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Thursday, October 19, 2000
UH’s test: HOUSTON -- Kevin Lempa has been planning for this day since his arrival.
stop Rice’s
option attack
Having played against TCU's
speedy option two games ago,
the Warriors are more
prepared for Owls'
version of the offenseWARRIOR NOTEBOOK
By Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinLast year, the University of Hawaii football team struggled against its three option opponents, losing twice and barely holding on to win the other against Navy. Head coach June Jones wanted something done about it and made sure Lempa had a plan in place before bringing him on board as his defensive coordinator.
The Warriors didn't do that good of a job against Texas Christian's option attack two weeks ago, yielding 393 yards on the ground. But Lempa believes his team will have a better reaction to it this Saturday afternoon at Rice Stadium.
"Our guys knew what to do responsibility-wise,'' Lempa said. "They just weren't ready for the speed of it.
WAC FOOTBALL
Who: Hawaii (1-4, 1-3) at Rice (1-5, 0-3).
"These two options are different. One is with two backs and the other with three. But seeing the speed of TCU's option should help us. You have to make a decision quickly if you're on the perimeter. You can't let the play come to you. You have to go to the play.
"We did a pretty good job of simulating it in practice last spring and in fall camp. This week, we've asked Kevin Gilbride and Matt Manuma to be our scout team option quarterbacks. And they've done well. But it will seem a lot faster to our guys this week because Rice runs it for real.''
The Owls will use two quarterbacks who are battling back from injuries.
Freshman Jeremy Hurd started the season, but broke the ring finger on his left hand in the season-opening win over Houston, and didn't return until the second quarter of the game with Fresno State. In his place, the Owls used three other quarterbacks, but primarily Corey Evans. He blew out his knee two years ago and is only now near full speed.
"That Hurd reminds me of J.C. Watts, who was a quarterback in the wishbone at Oklahoma a number of years ago,'' Lempa said. "He has tremendous quickness and is able to make decisions on the run. He ran the same offense in high school. Evans is also very capable, so we'll have to prepare for both of them.''
Evans leads the team in rushing with 288 yards and three touchdowns. But as well as this twosome can run, throwing the football is another matter. Rice is ranked No. 114 of 115 Division I teams in passing, averaging 93.2 yards a game. The Owls have thrown only three touchdown passes in six games.
"But that doesn't mean they can't be dangerous in the air,'' Jones said. "The biggest misconception in the option is those teams can't throw. They threw a big touchdown pass on us last year, so we have to watch out for that.''
As for Rice's defense, Jones expects the Owls to play them as they did a year ago -- with three down linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. This breaks away from Owls head coach Ken Hatfield's standard 4-3 defense. Jones said yesterday Rice hasn't used its three linemen look all season.
"They may have just put that in there for us,'' Jones said. "But we'll prepare for it just in case. They don't blitz much, but they may have blitzed us more last year than they have all this season. They use a lot of combination zone stuff most of the time in the secondary. Out of the three-man look, they do do some zone blitzing like we do.
"What strikes you most about Rice is how steady they are. They don't make mistakes with penalties and turnovers, so we have to take care of the football and make the most of our opportunities.''
Rice's option is designed to limit the other team's chances. If the Owls can march down the field on 14 plays and use six minutes of the clock, then they are doing exactly what they want.
This is a team you can't let dictate the tempo of the game or you are in trouble.
"If we can get out ahead of them early, then maybe we can dictate the pace some,'' Jones said. "We were able to do that in the game with TCU in the first half and were able to keep it close. But when we had several three-and-outs in the second half, they pulled away from us.
"We don't want to fall behind and try to catch up. They can use those long drives to their advantage and that will hurt our chances. But if we get ahead of them, then they have to start doing things they aren't comfortable doing, like throwing the football. It's key that we make the most of our opportunities offensively because they are going to try to keep the ball away from us as much as they can.''
Dee Miller returned to the football field yesterday for the first time in a month and will be making the trip to Houston this weekend as the University of Hawaii prepares for Rice University. UH WARRIORS NOTEBOOK
Miller returns,
will playThe talented strong safety pulled a hamstring muscle in the first half of the game at Texas-El Paso and hasn't been seen since. He said yesterday he came back too soon last week and didn't want to make that same mistake again.
"This hamstring pull goes all the way to the bone," Miller said. "I wanted to try to play in the SMU game, but I kind of tweaked it last week. I'd say I'm about 90 percent right now. I'll be able to play."
Hawaii head coach June Jones said yesterday morning the only regular who won't be making the trip is defensive lineman Doug Sims.
He suffered a slight ligament tear in the victory over Southern Methodist last Saturday and won't play this weekend. It's unlikely defensive end Joe Correia will go, either, although Jones had yet to make that final determination.
"We've got a lot of guys nicked up, but we feel like most of them will be able to play," Jones said. "If not, then the young guys we have backing them up will be able to do the job."
Not that freshmen Houston Ala or Lance Samuseva will be forced into early action at tackle -- right now Miles Garner and Lui Fuga are the projected starters -- or first-year linebackers Pisa Tinoisamoa and Bronson Liana will have to go it alone against Rice's option attack. They won't. Seniors Rinda Brooks and Anthony Smith are expected to play.
But the injuries have depleted the Warriors to the point that the depth chart would be better suited at the shallow end of the pool.
"Right now, Mike Iosua is in a sling with a bad shoulder, but he'll play at tackle," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "We'll start (freshman) Hyrum Peters at corner instead of (senior) Shawndel Tucker, but that's mainly because Hyrum did such a good job against TCU's option. Shawndel is still available to us."
Offensively, the Warriors are fairly healthy. Running back Afatia Thompson is still bothered by an ankle sprain that sidelined him for the last two games, but he is expected to share playing time with James Fenderson.
Going home -- sort of
It's hard to say Jones is going home again to Houston because the man has coached nearly everywhere in America. But this Gulf Coast city in Texas still holds a special place in his heart."I have great memories of the Gambler days there," Jones said of the old United States Football League team in Houston. He worked there in 1984 as the wide receivers coach. He was the quarterbacks assistant for the Oilers in 1986-87.
"We won the division that year with the Gamblers, and then with the Oilers, turning that around when they were so bad," Jones said. "We went to the playoffs the two years I was there and had the No. 1 offense in the league. All three of those years were a lot of fun."
Jones expects to spend a little time visiting with old friends as the Warriors prepare for Saturday's game with the Rice Owls.
"I'm sure we'll have dinner at Pappasito's one night and talk about the old days," Jones said. "It should be fun."
Kickers galore
Of the 60 spots on the traveling roster, Jones plans to use three of them for kickers Eric Hannum, Jake Huggins and Mat McBriar.For the first two road games, Jones used Hannum for field goals and PATs, while walk-on Dan Berryman handled kickoffs and punts. This time around, Hannum will handle his regular duties, while Huggins will be used on kickoffs and McBriar will be the punter.
"Mat is only going to get better as our punter," UH special teams coach Dennis McKnight said. "Once he gets comfortable taking the snap and kicking under pressure, I'm not sure what his limit will be. This kid is awesome."
Hannum could handle all three roles if asked. He was a punter for the Warriors his freshman year, and has done all the place-kicking at one time or another. But Jones doesn't want to overload him. He wants the senior to save his leg for field goals and PATs.
Paul Arnett, Star-Bulletin
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
