UH’s Chang It was a familiar sight the past two years, but one folks hadn't seen lately -- Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang throwing footballs, working out in the offseason at Cooke Field.
well on his way
to full recovery
The Warriors' redshirt sophomore
QB is working out, throwing
footballs with accuracyBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comChang is back. He's not as good as new yet, but he is throwing about 50 passes a day to Chad Owens, Mike Bass and other receivers. Chang, a redshirt sophomore from St. Louis School, is ahead of schedule in his return from surgery to his right (throwing) wrist.
"It will tighten up on me some, a little rough sometimes, but things are going really well," Chang said. "I think by the month of June I should be close (to his previous form). I should be throwing hard and accurate and far by then."
Chang sat out spring practice while rehabbing from his Jan. 3 operation by noted hand surgeon Norman Zemel to repair ligament damage.
He got the go-ahead to start throwing about three weeks ago. Chang said he started by tossing a tennis ball, then moved on to a volleyball. Now he said he's passing footballs about 25 yards with accuracy and no problems.
"I haven't seen him (throw) yet, but I know he's worked really hard," UH coach June Jones said. "He's working on getting his strength back."
Chang was the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2000 and went into last season as UH's starting quarterback. But he hurt his wrist when he fell on it near the end of the 27-24 loss to Rice in the Warriors' third game last season.
Senior Nick Rolovich replaced Chang as the starter. Chang, who did not play again, was granted an extra season of eligibility due to a medical hardship.
"He's working out hard," senior linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said of Chang. "He's not the Timmy Chang we all know yet, but he's coming along."
Tinoisamoa is also progressing well. The second-team all-WAC linebacker has completely recovered from the sprained left ankle he suffered near the end of spring camp last month. He also learned recently that he can graduate in time to earn back the season of eligibility he lost by entering UH as a partial qualifier three years ago.
"I'm more than confident I can do it. My academic counselor said if I take 15 units a semester and a full load in summer school it's very possible. I'm staying here for both summer sessions this year instead of going home for one and that should help," said Tinoisamoa, who is from San Diego.
Tinoisamoa also said he will spend some time working out with his relative, Chargers All-Pro linebacker Junior Seau, on Kauai next month.
"That will be good to get some experience with him," Tinoisamoa said. "I think he can teach me a lot about the mental approach to the game."
Meanwhile, Jones said Rolovich impressed coaches at the Denver Broncos' minicamp over the weekend.
"They haven't signed him yet," Jones said yesterday. "But I'm anticipating that happening. I talked to some of the coaches, including (head coach) Mike Shanahan, and they said he did a good job."
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