Friday, March 16, 2001
All Hawaii Wes Suan won't be naming a starting running back anytime soon.
ball carriers in
the running
Offensive coordinator
By Paul Arnett
Wes Suan's stable is full
of thoroughbreds
Star-BulletinIt's not as if the University of Hawaii offensive coordinator doesn't have enough quality candidates. Far from it. It's just at this point, he isn't sure who will be out for fall camp in August and who won't.
Seniors Afatia Thompson and Avion Weaver, who combined for 218 rushing yards in 11 combined games last season, are awaiting word from the NCAA on their respective petitions. If Thompson demonstrates he's on track to graduate in four years, he will get back the season he lost for being a nonqualifier academically out of Punahou School.
As for Weaver, he's asking the NCAA for a medical hardship. He injured his knee on the 11th play of the fourth game last year and was lost for the season. Because he has a redshirt year available to him, it's possible the NCAA will waive the 25 percent participation rule and allow the 1999 Oahu Bowl MVP a second chance.
"Right now, we're planning on going on without them," Suan said. "If we could get back either guy, it would help because of the experience. Even if they were here this spring, we probably would be looking at different players to see who would be their backups. We know what they can do."
What Suan doesn't know is who will be the starter for the Sept. 8 opener against Division I-AA Montana at Maui's War Memorial Stadium. With Thompson's and Weaver's status uncertain, Suan has looked at several unknowns going into today's 10th spring practice to see if any can fit comfortably into the run-and-shoot attack.
Thero Mitchell is at the top of a spring list of seven players that included Ken Witherspoon, who has since shifted to cornerback. Mitchell is the only one with any Division I experience, which has been limited to 11 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Three recruits join the fray in the fall, including St. Louis School's Pesefea Fiaseu and mainland sensation Mike Bass. You get the feeling if the current crop isn't clearly at the head of the class come fall, one of those two incoming recruits could emerge as the starter.
"It's going to be a very competitive fall camp," Suan said. "We have so many different possibilities right now, it's hard to say who will be doing what. But that's a good thing. Whoever wins the job will be battle-tested."
Joining Mitchell in the spring are talented local products Chad Kapanui, and seniors Jonathan Kauka and Tui Ala. Each has had some eye-opening efforts in practice, but the most intriguing is redshirt freshman Kapanui.
Recruited as a quarterback last spring, Kapanui shifted to linebacker in the fall, then back to quarterback. He now swears he's found a home at running back.
"I don't plan on going anywhere else for a while," said the Roosevelt High School product. "I like this spot. I feel like I have the instincts to run. I know what to do in the open field and it's no problem catching the football.
"For me, it's learning how to block. That's what I've been working on -- picking up the right guy in a blitz or helping out if somebody breaks through. It's hard because I never did it that much. But I'm learning. I promise, I'm not moving back to quarterback unless they need me."
What Hawaii needs most is an athlete with a big build who can help the front five protect the passer. Kapanui has the size (6-foot, 226 pounds), and -- if UH head coach June Jones ever calls it -- the arm to throw a halfback-option pass.
Taking only one step, Kapanui can throw it 75 yards with uncanny accuracy.
"Everybody out here knows what kind of athlete Chad is," Suan said. "We think running back is a place where he can excel. He has good speed and quickness. He knows how to run. He can catch, too, and make people miss.
"Chad just needs to learn the system and get comfortable in it."
Fiaseu won't have to make that adjustment. But whether he is the same type of all-around athlete will be decided during two-a-days in the spring.
Bass will also make some noise. He has been compared to Barry Sanders by his high school coach, but at 5-6, 165, his blocking skills could come into question. Add junior college transfer Josh Galeai to the mix and it's easy to see why Suan isn't making any lasting decisions just yet.
"And it's like I told our players," Suan said. "Last spring, the guy who turned out to be our leading rusher (James Fenderson), was way down the depth chart. So you never know. And that's how we want them to prepare every day. Because any one of them could wind up seeing playing time before the season is over."
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
