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WARRIORS NOTEBOOK

Rival coach
will be missed

The retirement of Brigham Young University head football coach LaVell Edwards didn't really surprise June Jones.

The Hawaii head coach saw Edwards at Pebble Beach in June and had an idea this would be his last season.

"LaVell is one of the great coaches in the game today," Jones said after yesterday's practice. "I had a chance to coach against him here in the early 1980s. He has one of the best offensive minds around."

Sophomore quarterback Kevin Gilbride wasn't surprised by Edwards' decision, either. He transferred from BYU in 1999 and said last night there had been talk of Edwards' retiring for several years.

"Coach Edwards has a great passing offense," Gilbride said. "Quarterbacks everywhere know the great ones BYU has produced. It will be interesting to see who will be the next head coach there."

Edwards spent several moments walking around Aloha Stadium the last time BYU played here in 1996. He said that evening that Hawaii always would hold a special place in his heart.

"When a lot of teams were running the football, LaVell proved you could win by putting it in the air," Jones said. "He'll be missed."

In the can

The past two practices, the six quarterbacks for the Warriors have taken part in a fun drill of trying to pass a football into a garbage can located about 40 yards down field.

So far, no one has managed to land one in there on the fly, including Jones, who took a couple of shots at it during yesterday's first practice.

Wideout Ashley Lelie and defensive back Nate Jackson got into the act as well. Lelie hit the trash can, but was a little low. Freshman Timmy Chang has also hit the can twice, but according to Lelie, that doesn't count.

"I'm going to tell Coach Jones the first one to make it is the starting quarterback," Lelie said. "That includes anyone on the team, not just the quarterbacks."

Jones laughed at that one.

"There's no truth to that rumor," Jones said. "Even if I make it."

Na Koa banquet

The Na Koa Club is hosting a special preseason meeting for its members this Monday at the Stan Sheriff Arena hospitality room at 11:30 a.m.

The public is invited to attend. The lunch will cost $10 for members and $15 for non-members at the door. Parking is included with validation.

Jones, defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa and athletic director Hugh Yoshida will be the featured speakers at this first meeting and will talk about fall camp.

Na Koa has scheduled a meeting for each Monday through the football season. Details will be published weekly. For more information, contact Ben Yee at 956-4513 or at 542-8912.

Stylish hosiery

Mike Harrison knows the cameras used to film practice aren't always Monday Night Football quality. From a distance, the six Hawaii quarterbacks competing for the starting job can look all the same to the coaches grading the film.

So to make sure he stood out in the crowd, the sophomore signal-caller decided to wear black hosiery to avoid any mix-ups.

Now, that's all fine and good if Harrison makes the right read that leads to a big play. But it's not easy to duck in the film room should he make a mistake.

"I feel like I'm doing a pretty good job so far," said Harrison, the only one of the six quarterbacks with any real Division I experience. "It's coming together well in practice. I feel comfortable back there. I'm ready.

"The black socks help me stand out. The coaches won't confuse me with anyone else. They see the socks, then they know it's me."

Harrison and Nick Rolovich are at or near the top of the depth chart. Gilbride and Chang are likely battling for the third spot, although Jones is keeping his choice under wraps for now.

"We probably won't make a decision on that until next week," Jones said. "The new guys heads are swimming a little bit because we're throwing a lot at them. But so far, I like what I see. Obviously, it's a key position for us."

Harrison appeared in five games last season, completing 9 of 20 passes for 91 yards and no touchdowns. He carried the ball eight times, losing 12 yards, but did score on a 14-yard touchdown scamper against Texas-El Paso.

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By Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin