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QB

[ SPECIAL TEAMS ]

kickin' it

The quiet kid from Georgia pinned
down 'Bama with his foot

Ones to watch


Why he's good

Kurt Milne will never be mistaken for Mat McBriar, the former UH punter who kicked 60-yarders with ease. But Milne is an excellent finesse punter. He can make a ball die on the 1-yard line, along with the opponent's hopes.

In all of the excitement of last year's victory over Alabama, it shouldn't be lost that Milne -- as well as Omega Hogan, who downed the punt for UH -- was a huge factor in one of Hawaii's biggest football wins ever.



Kurt Milne

>> WAC Special Teams Player of the Week, Dec. 1, 2003
>> Had 19 punts inside the 20-yard line last season

art
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM


X-factor

Senior kicker Justin Ayat, a freshman All-America according to Football News in 2001, lost his way last season, missing eight point-afters before being benched in favor of freshman Nolan Miranda. Ayat needs to regain the form that saw him make 55 of 56 PATs in 2002.

A couple of additions should help the Warriors; special teams coordinator Mouse Davis has been around the block once or thrice, and 27-year-old JC transfer Bryce Runge will be expected to do just one thing perfectly: snap the football for punts and kicks.

Also, backup punter Tim Wright was practicing kickoffs during fall camp. HE'S BACKD

Three years ago, Chad Owens was accorded freshman All-America honors by the Football Writers Association of America for returning kicks and punts. But with his emergence as a starting receiver, coach June Jones decided to use him on special teams only sporadically in 2002 and 2003.

This year, Owens is back as the deep man, as Jones promised him he'd allow him to handle returns his senior year. It should be a big plus, unless Owens gets hurt.

Style file

Owens estimates he has 10 tattoos, courtesy of his brother-in-law, Paul Manabe. They even draw the attention of opponents during games. "Yeah, I get some comments," Owens said. "They say it's pretty sick." For those of you over 25, "sick" means "cool."


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Ones to watch


The top players with the probable starter listed first:

Kicker

NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.
47 Justin Ayat 6-0 201 Sr.
26 Nolan Miranda 5-8 163 So.

Punter

NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.
25 Kurt Milne 6-0 196 So.
40 Tim Wright 6-4 210 So.

Kick Return

NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.
2 Chad Owens 5-9 177 Sr.

Snapper

NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.
61 Bryce Runge 5-11 236 Jr.

Special Teams Coordinator

Mouse Davis, 71, who is also an offensive assistant, was Jones' coach at Portland State and is a legendary developer of the run-and-shoot offense.



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