Warriors welcome Some of the new players who report to the Hawaii football team today aren't really all that new to their veteran teammates.
new players
Some have already been
working out with the teamBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comFor example, junior college transfer wide receiver Jeremiah Cockheran has been here for several weeks already, participating in the informal summer workouts that have become standard in college football.
"Usually we don't see much of the new guys from the mainland until they report," senior defensive end La'anui Correa said. "But a lot of guys are getting a head start. Jeremiah's been running a lot of 7s (7-on-7 drills) with us and working out. That's a big jump, a great prep for camp."
UH assistant coach Dan Morrison said NCAA rules prohibit the school from assisting incoming players until the official report date, so that makes it difficult for some new players from the mainland to be here in the summer. But Cockheran was able to swing it with the help of former high school teammate Justin Colbert, who is a Warriors senior wide receiver.
Correa noted that an increasing number of players -- veterans and rookies -- have been around in the summer to work out and get a head start for fall camp, which begins Saturday with the first two-a-day practices. Three weeks from then, UH opens its season against Eastern Washington at Aloha Stadium.
"Nobody really likes camp. It's hard and dreadful. But we're excited," Correa said. "Everybody's real optimistic about how we should end up."
UH finished 9-3 last fall, and Correa is among 16 returning starters.
Correa said the Warriors didn't make the same mistake of two years ago when they came off a good season but didn't work especially hard in the summer. Hawaii followed 1999's conference championship season with a 3-9 year in 2000 before bouncing back again last fall.
"We kind of took it for granted we would be WAC champs again (in 2000) no matter what we did," Correa said. "We reiterated to each other all last spring that it was important to not slack off at all after a good year because we saw what could happen."
Before Saturday, this week's schedule for the Warriors is mostly orientation. There will be a couple of light sessions involving passing drills, coach June Jones said.
Veteran players report Thursday.
... in 1976, wins were hard to come by for Hawaii, and the Rainbows finished 3-8 in the last of three seasons for coach Larry Price (right). The year ended with blowout losses to Oregon State (59-0) and Nebraska (68-3).
Today, Price, along with Michael W. Perry, hosts the state's most popular morning radio show. He is also a member of the Stadium Authority, and was its chairman during most of the ongoing AstroTurf vs. Fieldturf controversy.
