Thursday, January 17, 2002
The Hula Bowl got some big-name coaches for next year while adding some players for next month. 2003 Hula Bowl
gets Coker and BrownBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comLarry Coker of national champion Miami and Mack Brown of Texas have agreed to be the head coaches at the 2003 game.
Lenny Klompus, CEO of the college all-star game, also said yesterday that three former Hawaii high school offensive linemen have been added to this year's game, along with the nephew of NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus.
Kika Kaululaau (Waianae, Nevada), Faaesea Mailo (Kahuku, USC) and Stephen Grace (Kamehameha, Arizona) join 12 other players with Hawaii ties in this year's game, Feb. 2 on Maui. Illinois center Luke Butkus was also added, as Klompus said the game's advisory committee wanted to build up depth on the offensive lines.
Miami, under first-year coach Coker, beat Nebraska 37-14 in the Jan. 3 Rose Bowl to complete an unbeaten season. It was the Hurricanes' fifth national championship in 18 years.
Two of those championships, in 1989 and 1991, came under the tenure of Dennis Erickson, now the coach at Oregon State. Erickson is the head coach of the Kai team in next month's Hula Bowl. He will be assisted by Sonny Lubick, the Colorado State head coach who ran his defense at Miami.
"He (Erickson) called me the other day, asking about formations," Klompus said. "He said he'll be working on plays on the airplane. He's getting after it."
So is Steve Spurrier. When Klompus received a phone call from the Washington Redskins on Tuesday, he feared it was the newest NFL coach canceling on his commitment to be Bob Stoops' assistant on the Aina team.
"But it turned out he wanted the roster right away so he could draw up some plays," Klompus said.
It figures that Spurrier would want to get a first-hand look at the assembled talent between rounds of golf on the Valley Isle.
Plus, it was Stoops who requested that Spurrier be his assistant, and the two are close; Stoops was defensive coordinator when Spurrier's Florida team won the 1996 national championship. Stoops' Oklahoma team won the 2000 national title.
Klompus has not released complete rosters yet, but the quarterbacks are set. He said Major Applewhite (Texas), Nick Rolovich (Hawaii) and Dusty Bonner (Valdosta State) will play on the Stoops/Spurrier Aina team. Heisman winner Eric Crouch (Nebraska), Antwaan Randle El (Indiana) and Zak Kustok (Northwestern) will play on Erickson's Kai team.
Klompus said rule changes will be implemented to accommodate the wide-open coaching styles.
"We expect a wide-open offensive show," Klompus said. "We always had a rule of two guys in the backfield. But at the coaches' convention last week, we knocked it out. Also, we're going to allow the shotgun."
Other recent invitees with Hawaii high school ties are guard Ed Ta'amu (Iolani/Utah), linebacker Leo Caires (Maui/Wyoming) and defensive tackle Jerry Togiai (Roosevelt/Kansas State).
Northwestern tackle Mike Souza (Punahou), Utah receiver Clifford Russell (Campbell), Washington fullback Ken Walker (Moanalua) and UH players Joe Correia (St. Louis), Jacob Espiau (Kalaheo), Robert Grant (Oakland Skyline), Nate Jackson (Waianae), and Craig Stutzmann (St. Louis) are also slated to play.
Around 3,100 tickets are still available, Klompus said.