Three years ago, Ed Chester became an instant millionaire. But he wasn't very happy about it. He'd won the lottery while losing his NFL career. Lelie will be covered
by injury insuranceBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comChester was a senior defensive lineman at Florida projected to go high in the next draft. A dislocated knee ended his football future.
Chester, however, had an insurance policy for $1 million in case of that possibility.
Hawaii junior wide receiver Ashley Lelie hopes to never be forced to cash in, but he said yesterday he is in the process of completing paperwork for such a policy.
"I picked it up Sunday," Lelie said. "I just need to finish filling it out."
Injury insurance policies for potential high-round draft picks have become common in recent years. They are sold by a private company and approved by the NCAA. Premiums are paid by the athlete's university as a loan to the athlete, which is paid back when he becomes a professional.
The good news for UH fans is that taking out such a policy indicates Lelie is serious about playing his senior season for the Warriors rather than leaving early for the draft. (He has said playing for Hawaii next fall is his plan, anyway.)
After catching six passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, Lelie is second in the nation with 14 TDs. The Biletnikoff Award semifinalist is sixth in receiving yardage with 1,166.
They hit books, too: Hawaii defensive back Hyrum Peters and defensive tackle Mike Iosua were selected to the Verizon Academic All-District VIII football team announced yesterday.
Peters, a sophomore from Laie, has a 3.38 grade-point-average in general studies.
Iosua, a senior from Seattle, has a 3.20 grade-point-average in mathematics.
Both were All-Western Athletic Conference academic honorees last season.
The District VIII team includes nine western states and British Columbia. The all-district first team selections advance to the national ballot, which will be announced Dec. 10.
Where's the crowd?: You can point to the bad economy and the untimely homecoming loss two weeks ago to Boise State. But UH coach June Jones still believes the Warriors should draw more than the 29,073 that saw Hawaii beat Miami (Ohio), 52-51, Saturday.
Jones said the season-low Aloha Stadium crowd was "embarrassing."
"We've done everyting right. The sport has always been here. We need to look closely at why the people aren't there," Jones said. "It's not the product. There are local kids. For some reason (the fans) aren't there. We need to analyze why it is."
Jones said the fans that were at Saturday's game made an impact.
"Some of their players commented that the crowd was louder than the 104,000 when they played at Michigan," Jones said. "That says a lot about what the fans can do for us. Hopefully we'll get a big crowd for the last two weeks."
Special stuff: That thud you're likely to hear Satuday night is the sound of hand on kicked ball. Air Force -- traditionally strong on special teams -- has blocked five kicks, with Justin Pendry knocking down two. Hawaii has sent four kicks back to whence they came, with Sean Butts blocking three.
Butts, whose blocked extra point made Justin Ayat's field goal a game-winner on Saturday, said there is no secret to the art.
"I just hide behind my linemen and they push. If we get a good push, that's the key," he said. "It means I'll be jumping closer to where the ball is being kicked from and it will be lower."
Air Force blocked three punts and Frank Staine-Pyne ran two of them back for touchdowns the last time the Falcons and Rainbows played, in 1997. Air Force won 34-27.