Defense beats up
on offense

It was not what Hawaii head coach June Jones had hoped for, but not totally unexpected.

At the end of yesterday's first spring practice in full pads, the top offense squared off with the top defense. And the defense won --convincingly.

"We were doing all right until we got into team drills (offense vs. defense)," Jones said.

"We didn't look like a very good football team. We had a lot of false-starts up front and a lot of fumbles."

The one big play offensively came on the ground. Running back Afatia Thompson took a handoff, found a seam and cut up field for a 60-yard touchdown.

"We ran this offense in high school, so I'm real comfortable with it," the former Punahou School fullback said. "That's a good thing about this offense. Nobody knows when a running play will come."

Jones also installed the quick-passing phase of the offense. Most of the plays in the team drills were of this variety.

"We just now put in our quick game," Jones said. "We start with the three-step game and then build up to the other phases."

Defensive backs Phil Austin, Shawndel Tucker and Daniel Ho-Ching had their moments. So did inside linebackers Matt Paul and Bo Espinoza.

"We still have a long way to go defensively," UH linebackers coach George Lumpkin said. "We made some good plays, but we had some poor ones, too."

Jones on national radio

Jones did a brief stint Monday evening on Ron Barr's Sports Byline Show, broadcast locally on KGU (760-AM).

The new head coach for the Rainbows talked about the differences of being a head coach at the professional and collegiate levels.

"I didn't know it was broadcast locally," Jones said after yesterday's practice. "Ron is somebody I met along the way. He seems like a good guy."

Jackson sidelined

Defensive end Houdini Jackson will see limited practice time this spring as he recovers from shoulder surgery and a broken hand.

"The new coaches didn't even know I had a broken hand because we didn't tell anybody last year," said Jackson. "I was pretty busted up by the end of the year."

Jackson is moving from outside linebacker to defensive end this season. Last year, he finished with 33 tackles, including three quarterback sacks.

"This is the kind of defense we played in high school," the Houston resident said. "I love the switch. This is a great defense."

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Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin