Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Chang likely starter Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang will likely reclaim his starting spot Saturday against Texas-El Paso.
vs. UTEP
With X-rays negative, practice
Notebook
will be the quarterback's final testBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comChang was expected to return to practice today after missing last Saturday's 38-31 victory at Southern Methodist with what was diagnosed as a sprained right (throwing) wrist.
He was replaced last week by Nick Rolovich, who completed 31 of 51 passes for 325 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Yesterday, Chang was cleared to practice today when a follow-up X-ray confirmed there is no broken bone in his wrist.
"The doctors said there's nothing on the X-ray to hold him out," UH spokesman Neal Iwamoto said. "He's clear to throw (today)."
Warriors coach June Jones said that Chang would start Saturday as long as he is able to practice this week.
"If he's OK, he'll play. He'll start," Jones said.
Chang hurt his wrist late in UH's 27-24 loss to Rice on Sept. 29. At first, it was feared a broken bone would force him to miss at least two or three games. But X-rays and an MRI last week indicated no break.
Rolovich, who began last season as Hawaii's starter, was intercepted twice in the first half Saturday as the Warriors fell behind 17-3. But he improved after the break, completing 16 of 24 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, as Hawaii won in overtime.
"I was happy for him," Jones said. "He started out slow but grew as the game went along. He made big plays. He made a lot of third-down plays. And then of course the plays in the overtime were huge."
Chang started the three previous games this season and nine last season when he was WAC Freshman of the Year.
This season, Chang has completed 83 of 140 passes for 1,100 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions. He is second in the nation in total offense.
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