Thursday, August 30, 2001
[ UH FOOTBALL ]
YOU COULD SENSE the relief in Kevin Lempa's voice. Iosua’s shoulder
not seriously hurtUH FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThe left shoulder injury Hawaii senior defensive tackle Mike Iosua suffered in practice yesterday is a minor one.
"I was nervous, but it turns out it's not too bad. He should be back at practice (today) or Friday," said Lempa, UH's defensive coordinator.
Defensive line is one of the thinnest positions for Hawaii as it prepares for its season opener against Montana on Maui in nine days. Although back-ups Lance Samuseva and Brett Clowers have potential to be good players, the Warriors can't afford to lose one with Iosua's experience and size (6-feet-2, 282 pounds) -- especially with tackle Lui Fuga and end Travis Laboy likely out with injuries for the opener.
"He's a vet," defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said of Iosua. "And he's one of our best guys, by far."
Iosua played in eight games last season, starting six at tackle. The former tight end made 24 tackles, including six for losses and he had two sacks. He missed considerable action due to shoulder and knee injuries.
"His shoulder is a recurring thing," coach June Jones said. "He'll be OK. We'll kind of let him be the judge of when he'll be ready to practice."
Corner concerns:
Redshirt freshman cornerback Josiah Cravalho worked with the first team yesterday, as Hyrum Peters was still slowed by a right hamstring pull and Gary Wright has a sprained right knee.Peters ran some 7-on-7 drills, but Wright is out of practice and is day-to-day.
"Josiah's come on really strong," Lempa said. "If you saw him last year ... he was getting beat on every long ball. But he was impressive in the spring and worked hard in the summer."
More neighbor games?:
Jones said he hopes more UH games will be played on neighbor islands in the future."I'd like to play our I-AA opponent on another island every year," he said. "But a lot of it depends on how smoothly this first one goes."
Jones declined to speculate if next season's opener against I-AA Eastern Illinois would be played off of Oahu.
"I'm thinking of Montana right now," he said.
Meanwhile, George Toma, who is on Maui repairing the War Memorial Stadium field, was gladdened by news that the Maui Interscholastic League games scheduled for the stadium this weekend have been moved to King Kekaulike Field.
"That's going to give us a better chance to get this field ready and will give the high school players a better field after UH leaves," Toma said.
Said UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida: "It shows the commitment of Maui County for this game they've wanted to showcase."
Battle at linebacker:
Junior Pisa Tinoisamoa would start at outside linebacker ahead of sophomore Keani Alapa if the season were to begin now, Lempa said yesterday. But Alapa would play a lot at both outside spots, especially since Joe Correia, the other outside starter, is somewhat slowed by old foot injuries."Pisa has had a good preseason," Lempa said.
Jones has also complimented Tinoisamoa.
"He came in in good condition and he looks stronger," he said last week.
Chris Brown remains the starter at middle linebacker.
Welch looking good:
At 5-feet-7 and 214 pounds, Gerald Welch still does not look like a prototype receiver. But the sophomore slotback came to camp in much better condition than he did as a freshman, and it shows.Welch is quicker and faster than last year, and he's made some eye-popping catches with nary a drop.
"Oh, definitely I'm in better shape than last year. I just did whatever I wanted to and wasn't really concentrating," Welch said. "This summer it was coming in and working with Coach Mel (deLaura), running, lifting, just doing things to make myself better.
"If I'm in shape to practice harder then that helps Stutz (starting slotback Craig Stutzmann) practice harder and the team gets better that way."
Welch played in five games last year, starting one when Stutzmann was injured. He caught 11 passes for 101 yards.
Short yardage:
Countering a heavy pass rush was a point of emphasis in practice yesterday. "We worked on (Montana's) blitz packages," Jones said. "They're not a big blitzing team usually, but I think they will try to blitz us." ... Right guard Vince Manuwai, an Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award candidate, did not practice yesterday because he received a cortisone shot Tuesday for his aching left wrist. He said he would return to action today. ... Singletary, who credits losing 100 pounds in one year partly to a diet including Subway sandwiches, appears in a new commercial for the company beginning this week.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
