HULA BOWL
Hula Bowl loaded with local talent
More people can see the seven seniors with the game on Oahu
By Billy Hull
bhull@starbulletin.com
Seven seniors with local ties will get one last chance to play in front of the home crowd as the official rosters for the 2006 Hula Bowl were handed out yesterday.
Lono Manners (safety), Tanuvasa Moe (linebacker), Kila Kamakawiwo'ole (defensive end) and Brandon Eaton (offensive line) will represent the University of Hawaii on the West roster and are joined by Texas Tech's Bristol Olamua (Kahuku/tight end) and Colorado's Vaka Manupuna (Saint Louis/offensive line).
Kamehameha graduate Donovan Raiola (Nebraska/offensive line) will be the lone local representative on the East team.
Washington's Joe Lobendahn (Saint Louis/linebacker) also was invited to the game, but won't play as he recovers from a knee injury.
"It's an honor to be invited even though I can't play," Lobendahn said. "But I'll be there with the other seniors and show my face and have a good time."
The Hula Bowl will be an opportunity for some of the best local players to not only showcase their talents for Hawaii fans, but also for NFL scouts, as they put the final touches on their college careers and look ahead to the future.
"I know I'm going to miss college football," Kamakawiwo'ole said. "It's going to be a great opportunity for all of us to see what we can do and see if our future is in the NFL."
The game will be played at
Aloha Stadium for the first time since 1997. The last eight games have been played on Maui, but the switch back to Oahu is a welcome one for Kamakawiwo'ole, who led the Warriors with eight sacks and recorded 80 tackles this season.
"It's good that they moved it here," he said. "A lot of people are asking me for tickets so it's good for Hawaii people."
While the setting will be the same as it has been all year for the four Warriors playing in the game, each of them knows that the atmosphere will be different, and the competition will be the toughest they have seen.
"It's all the big boys now," Kamakawiwo'ole said. "Everybody is pretty much the same, better, or real good."
It has been over three weeks since the Warriors' final game of the season, and especially during the holidays, players have had to take extra caution to stay in shape.
"We knew we had this game coming up so as soon as this last game was done we got back in the weight room and tried to run," Moe said. "I think I had about five meals on Christmas Day, but you just got to work a little extra harder and try lose the weight after."
"The holidays, that's the big setback," added Manners. "We're gonna have to overcome these obstacles and hopefully perform our best on that day."
Auburn's Tommy Tuberville will coach the East squad while Washington's Tyrone Willingham will coach the West. Former Hawaii head coach Dick Tomey will be an assistant to Willingham, who according to Lobendahn, will have the West squad ready to play on game day.
"It's hard to say how he'll approach the game because you never know what to expect from him," Lobendahn said. "He's very organized and knows what he wants. He's a businessman."
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on Jan. 21. The game will be televised on ESPN.
2006 Hula Bowl Rosters
East Roster
| No. |
Name |
Position |
School |
| 1 |
Marcus Hudson |
FS |
N.C. State |
| 2 |
Andre Hall |
RB |
South Florida |
| 5 |
Matt Rice |
DE |
Penn State |
| 6 |
Brandon Marshall |
WR |
UCF |
| 7 |
Bruce Gradkowski |
QB |
Toledo |
| 8 |
Brett Bell |
CB |
Wisconsin |
| 9 |
Eric Smith |
SS |
Michigan St. |
| 10 |
Calvin Lowry |
FS |
Penn State |
| 11 |
Owen Daniels |
TE |
Wisconsin |
| 12 |
Josh Lay |
CB |
Pittsburgh |
| 14 |
Ryan Hoffman |
P |
Illinois State |
| 15 |
Dion Byrum |
CB |
Ohio |
| 19 |
D.J. Fitzpatrick |
PK |
Notre Dame |
| 20 |
Dawan Landry |
SS |
Georgia Tech |
| 21 |
Antoine Bagwell |
RB |
California (Pa.) |
| 22 |
Oliver Hoyte |
ILB |
N.C. State |
| 24 |
Marcus Maxey |
CB |
Miami (Fla.) |
| 29 |
Anthony Madison |
CB |
Alabama |
| 33 |
P.J. Pope |
RB |
Bowling Green |
| 40 |
Chris Moore |
ILB |
East Carolina |
| 41 |
Scott Paxson |
NT |
Penn State |
| 44 |
Omar Gaither |
OLB |
Tennessee |
| 45 |
P.J. Daniels |
RB |
Georgia Tech |
| 46 |
Corey Mays |
ILB |
Notre Dame |
| 48 |
William Kershaw |
OLB |
Maryland |
| 51 |
Jimmy Martin |
OT |
Virginia Tech |
| 52 |
Jason Palermo |
OL |
Wisconsin |
| 53 |
Donovan Raiola |
C |
Wisconsin |
| 55 |
Brandon Hoyte |
ILB |
Notre Dame |
| 57 |
Javon Nanton |
DE |
Miami (Fla.) |
| 66 |
Patrick Ross |
C |
Boston College |
| 67 |
Matt Lentz |
C |
Michigan |
| 68 |
McKinley Boykin |
DT |
Mississippi |
| 70 |
Marcus McNeill |
OT |
Auburn |
| 71 |
Tim Sandidge |
DT |
Virginia Tech |
| 72 |
Jason Murphy |
OG |
Virginia Tech |
| 75 |
Richard Collier |
OT |
Valdosta State |
| 76 |
Walter Stith |
OT |
N. Carolina A&T |
| 78 |
Kyle Ralph |
OG |
North Carolina |
| 79 |
Guy Whimper |
OT |
East Carolina |
| 81 |
Brandon Williams |
WR |
Wisconsin |
| 82 |
Ben Obamanu |
WR |
Auburn |
| 88 |
Kyle Smith |
WR |
Youngstown S. |
| 89 |
Jonathan Orr |
WR |
Wisconsin |
| 90 |
David Tollefson |
DE |
NW Missouri St. |
| 91 |
Jeff King |
TE |
Virginia Tech |
| 92 |
Gerald Anderson |
DT |
Georgia |
| 96 |
Domata Peko |
DT |
Michigan St. |
Head coach--Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
Assistant coaches--Skip Holtz, East Carolina; Scot Dapp, Moravian; TBA
West Roster
| No. |
Name |
Position |
School |
| 1 |
Barrick Nealy |
WR/QB |
Texas State |
| 2 |
Marcus King |
CB |
Missouri |
| 3 |
Fahu Tahi |
RB |
BYU |
| 5 |
David Pittman |
CB |
NW State (La.) |
| 6 |
Dwayne Slay |
LB/FS |
Texas Tech |
| 8 |
Steve Paris |
FS |
Iowa State |
| 10 |
Cody Hodges |
QB |
Texas Tech |
| 11 |
Ed Hinkel |
WR |
Iowa |
| 12 |
John Torp |
P |
Colorado |
| 14 |
Lono Manners |
SS |
Hawaii |
| 15 |
Brad Elliot |
QB |
Linfield |
| 16 |
Brad Smith |
WR/QB |
Missouri |
| 21 |
Marcus Demps |
FS |
San Diego St. |
| 23 |
Antwan Allen |
CB |
Iowa |
| 24 |
Jovon Johnson |
CB |
Iowa |
| 26 |
Zeke Staples |
ILB |
San Jose State |
| 29 |
Raymond Washington |
CB |
Fresno State |
| 31 |
Cory Ross |
RB |
Nebraska |
| 33 |
Bristol Olamua |
TE |
Texas Tech |
| 34 |
Colin Allred |
OLB |
Baylor |
| 36 |
Tyrone Culver |
FS |
Fresno State |
| 37 |
Shawn Willis |
FB |
Oklahoma St. |
| 43 |
Patrick Cobbs |
RB |
North Texas |
| 44 |
Tim Dobbins |
ILB |
Iowa State |
| 45 |
Tanuvasa Moe |
LB/LS |
Hawaii |
| 47 |
John Syptak |
ILB |
Rice |
| 51 |
Kila Kamakawiwo'ole |
DE |
Hawaii |
| 53 |
Joe Lobendahn |
ILB |
Washington |
| 54 |
Lance Reynolds |
C |
BYU |
| 55 |
Fred Evans |
DT |
Texas State |
| 57 |
Ross Weaver |
OT |
Air Force |
| 59 |
Brian Ferentz |
OL |
Iowa |
| 61 |
Tusi Sa'au |
OG |
Washington |
| 62 |
Pat McCoy |
OT |
W. Texas A&M |
| 63 |
Mike Briesel |
OT/OG |
Colorado St. |
| 66 |
Brandon Eaton |
OG |
Hawaii |
| 67 |
Joe Toledo |
OT |
Washington |
| 69 |
Kinji Green |
DE |
San Jose State |
| 72 |
Donald Penn |
OG/OT |
Utah State |
| 73 |
Chris Kuper |
OG |
North Dakota |
| 79 |
Jesse Boone |
C |
Utah |
| 80 |
Rufus Skillern |
WR |
San Jose State |
| 88 |
Clinton Soloman |
WR |
Iowa |
| 93 |
Vaka Manupuna |
NG |
Colorado |
| 94 |
Steve Fifita |
NG |
Utah |
| 95 |
Montez Murphy |
DE |
Baylor |
| 96 |
Titus Adams |
DT |
Nebraska |
| 98 |
Sir Henry Anderson |
DT |
Oregon State |
| 99 |
Manaia Brown |
DT/DE |
BYU |
Head coach--Tyrone Willingham, Washington.
Assistant coaches--Dick Tomey, San Jose State; TBA; TBA
