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Saturday, March 10, 2001
Emphasis on This morning's 54-play scrimmage on the grass fields was a good indication just how serious the University of Hawaii coaching staff is about the run.
the run in first
scrimmage
The Warriors work on
running the ball on offense
and stopping the run
on defenseBy Paul Arnett
Star-BulletinNot only is the defense expected to do a better job of stopping it this fall, the offense is looking to be better acquainted with life on the ground as well.
During the first 12 plays of the scrimmage, the scout team offense ran right, left and up the middle to test the new-look Rainbows defense that was missing as many as five projected starters.
Defensive backs Nate Jackson (foot) and Hyrum Peters (hamstring) saw no action. Neither did defensive linemen Lui Fuga (shoulder), Mike Iosua (ankle) and Travis Laboy, who woke up this morning with a bad case of the flu. Outside linebacker Keani Alapa also didn't play because he's recovering from a knee injury.
"Still, we got a chance to see a lot of the new guys on film," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "Without seeing the tape, I thought we did a good job."
Hawaii yielded 39 yards on 11 running plays in the first phase of the scrimmage. There was one pass completion of 8 yards from Shawn Withy-Allen to Tui Ala, who also had a nice run of 11 yards where he broke three tackles along the way.
Once this period ended, there were a dozen sessions involving top three quarterbacks Tim Chang, Nick Rolovich and Withy-Allen. Kevin Gilbride is playing baseball and is not in the quarterback rotation. Jared Flint was ahead of schedule from shoulder surgery last summer, but has since developed tendinitis. His immediate future is unclear.
"I don't want to rush it," Flint said. "I'm hoping I'll be able to throw more over the next couple of weeks. But it's more important if I'm around in the fall than now."
Chang had to leave right after practice because his sister is in labor. He completed 4 of 7 passes for 25 yards. Rolovich threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to slotback Gerald Welch and Withy-Allen had a 15-yard strike to freshman Mark Tate on the fade route.
"I kept my touchdown streak alive," Tate said. "I've caught one in every practice this spring. I'm getting more comfortable in there. It just takes time to learn the offense."Wide receivers coach Ron Lee was pleased with what he saw. Hawaii passed the ball 20 times, completing 12 for 90 yards. Tate also had a 20-yard completion from Withy-Allen and was wide open for another possible touchdown, but Rolovich overthrew him.
"We've still got a long way to go," Lee said, who kept Craig Stutzmann and Ashley Lelie out of the fray. "We wanted to take a look at some of the younger guys.
"I liked what I saw. I think (UH head coach) June (Jones) would be pleased with the progress. We ran more to give the defense a chance to defend it. But we also had some big plays on the ground."
Converted quarterback Chad Kapanui had the biggest rush of the day. On a quick draw, the freshman ran down the middle of the field for 17 yards. Had he cut to the outside, it's possible he would have scored.
One of offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh's goals this spring was to move the football on the ground. Unlike the two previous springs, Cavanaugh isn't having to start from scratch. He believes his top five could be as good as any around.
""The first year here, we had guys who didn't know our system," Cavanaugh said. "We lose four of those guys last year, so here we go again in the second spring.
"Now, we've got guys in place who know what to do. Today, we wanted to give the defense a good look at the run. We also think with the front we have that we should be able to run the football better than we have.
"I think you saw today what we've been trying to do this spring and that's run the football better, and stop the run. If we can do those two things this fall, I feel like we have a chance to be successful."
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