Chang’s broken pinkie Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang threw a football for the first time yesterday since breaking a bone in the pinkie of his right hand last Thursday.
passes first test
The UH quarterback threw on
Crimson Tide rolling with NCAA's punches
the side 20-25 times yesterday
and thinks he’ll be ready
for the opener
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comChang said he felt no pain in the finger after throwing. He said he thinks he will be ready to start when UH opens its season against Eastern Illinois at Aloha Stadium a week from tomorrow.
"I tried today, threw it about 20, 25 times," he said. "I'm pretty positive I'm going to play."
Coach June Jones said the next few days will be key for Chang, but he and quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison don't want Chang to rush back too quickly. Jones said Wednesday that Chang could possibly start as long as he is back in practice by next Thursday.
"We don't want to do something too quickly and regret it down the road," Morrison said.
Jones is obviously concerned about the health of his starting quarterback, but he was too busy overseeing practice to notice that Chang threw yesterday.
"I didn't even watch Timmy throw the ball," Jones said. "We knew he'd try over the next few days. He still has to get an X-ray."
The initial diagnosis was that Chang would be out 10 to 14 days. He said he thinks he is ahead of schedule, and there is no pain in the finger, "unless I press certain areas," he said.
Chang started for Hawaii as a true freshman in 2000 and was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. He injured ligaments in his right wrist three games into last season and did not play the rest of the year. Chang missed last spring while recovering from surgery, but was throwing the ball well in fall camp before the latest injury.
JC transfer Jason Whieldon will likely start if Chang is not ready. He said he's ready to hand the reins back to Chang if the former starter is ready to go.
"I want what's best for the team. I'll support him and be his biggest fan. If he comes back it's great," Whieldon said. "Everything happens for a reason. I feel I've gotten a lot better by having so many reps."
Whieldon said the entire team is looking forward to the end of camp tomorrow and is excited about beginning preparation for the first game.
"It's been draining physically and mentally. Everyone's so fatigued at the end of the day. It's hard to get up mentally, but everybody's doing a great job of it," Whieldon said. "We've got a couple guys with nicks and injuries, but nothing too severe, and guys are fighting through, which is real impressive. Guys could be sitting out, but they're practicing."
Brown lighter, quicker: Linebacker Chris Brown, known for his strength, has impressed with his nimbleness this fall.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
UH football coach June Jones addressed the crowd at the Pigskin Pigout at Murphy's last night. The fund-raiser for the Hawaii football team was expected to bring in more than $120,000.
Brown has lost about 10 pounds from last year's All-WAC playing weight and is down to 245. It shows in his pass coverage and ability to run down ball carriers. For the second day in a row, Brown intercepted a pass in the flats yesterday -- a play that could have gone for a touchdown in a game.
"I don't want to be just one-dimensional. I want to be the total package," Brown said. "I want to be able to drop, read runs and last the whole game. In order to do that, I had to drop weight, get together with the coaches, learn, watch film and learn from my mistakes about what the whole picture is about.
"Maybe I'm not quite as strong as last year, but I'm still strong enough to push the heavy weight."
Said Jones: "We just hope he continues to improve, like everybody else. He was a big leader for us last year."
Short yardage: Starting left guard Shayne Kajioka remained out of full pads yesterday with a concussion. ... Sophomore linebacker Kilinahe Noa and junior defensive back Gary Wright have been seeing a few more reps in different defensive packages. ... Former UH receiver Craig Stutzmann appears briefly in the movie "Blue Crush." ... Today's practice schedule is 1:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. at UH and 8 to 10 p.m. at Aloha Stadium (closed to public). The last practice of fall camp is tomorrow at UH from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
UH Athletics
In 1994, senior John Veneri started at slotback for a Hawaii team that began the season well with victories against Oregon and California and a narrow 13-12 loss to Brigham Young. But the Rainbows beat only Southeast Missouri the rest of the way and finished 3-8-1 and 0-8 in the WAC. In the second-to-last game of the season, against Missouri, Veneri scored on a run and again on a pass. His two-point conversion reception from John Hao accounted for the final points of the 32-32 result. It stands as the last tie game in Division I history. The current overtime rule went into effect the next year.
Today, Veneri is a sports reporter for KHON TV-2.
