (knee) returned to practice yesterday, but said the knee didn't feel good enough to play.

"I don't want to come back too soon and not be able to finish the season," Mims said.

The Chicago resident wants to be healthy for the final two games with Northwestern and Michigan because he expects many family members and friends to be on hand.

"I've got 22 people coming for the Michigan game," Mims said. "I want to make sure I'm as close to full speed as I can be so they can see me at my best."

UH trainers also announced that linebacker Joaquin Avila will be out with a bad ankle. Fellow linebacker Yaphet Warren is doubtful with a pulled hamstring. Tony Tuioti has a bad back, but his expected to play.

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-- By Paul Arnett , Star-Bulletin