[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
It was fitting that afterward the players sang "Who Let The Dogs Out?" Hungry Hawaii headbangers
finally get their chance to hitBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThe answer is Hawaii football coach June Jones, if just for a little while.
Yesterday, 10 days into fall training camp, the Warriors finally went full contact for a few plays.
And, yes, Mike Bass can take a hit.
The 5-foot-6, 165-pound freshman already has the respect of teammates for his talent. They say he's pretty tough, too.
"Everybody's impressed with that guy," linebacker Chris Brown said. "He's so fast and quick and shifty. He reminds us all of Warrick Dunn.
"We go one-on-one, linebackers on running backs, and he puts up a good fight every time," Brown added.
Jones said not to draw any conclusions from it, but Bass was with the first unit yesterday.
Of the five plays the first-team offense ran against the first-team defense, Bass carried the ball twice. Both times, he was smothered for a loss but popped up quickly.
Bass later broke off a nifty 12-yard run, weaving through the third-team defense.
"I just had to get over those first few nervous minutes. Definitely different (than high school). Bigger, faster, stronger," Bass said. "I'm just going to hit the weightroom, work on my technique and blocking so I can be ready for the games coming up."
One of the tackles of Bass by the first team resulted in an awkward tangle of bodies, but no injuries. That play was an example of why Jones doesn't have his boys pound each other very often. He wants as many healthy bodies as possible for the Sept. 8 opener against Montana on Maui.
"It was good," Jones said. "We don't like to do a lot of it, but everybody's got to get used to that part, too."
Of course, the defense enjoyed it.
"We went with a quick whistle, but at least they got to go out and do a little tackling," defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "The first group looked good. But the second group, you can see how thin we are."
The quarterbacks, in their orange jerseys, were still off-limits. But sophomore Tim Chang said it was important and exhilarating to get the feel of something close to live action.
"It's exciting. We're getting close to our first game so it's good to get stuff like this in," Chang said. "We get ourselves on film and get a good look at it and hopefully grow from here."
Special guy: With a glut of players battling for time at running back, Jonathan Kauka can get lost in the shuffle. He gets his share of reps, and could be in the backfield mix when the season starts. But even if he doesn't play on offense, the 6-foot, 211-pound junior from Hilo (Waiakea High School) will be on the field plenty.
Kauka is a standout on the punt and kickoff teams and the return teams for both. He is the up-back on the punt team.
"I really enjoy special teams," he said. "At the running back position we have a lot of athletes, so the coaches make sure they get us on special teams."
Short yardage: During one stretch yesterday morning, Chang, Nick Rolovich, Jared Flint and Jeff Rhode completed 10 passes to 10 different receivers. ... During the full-contact phase, the best tackle was turned in by running back Tui Ala, who popped linebacker Patrick Harvey after an interception. Freshman safety Matt Manuma also made a nice hit to prevent Channon Harris from catching a ball across the middle. ... Junior wide receiver Omar Bennett only arrived at camp Friday, but has already made his presence felt with several impressive catches. ... Freshman kicker Justin Ayat nailed a 50-yard field goal yesterday on his only try from that distance.
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Ka Leo O Hawaii
