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Wednesday, April 5, 2000

Jones’ approach
dates back to
Bobby Dodd

RAINBOW NOTEBOOK

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Top returning wideout Craig Stutzmann exited Cooke Field this morning feeling a little winded. Most of the spring, the former St. Louis School standout has been more of an instructor than anything else.

Today, he caught a couple of passes in the team phase of spring practice, proving Hawaii head coach June Jones hadn't forgotten about him after all.

"I thought maybe I was going to be cut," Stutzmann said, then smiled. "They weren't using me as much because they want to take a look at the younger guys."

At first glance, you might think Jones' approach to this spring session is similar to what National Football League coaches do during the preseason.

There are usually about 100 players in the opening of NFL summer camps. The veterans don't receive as much work as the rookies because the coaches want to see what the new players can do before the first major cutdown.

But Jones' approach this spring to work the younger guys more than the veterans wasn't gleaned from his days in the NFL, but rather from former college coaching great Bobby Dodd.

"When I first thought about coaching in the late 70s early 80s, I sat down with Coach Dodd one day and he was talking about in the spring he only let his starters coach their positions," Jones said.

"He felt like it gave them way more depth as the year went on because they had a whole spring where the guys who don't normally get to practice as much, get more repetitions.

"Ever since he said that, it made sense to me. And it's happening out here. We're looking at some guys who normally don't get the reps in the fall. And we're finding out that maybe they're a little better or not quite as good as we thought they were."

Last spring, Jones took a little heat for cutting 20 or so players from the roster. A few of those players returned, but others were openly critical of the moves.

Jones said approximately 20 or so players currently on the spring roster won't be invited to the opening day of fall camp on Aug. 7 because NCAA rules only allow 105 players. Once school is in session on Aug. 21, the Rainbows can field as many players as Jones wants on the roster.

"That's why it's important for us to look at the younger guys now and to evaluate them on film," Jones said. "It also gives our veterans a chance to talk to the younger guys and to tell them what to do in certain situations.

"Because of the NCAA restrictions, every spring it's going to be the same in terms of who we invite to fall camp and who we don't. We have 100 or so players out here right now, so some of those guys won't be in early because we have 25 recruits joining our team this fall."

Old man Kanoa

Manly Kanoa is only a junior, but already he has been tabbed as the old man on the offensive line.

That's because the former Kamehameha Schools star is the only returning starter up front for the Rainbows, and even he has switched from right guard to left.

"That move wasn't that difficult," Kanoa said. "What I have to get used to is having Chris (Smith) as the center because he's smaller than (former UH center) Dustin (Owen).

"It's cool being the veteran guy up front. We're so much farther along than we were a year ago. Chris is so smart. He has already learned all the plays, so things are going well."

Assistant coach Mike Cavanaugh is also pleased with the progress his guys have made up front. He said after Monday's workout that despite all the new faces, the offensive line was coming along quite nicely.

"We're making good progress," Cavanaugh said. "Last year, we were putting in a new offense and everybody was trying to figure out where to go and what to do. This year, our guys have a better understanding of what we're trying to get done."

Noa attends practice

Former UH tackle Kaulana Noa attended his second practice this week, stopping by to say hello to old coaches and friends.

He will be here on Oahu for several more days before returning home to the Big Island in anticipation of next week's NFL Draft.

Noa has worked out for five teams on an individual basis and 19 overall. The move from tackle to guard was a little awkward in the Senior Bowl, but Noa is confident he can make the adjustment.

"I'm looking forward to draft day just to see where I'm going to end up," Noa said. "The tryouts and the combine went well. All I can do now is wait and see what happens next."

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UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii