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Wednesday, March 15, 2000
University of Hawaii head
Brooks leaves Rainbows By Paul Arnett
football coach June Jones is
faced with the task of matching
last year's magical 9-4 season
Star-BulletinTHE short-term goal of making the University of Hawaii respectable once more exceeded the wildest expectations of even head coach June Jones.
The long-term goal of sustaining that kind of success will be addressed beginning tomorrow morning as the Rainbows hold their first spring practice at Cooke Field.
"We're going back to the basics," Jones said of the 15, two-hour practice sessions that conclude with the spring game on April 15 at 4 p.m.
Hawaii will practice tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, then return for four consecutive sessions starting next Tuesday.
"We're then going to take off the week of spring break (March 26-April 1) and then hold eight more practices over the next two weeks,'' Jones said. "We're going to spend a lot of time reviewing what we did last year to get the new guys up to speed.''
All eyes will be on the quarterback spot vacated by senior Dan Robinson, who returned to Utah last week with his wife and children. Replacing those 3,853 yards and 28 touchdowns will be a challenge, especially since none of the quarterbacks has any real Division I experience.Jones said he will wait until fall camp to name a starter, but he is giving junior college transfers Jared Flint and Nick Rolovich, and sophomores Kevin Gilbride and Mike Harrison every opportunity to win the job.
Several incoming freshmen quarterbacks, including St. Louis School standout Timmy Chang, will get a hard look in fall camp, but it's unlikely a freshman will be at the helm come the Sept. 9 season opener with Portland State.
"I tell every kid we recruit that the best player is the guy who is going to play,'' Jones said. "I don't care if he's a freshman or a senior.
"Obviously, the guys taking part in spring are going to have an advantage. But I still like to have three guys capable of coming into the game.''
Of the large quarterback contingent, only Harrison has Division I experience. As a freshman, Harrison played in five games, completing 9 of 20 passes for 91 yards and no touchdowns. He threw one interception and scored a touchdown on a 14-yard scamper.
Flint and Rolovich produced far greater numbers in junior college. How that translates to Division I is always sketchy.
Opening with Portland State rather than Texas may prove a blessing in disguise for whichever quarterback starts.
"One thing working in these guys' favor is the experience we have at wide receiver and running back,'' Jones said. "We have some veterans out there who know where they're going, which will help our quarterbacks make the right reads.''
Junior wideout Craig Stutzmann and slotback Channon Harris are the leaders of that pack. They combined to catch 119 passes last year for 1,518 yards and 14 touchdowns. Add late-bloomer Ashley Lelie to the mix - the sophomore wound up catching 36 passes for 518 yards and two touchdowns - and it's easy to see Hawaii is farther along than it was a year ago at this time.
The same can be said at running back where Avion Weaver and Afatia Thompson combined to rush for 1,132 yards and seven touchdowns. Jones points to that number with pride, but the Rainbows still rushed as a team for a dismal 89.1 yards a game.
Hawaii also had trouble stopping the run, an area new defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa will have to address for the Rainbows to be successful this season. Hawaii yielded an average of 186 yards on the ground during the regular season, good enough for 91st nationally.
The Rainbows also gave up 27 points (79th nationally) and 376 total yards (68th) a game, numbers that former defensive coordinator Greg McMackin tried to disguise with an attacking package.
Lempa will be without the services of leading tacklers Jeff Ulbrich and Yaphet Warren. The two linebackers are lost to graduation, as are defensive back Quincy LeJay and defensive tackle Tony Tuioti.
Jones feels he has some capable replacements. The Rainbows return several starters up front in Joe Correia, Doug Sims, Lui Fuga and Mike Iosua. They also welcome back linebacker Robert Kemfort, and defensive backs Dee Miller, Shawndel Tucker and Nate Jackson, who will split the spring playing baseball for Les Murakami.
"Defensively, we have some young guys coming in, who I feel like will make their mark right away,'' Jones said.
"We're hopeful we'll get Pisa Tinoisamoa back in the fall and (UNLV transfer) Laanui Correa is going to be a good one at end. So, we've got a good starting point.''
The kicking game is not quite as sound. Place-kicker Eric Hannum is back for his senior season. Jake Huggins will also take part in spring ball. But the Rainbows don't have anyone on campus to replace punter Chad Shrout.
Hannum punted his freshman season, but look for junior college transfer Greg Kleidon to assume those duties when he joins the team in fall camp.
"Obviously, it's going to be very difficult to match what we did last year,'' Jones said of Hawaii's magical 9-4 season that ended with an Oahu Bowl win over Oregon State. "Our ultimate goal is to be a consistent winner. That takes time.
"But I like how well we recruited this year, especially locally.
University of Hawaii wideout Attrice Brooks has left the Rainbow football program, head coach June Jones confirmed last night. Brooks leaves
RainbowsThe talented receiver was left off the spring roster after meeting with Jones. The second-year head coach said it was a mutual parting of the ways.
"He's a very gifted receiver and I'll do everything I can to find a place for him," Jones said of Brooks. "I wish it could have worked out for him here, but we just weren't able to get it done."
Brooks caught only seven passes last year for 187 yards, but three of them were for touchdowns, including an 80-yard scoring strike from Dan Robinson.
The transfer from City College of San Francisco didn't learn his plays quickly enough and was slowed by a variety of ailments over the latter half of the season.
He was booted out of the Oahu Bowl for an altercation with an Oregon State player. The two were entangled during a play, prompting Brooks to kick the player in the side of the helmet.
Brooks was also recently arrested in Waikiki for suspicion of driving a moped without a license, but Jones said that didn't factor in his decision to cut him loose.
"It's just best all the way around," Jones said. "He's going to return home (in California) and maybe catch on with a program in his area. He can't play Division I, but there are plenty of good Division I-AA and Division II schools that would be interested in him."
By Paul Arnett
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
