Wednesday, August 15, 2001
[ UH FOOTBALL ]
University of Hawaii head coach June Jones has looked forward to this afternoon's practice since signing day in February. Warriors hit the
practice fieldBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.com"To get a chance to look at the new guys to see what they can do is good for us and them," Jones said yesterday. "We have about 25 guys, including walk-ons, who will take part in this light workout. It will be great to be on the football field again."
The first official practice begins tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Cooke Field. If all goes as planned, Jones will have his full complement of 105 players taking parting in the opening workout of fall camp.
From there, the Warriors will slip comfortably into two-a-days, beginning early Friday morning. There will be afternoon workouts as well, as Jones and his staff begin the arduous task of seeing who is ready for the rigors of Division I football.
"As coaches, this is what we love to do," Jones said. "To get everybody under the lights, it should be fun. I'm excited about the coming season. We have a lot of work to do, but fortunately, we have an extra week to prepare."
That's because Hawaii was supposed to open the season at home against Iowa State on Sept. 1. The Cyclones backed out because they weren't receiving enough money to make the trip.
UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida filled the vacancy with Brigham Young University. But that game won't be until the end of the season. Hawaii opens its 2001 campaign on Sept. 8 on Maui against No. 2-rated Montana of Division I-AA. The Grizzlies lost to Georgia Southern in last year's national title game.
"They're going to be a good opponent for us," Jones said. "The good thing is, we get an extra week to prepare for them. They open at Cal-Poly, so they can't spend all of fall camp preparing just for us."
Jones expects all of the veterans will report today. He said he didn't anticipate anyone missing the deadline or the opening workout tomorrow night. He also feels everyone will be academically sound.
"We're ready to go, as far as I know," Jones said. "We expect everyone to be here and ready to go for fall camp."
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
