Hawaii ready to feed Purcell, Soares more time

The two linebackers are beginning to make their presence felt after sitting out last year

After tasting game action for the first time in two years, Hawaii linebackers Amani Purcell and Blaze Soares are hungry for more.

And the Hawaii coaching staff plans to keep feeding them.

Purcell, a junior transfer from Penn State, and Soares, a freshman who last played for Castle High School in 2004, made their debuts for the Warriors last Saturday at Alabama and were among the players who savored a return to the field.

"It was a whole different experience," said Purcell, who sat out last season due to transfer rules. "The first series was a reality check for me, but after that I got the feel of it and felt good to be back on the field. The game speed started coming back to me."

UH coach June Jones was impressed by Soares' play on special teams and said he should see more practice time at inside linebacker leading up to next week's home opener against UNLV.

"He did very well on special teams ... speed, athleticism and hitting," UH coach June Jones said.

Sophomore Solomon Elimimian is entrenched as the starter at the Buck linebacker, but is nursing a sprained knee suffered in Saturday's game. Soares got in for one play on defense against the Crimson Tide and relished the chance to start hitting opponents again while playing on the special teams units.

"That was my goal, just to go down there and just be reckless," he said. "Like Coach (Dennis) McKnight said, just go out and have fun."

Both Purcell and Soares joined the Warriors in fall camp, though Purcell wasn't cleared to practice until two weeks into camp while a summer school grade and his transfer paperwork were processed.

Despite the late start, the younger brother of senior defensive end Melila Purcell quickly worked his way onto the second unit. He said he now feels he's up to speed with the defensive scheme, and was called upon to relieve starter Tyson Kafentzis at outside linebacker in the opener.

"He's rusty but he'll get better as we play," UH assistant coach George Lumpkin said. "Every week, he'll get better and better."

For Soares, Saturday's game was his first since Castle was eliminated from the OIA playoffs in November 2004. And after making the 60-player travel roster for the opener, getting into the mix was a bonus.

"I was just happy that I made the trip," he said. "There were a lot of good athletes that stayed home and I was just happy I had the opportunity to experience what I experienced."

UH assistant Cal Lee, who coaches the inside linebackers, has been pleased with Soares' progress and expects him to see more playing time soon.

"He's really come along better than we expected," Lee said. "He's really picked up the defense. He's so enthusiastic to learn and play the game he loves so much.

"He's got all the tools, he came out of high school well-coached. For us it's been a delight. He runs like a deer and he hits like a bull. You name it he's got it. ... He's ready. I would have no worries if he was going in there."

Moving back:

Brad Kalilimoku's stint as a defensive back is apparently done for now, with the junior moving to outside linebacker.

"We feel like he's such an explosive athlete and such a good blitzer ... we wanted to find a way to get him on the field, so he's going to help them out," said UH defensive backs coach Rich Miano.

Kalilimoku moved to strong safety in the spring after posting 71 tackles at inside linebacker last season and saw some action there on Saturday. A hamstring injury hampered him through much of fall camp and junior-college transfer Jacob Patek earned the starting job at strong safety, finishing with 10 tackles against Alabama.

"Like everyone (Patek) had a few jitters early, but he settled down and played well," Miano said.

Injury update:

Running back Nate Ilaoa participated in yesterday's light practice and said he's not feeling the effects of the concussion.

"It's just part of the game and I just have to get ready for the next one," he said.

Defensive lineman Michael Lafaele, who struggled with a sore heel leading up to the Alabama game, was wearing a protective boot again yesterday. Safety Leonard Peters (rib) and Elimimian also didn't practice. Lee said Elimimian will rest the knee this week and the staff will evaluate his availability for the UNLV game next week.