Thursday, November 5, 1998
’Bows have
no defense
for injuries
UH defense hobbles into
By Paul Arnett
Saturday's WAC football game
vs. San Jose State
Star-BulletinTony Tuioti's back hurt so badly, he couldn't get to his feet without help.
For a half-hour at the end of yesterday's practice, he remained on all fours, his face buried in the Cooke Field turf as he fought through the pain of a bulging disc in his back that will eventually require surgery.
Hawaii defensive coordinator Tom Williams stood by and watched as several players and trainers carried the defensive lineman to a medical van.
It was not a pretty picture for Williams, who must feel like a lieutenant who had lost most of his platoon. Of the 11 starters in the season opener against Arizona, three won't be in the lineup for Saturday's game with San Jose State because of injuries, and several others are doubtful.
The only four Williams can count on from that original group are defensive lineman Matt Elam, linebackers Matt Paul and Kamuela Cobb-Adams, and strong safety Anthony Smith.
Tuioti was expected to start at nose tackle, but his status is uncertain. Fellow down lineman Ben Bright isn't at full speed either, leaving Williams with few options up front.
"When we started the season, we had no proven depth in the secondary, but plenty of guys in the front seven," Williams said. "Ironically, we now have more guys in the secondary than we do in the front seven."
How bad is it? Well, if Bright and Tuioti are unable to answer the bell, Miles Garner, Olen Rosehill and Lionel Brash, who was a tight end two weeks ago, will be up front.
Williams said outside linebacker Mark Mollner might be moved back to defensive end just to give the team a two-deep rotation.
That's not a pleasant prospect as Williams tries to devise a game plan for the ever-changing Spartans. During the first half of the season, San Jose State came at teams primarily in a two-back, two-wide receiver set.
But lately, the Spartans have gone more to a one-back, three-wide look, leaving Williams in a bit of a quandary.
"They didn't have much success against Utah last week in a one-back set, so it's possible they may shelve that and try some two-back stuff, you just don't know," Williams said.
"I do know this much. They've moved the ball against practically everybody. They scored 43 points off BYU, so that shows you how explosive they can be."
The main concern for UH is the Spartans' passing game. Celnell Bobbitt and Quincy LeJay, who is still battling a bad shoulder, will likely start at the corners for Hawaii, with Smith and Nate Jackson the safeties.
They will need to keep a close eye on Oliver Newell. The Spartans' wide receiver has 34 catches for 517 yards and five TDs. Last year, he found the end zone three times against the Rainbows.
"It all starts with their quarterback (Chris Kasteler), who is getting better every week," Williams said of the junior, who has passed for 1,144 yards and seven touchdowns. "They like to spread you out all over the field, so we have to put pressure on him."
Keeping pressure off Hawaii quarterback Dan Robinson will be offensive coordinator Don Lindsey's primary concern. Robinson missed most of last week's game because of a deep bruise in his throwing shoulder.
He is feeling much better than a week ago, but still can't take too many direct hits from a San Jose State defense better known for coverage than sacks.
"Their secondary is the best part of their defense," Lindsey said. "Our receivers will have their work cut out for them to shake these guys. They're near the bottom in quarterback sacks (nine in nine games), so we need to give Dan some time to find an open receiver."
Two games ago, Hawaii passed a school-record 57 times. Last week, the Rainbows passed eight times, which is thought to be a team-record low. Lindsey promises to be somewhere in between those totals against a defense similar to Hawaii's and UTEP's.
Those similarities should help the offensive line pick up the switches San Jose likes to make -- from a 3-4, to a 4-3, to even a 6-1.
"They'll shift in and out of different looks to try to confuse you," Lindsey said. "But it's basically a 46 defense that UTEP used last week."
The Rainbows ran the ball well against the Miners, picking up 236 yards. But they are still last in the league in rushing (104.3 yards a game), next-to-last in total offense (273.6), and last in the league and the nation in scoring offense, averaging 10.3 points a game.
"All I know is that San Jose State has kicked our butts the last two games," Lindsey said. "For us to beat them, we have to try to keep their talented free safety (Lyle West, who has 101 tackles) from being a dominant force.
"If we can run as well as we did last week and set up some play-action passes off of a better ground game, then hopefully we can move the ball on them effectively enough to get a win."
San Jose St. vs. UH
Three: The number of touchdown receptions by Hawaii's Wesley Morris in the recent loss to New Mexico. That tied a school record first set by George Naukana against BYU in 1930 and later tied by Walter Murray in 1985.
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