Senior reserve linebacker Bobby Morgan deserves a big-play decal to put on his helmet for his contribution to Hawaii's 36-15 victory at Tulsa on Saturday, even though his name didn't make the stat sheet. Morgan’s heads up leads
to big series for Hawaii defenseBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comMorgan is the reason Robert Grant was right there waiting to tackle Donald Shoals at the Tulsa 4 after the Golden Hurricane passed the ball to its best playmaker on UH's second kickoff.
Four plays later, Abraham Elimimian and Keith Bhonapha teamed up to tackle Tulsa punter Casey Lipscomb for a safety, and the Hurricane never recovered.
How did Morgan figure in?
Let UH special teams coordinator Tyson Helton explain:
"When we first kicked off we kicked to the back of the end zone. Bobby Morgan, who is on the kickoff team, came to me on the sideline and said, 'Coach, I think they're trying to set up a reverse pass.' That really says a lot about our players when they pick that up. To be honest, I was watching our coverage. All I did was tell Robert Grant to stay at home on the other side and be ready to make the play if they threw it back."
Players of the Week: UH linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and kicker Justin Ayat were named WAC defensive and special teams players of the week after UH's victory at Tulsa.
Tinoisamoa was in on 14 tackles and forced a fumble (which was recovered by Brett Clowers). Ayat kicked two field goals, including a 55-yarder, which is just 1 yard shy of the school record set by Jason Elam in 1992.
Ayat said he has never met the Denver Broncos' Pro Bowler, but hopes to someday.
"Once I got into kicking, I kind of set myself to be like him," Ayat said.
Staying healthy: This is the time of the season where Hawaii's policy of not scrimmaging all out in practice can pay off.
While many other teams that go at each other hard in practice are banged up now, the Warriors are relatively healthy.
On offense, the same player has started every game at 10 of 11 positions. Quarterback Tim Chang is the only starter from the beginning of the season to have missed a game.
On defense, end Laanui Correa, middle linebacker Chris Brown, outside linebacker Tinoisamoa and safeties Jacob Espiau and Nate Jackson have started every game.
Linemen Joe Correia and Wayne Hunter and cornerback Hyrum Peters have been in-and-out with injuries, but are all available to play Friday.
The defense started the same 11 players for the first time in consecutive games against Texas-El Paso and Tulsa. But that mini-streak could end Friday, depending on the severity of Jackson's leg injury suffered in a traffic accident yesterday.
Short yardage: Maybe the Warriors should call themselves the 'Bows this week: Since 1987, Fresno State is 4-7 against teams that start their nickname with 'B.' ... Hawaii coach June Jones spent Sunday and yesterday in Portland, Ore., on personal matters. ... WAC commissioner Karl Benson will decide if FSU cornerback Kendall Edwards will be suspended a game for illegally hitting Boise State punt returner Tim Gilligan in last Friday's game. "It was a vicious hit," Benson said. Fresno State coach Pat Hill called it a "terrible play." ... Fresno state is 4-0 on the road this season, but 11-17 away from home under Hill. The Bulldogs have not won in Hawaii since 1994, when Fresno State beat Hawaii 31-16.