Friday, December 18, 1998

Suan will do
‘whatever it takes’
for UH

The new Hawaii assistant
football coach has done a bit
of everything at Linfield

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Wes Suan has held more titles than Prince Charles.

If the former Linfield College assistant coach wasn't the offensive coordinator for the Wildcats, he was the associate athletic director.

Some people thought of him as the equipment manager and for 17 seasons, Suan served as the men's tennis coach as well.

So, you will have to forgive him if the offensive coordinator title that new Rainbows head coach June Jones may bestow on him in the coming weeks doesn't matter. He has been there and done that.

"I'll do whatever it takes to get the job done," Suan said yesterday. "My job will be to help develop an attacking offense that exploits whatever types of defenses we will face. We want teams trying to catch up to us.

"Whatever position or title I have, it doesn't matter. I have coached quarterbacks, running backs and offensive linemen. But most important, I want to win football games, regardless of what position or title June decides to give me."

Suan is the first coach Jones has hired on offense. Hawaii assistant George Lumpkin will handle the linebackers and Rich Miano will instruct the secondary.

St. Louis School offensive coordinator Ron Lee said yesterday he has been offered a job by Jones. But as has been reported in the Star-Bulletin since Jones was hired, none of the Lee brothers is expected to join the staff.

At this point, Suan is too busy to concern himself with that. Yesterday, he took the NCAA recruiting test. He expects to pass it, and then try to help Miano and Lumpkin with local recruiting before the December period ends.

"We're asking the local players to be patient with us," Suan said. "I know some of them are concerned because we stopped calling or keeping in contact.

"But we will get back to each and every one of them as soon as we possibly can. One of my jobs will be to try to keep as many local players home.

"We know we can't get them all, but we're going to try to get as many as we can. I've recruited local athletes to Linfield for years. I know there are high-caliber players on these islands."

Suan was one of those quality players some 30 years ago. The former Waialua High standout began as a lineman for then head coach Hugh Yoshida. But like his days at Linfield, Suan did a little bit of everything for the current UH athletic director.

"I was a lineman, a tight end, a linebacker, and a running back," Suan said of his 1968 high school glory days. "Sometimes, we didn't have enough defensive scouts and the coaches were involved. I just played the game.

"So, when I went out to Linfield, I wanted to be a linebacker and they thought I should be a running back. And the rest is history. I've pretty much been on offense ever since, although I did coach the defensive line for a few years at Linfield, too."

At this point, the well-versed coach is just glad to be an island boy once more. He had forgotten what it was like to go outside in his slippers and shorts on a December morning on Oahu.

He is also hopeful that his Waialua roots and local recruiting connections he has developed the past two decades will be useful in trying to make Hawaii a viable program for top local recruits.

"I think I understand the mentality of local boys wanting to go away to school," Suan said. "And that's fine. But we want it to be a tough decision for them.

"I'm not sure why this team didn't win any games. But my job is to give them confidence and belief in themselves. My roots are on the North Shore.

"It hurt me to see Waialua almost give up football. But they didn't. They fought to keep it. And we need that kind of attitude here. We want our players to work hard to improve a program that was once proud."

This attitude is one reason Jones always kept Suan in mind as a possible coach. He knew he could speak the local players' language.

"We will not only be a good recruiter, but he has a great mind," Jones said. "He understands the game and can teach it to anyone. He and George (Lumpkin) were always two coaches I wanted on my staff if I ever got the job here."

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Salanoa passes
on ’Bows, picks
Eastern Washington

The Division I-AA school
grabs him before UH can

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Hawaii may have been interested in local quarterback Fred Salanoa, but he obviously wasn't that interested in the Rainbows.

The former Radford High School star signed a national letter of intent with Division I-AA Eastern Washington, it was confirmed by the Star-Bulletin yesterday.

"Yeah, we signed him first thing Wednesday morning because we heard Hawaii was trying to find him," Eastern Washington head coach Mike Kramer said. "We passed over a couple of quarterbacks just to sign him. He was a real steal for us."

Kramer said that after things didn't work out in Hawaii, Salanoa returned to Snow College (Utah) last fall and was relegated to a backup role.

"He only came in during the second half," Kramer said. "But we remembered him from his first season up there at Snow. He led the nation for junior college quarterbacks in passing yards."

Salanoa threw for 3,398 yards and 38 touchdowns his freshman season in 1997. He verbally committed to Hawaii last spring and was reportedly interested in returning here next year.

"I definitely think he was," Kramer said. "But they probably didn't have anybody in a position to sign him for the early period."

Hawaii currently has three quarterbacks on scholarship, senior Dan Robinson, junior Josh Skinner and redshirt freshman Shawn Withy-Allen. Walk-on Bronson Liana also saw time under center last season.

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