Tuesday, August 14, 2001
[COLLEGE ATHLETICS]
MADISON, Wis. >> The drop in temperatures last week was not nearly as welcome to University of Wisconsin walk-on punter R.J. Morse as it was to most others in the state. ‘Hawaiian Connection’ hopes
to make impact at WisconsinStar-Bulletin wire services
Morse, who is from Waipahu, was shivering when the mercury dropped into the 60s Friday after reaching 91 the day before.
"It was cold, man," he said. "I came down to the cafeteria in my sweats, and coach (Barry) Alvarez told me that it was going to snow in the afternoon."
Morse said he believed Alvarez.
"I was like, 'What?' " Morse said.
He admitted he has not had time yet to shop for winter clothes with his Honolulu pals, freshmen Donovan Raiola and Lyle Maiava. The three players competed on different teams in the same conference last year.
Morse, who has dubbed the trio "The Hawaiian Connection," is 6-feet-1 and 248 pounds from Iolani School. Raiola is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound center from Kamehameha Schools. Maiava is a 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive tackle from St. Louis School.
The punter is battling sophomore Kirk Munden for the starting job.
"Both of them have punted very well," Alvarez said. "I don't have to make decisions. The players make decisions, according to how they play and perform."
A former nose guard, Morse divided playing time between center and the defensive line as a high school senior.
The Badgers have been trying to get him into "kicking shape" during training camp.
"They've put me on a diet and they have me stretching six times a day," Morse said, adding "I've always been bigger than everybody else."
Morse began playing soccer when he was 5. He was not introduced to football until he entered the ninth grade. As such, he's had little formal training in kicking.
"I never really had a kicking coach, per se," Morse said. "My soccer coach used to work with me, showing me how to hold the ball. But nobody really showed me how to swing (my leg) correctly, or drop the ball correctly or take steps."
But Wisconsin quarterback coach Jeff Horton said Morse had a reputation of being the best punter in the Islands.
"Because he was a lineman, too, he was really raw kicking. But he had a strong leg. And we thought if he was given an opportunity to work on his kicking, he could probably be a heck of a player," Horton said.
NCAA sends letter of inquiry: The University of Kentucky has until Oct. 5 to respond to an official letter of inquiry from the NCAA regarding violations in its football program, school officials said yesterday.
Athletics director Larry Ivy said the university received the letter late last week. It came as no surprise since the school reported more than three dozen possible violations to college athletics' governing body in March.
"The encouraging thing is that there are very few new revelations," Ivy said following a meeting of the UK Athletics Association's board of directors. "I think that shows that they were satisfied that we did a thorough job with our own investigation."
The school's internal probe turned up more than three dozen violations, some of which will be considered major by the NCAA, according to Sandy Bell, assistant athletics director for compliance.