Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Tuesday, January 25, 2000
UH selects
defensive chief
San Diego Chargers' assistant
By Paul Arnett
Kevin Lempa joins
June Jones' staff
Star-BulletinIf you see a guy riding around town on a Harley-Davidson with a big smile spread across his face, it's probably Hawaii head coach June Jones.
The miracle worker of Rainbow football not only received a verbal commitment over the weekend from Timmy Chang, the most-heralded high school football player in the state, he also landed Kevin Lempa, a defensive coordinator he knows he can count on in the coming campaigns.
"Things have been going very well," said Jones, who learned on Friday that the Board of Regents approved a three-year extension to his contract that keeps him around deep into the next decade.
Given Jones already has said he plans to remain here until he's a grandfather, a seven-year deal might seem excessive given the number of buyouts Hawaii has paid off the last five years, but Jones isn't complaining.
"I think what it does help is recruiting," Jones said. "I think players today want to know that four or five years from now the head coach will still be around. It also helps to have the kind of year we just had."
Lempa looks to keep the good times rolling. He is replacing talented defensive coordinator Greg McMackin, who left a month ago to be the associate head coach at Texas Tech.
Previous coaching experience: THE KEVIN LEMPA FILE
San Diego Chargers, 1997-99
College career
Lempa joined the San Diego Chargers' staff a year ahead of Jones in 1997 and served as a defensive assistant, primarily in the secondary. Current offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh also was a Charger assistant and worked with Lempa and Jones in 1998.
Like Cavanaugh, Lempa's experience is in the Northeast, including six years at Dartmouth and nine with Boston College. The 47-year-old was born in Jersey City, N.J.
"I had to wait to interview him," Jones said, "because I thought he was going to get a (college) head coaching job. He has experience with the kind of defense we want to run."
Lempa's collegiate background should also help with recruiting. So far, the Rainbows have landed eight local recruits, including St. Louis School standouts Chang, slotback Gerald Welch and offensive lineman Phil Kaufmann.
Cavanaugh also helped land Iolani School offensive lineman Uriah Moenoa. He verbally committed yesterday and joins a stable of linemen already in place, including Mililani High's Ryan Santos and William Jackson of Detroit's Cass Tech.
The other local players saying they will sign a national letter-of-intent on Feb. 2 are Kamehameha Schools' place-kicker Justin Ayat and linebacker Isaiah Alameda, and Roosevelt High quarterback Chad Kapanui.
Counting the two junior college quarterbacks - Jared Flint of Orange Coast (Calif.) and Nick Rolovich of San Francisco City College - Hawaii will have seven quarterbacks in fall camp, including returnees Kevin Gilbride, Mike Harrison and Shawn Withy-Allen.
According to two Internet sites in California, the Rainbows also received verbal commitments - which aren't binding - from two junior college players. They are punter Greg Kleidon of Santa Monica (Calif.) JC and defensive back Kevin Millhouse of Mount San Antonio (Calif.) College.
Jones said he will offer up to 25 scholarships next week.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
