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Full-Court Press
Most of the fall camp headlines belonged to the University of Hawaii quarterback race, but now that head coach June Jones has picked a starter, an equally important development rests on the defensive side of the football. Jackson could
miss UH openerFree safety Nate Jackson is still bothered by a sprained foot and is listed as questionable for this Saturday's season opener with Portland State.
The junior of Waianae High fame sat out all last week and won't be at full strength, even if defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa puts him on the field against the Division I-AA opponent.
If Jackson can't go, junior Jacob Espiau will see the majority of snaps. Before he went down with a nasty hamstring pull last year, the former Kalaheo High product managed 16 tackles and two quarterback hurries.
"We had hoped Nate would be ready to go by now," Jones said. "But it hasn't worked out that way so far. He still has a few days to get ready, but if he can't go, Jacob will be our starter."
Jackson isn't the only Hawaii player feeling the pain. Defensive tackle Lui Fuga returned to the lineup late last week, but is still bothered by a shoulder injury that will likely require season-ending surgery.
If Fuga decides to play, he can take part in three of the first six games, before seeking a medical hardship. His shoulder problem is similar to last year's. He has said several times during fall camp that he doesn't want to go through that again.
"I have a redshirt year," the transfer from Nevada-Las Vegas said. "If my shoulder hurts too much, then I'll probably have surgery."
His loss would hurt the depth of the front seven. Right now, the starting tackles are Mike Iosua and Miles Garner with Fuga and Doug Sims serving as backups.
"Remember all that depth we were talking about," Lempa said, then smiled. "Well, it's disappearing fast. We've been nicked up throughout fall camp and it has hurt us some in our continuity."
Vikes no pushover
All you have to do is look at the numbers and anyone can see that the Big Sky Vikings aren't to be taken too lightly.Granted, the Warriors should wear them down with their superior numbers, but don't be surprised if this team moves the football fairly well.
Last week, Portland State, which is ranked No. 12 in Division I-AA, opened the season with a 37-20 win over Western Washington. The Vikings were 8-3 last season. Had Portland State knocked off Northern Arizona in the conference finale, the Vikings would have won the Big Sky title.
"This is a good football team," Jones said of a squad that welcomed back 19 of 22 starters. "We can't just show up this weekend and expect to win."
Far from sellout
Plenty of tickets remain for the nonconference opener. UH officials were projecting a crowd of around 44,000 if a typical walk-up takes place on Saturday.Nearly 25,000 season tickets were sold for the 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium, an increase of about 11 percent. Individual tickets for all games went on sale last week.
Aloha Stadium officials announced on Thursday that steps will be taken to avoid the traffic problems for last year's sold-out opener with USC.
Jones believes those traffic problems hurt attendance for the remainder of the season.
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.