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WARRIOR FOOTBALL

Miller, Correia
not 100 percent

Top University of Hawaii defenders Dee Miller and Joe Correia may be available for this Saturday's game against the University of Tulsa, but will likely not play.

Warriors head coach June Jones made the announcement after yesterday's practice. Miller is bothered by a deep hamstring pull and could miss as many as two games. Correia's injury is less severe. He has a bruised foot and could play through the pain if necessary.

Jones will move Jacob Espiau to Miller's spot because he is bigger and can defend the run better than fellow free safety Nate Jackson. Jackson is still slowed somewhat with a broken bone in his foot, but has enough speed to man his position in the passing game.

"The backups will probably be Tavis Campbell and Ryan Cannon," Jones said. "In our defense, both safeties are interchangeable. But we feel like Jacob can do a better job defending the run and Nate can do the job in the passing game. But we're still going to miss Dee a lot."

Miller injured his leg early in the second quarter of last Saturday's loss at Texas-El Paso. He tried to come in for a couple of plays in the second half, but proved ineffective.

As for Correia, Jones will rotate defensive ends Laanui Correa, Chris Brown and freshman Houston Ala. They will see most of the action if Correia can't go.

Iosua in soft cast

Fellow defensive lineman Mike Iosua will wear a soft cast on his hand after suffering a broken thumb in the 39-7 loss to the Miners. It will be similar to the one offensive lineman Vince Manuwai wears, who broke his hand in the opener with Portland State.

"We've got some other guys with minor aches and pains," Jones said. "We expect everyone else to be available.

"It's good to get Tavis back in there from that shoulder injury. He will help in our depth back there."

Lee returns full time

Wide receivers coach Ron Lee was back at practice, and will be in the booth for this Saturday's game.

"Let me tell you, it was so hard watching those two games and not being able to help out," Lee said. "I feel so much better now. I feel like I can finally make a contribution again."

Lee has been sidelined much of the season with heart problems. He suffered a mild heart attack a month ago and underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

"I first noticed something was wrong after walking across the field and feeling out of breath," Lee said. "I never had any real bad pain, just some discomfort in there, so I decided I'd better go to the doctor."

The players and coaches are glad to have his insight. One reason the receivers may have struggled so much was because of the lack of individual attention Lee was able to provide them.

"Just having him back during our drills today made such a difference," slotback Craig Stutzmann said. "He's like a father to us. We need him out there to tell us what we're doing wrong."

Bad call

As the UH coaching staff expected, the holding call on Joaquin Avila that nullified a blocked punt for a touchdown in the UTEP game was a bad one.

"That was one of those calls that they don't call 90 percent of the time," Jones said. "It was one of those that happens every play."

What made it worse was UTEP scored on a long touchdown on the next play. It was a 14-point swing Hawaii never recovered from as the Miners went on to score 36 unanswered points.

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Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin