Hawaii starting quarterback Tim Chang left practice this morning with a broken pinky finger on his right (throwing) hand. Chang injures hand
Mustangs having trouble with quarterbacks
in practiceBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comThe early diagnosis was that he jammed the finger and would return to practice soon. But this afternoon UH announced that the finger is broken and Chang will miss practice for 10 to 14 days. That means he could also miss the season-opening game against Eastern Illinois on Aug. 31.
"We're disappointed because he worked so hard to get back after his wrist injury," coach June Jones said. "Hopefully we can get him back after a few weeks."
Chang had surgery in the offseason after injuring ligaments in his right hand last year in the third game of the season against Rice, and was granted an extra season due to medical hardship.
Junior Jason Whieldon or senior Sean Withy-Allen will play if Chang can't, Jones said. Jones said Whieldon is a little bit ahead of Withy-Allen. Chang hurt his finger about 45 minutes before the end of this morning's practice. He was attended to by trainers and doctors. About 15 minutes before the end of practice Chang was taken to the trainer's room for additional treatment.
"It's a minor setback," Chang said. "I wish it wouldn't have happened, but it did, so how we deal with it now is what counts. I'll be out there again. Everything's going to be all right."
Mind games: Like all football teams, the Hawaii Warriors push a lot of metal in the weightroom. Last night they bent some in a meeting room.
Dr. Jack Houck is an expert in the field of psychokinesis, which is the ability to influence physical objects or events with the mind. He led the Warriors in an hour-long session in which some players bent forks, spoons and metal rods, and others -- including some of the team's physically strongest -- were left staring at unbent utensils.
"The goal was to show them you can do a whole lot more with your mind than you think you can," UH coach June Jones said.
Houck instructed the players to mentally transfer energy from their minds through their bodies and into utensils and metal rods, saying that would make them easier to bend. The key, though, he said, is to "let go" after the initial focus of energy.
"When you find you can get distracted you'll find you can do it," said Houck, who conducted similar training for the U.S. military's Delta Force. "This is about applying your mind. It isn't a big concentration thing, just a little at the beginning. Once you get started you'll see you have what it takes."
Senior wide receiver Justin Colbert is 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds. He's pretty strong for his size, with a maximum bench press of 320 pounds. Still, it was surprising that he was among the handful of players to bend a solid, half-inch-thick metal bar.
"I think a lot of it was physical," Colbert said. "But the bar did get warm like he said it would if you did it right."
Colbert and fellow receiver Chad Owens, who is 5-9 and 177 pounds, chatted with each other during the process about things other than the task at hand -- and both ended up doing it.
Defensive end La'anui Correa, one of the team's strongest players at 6-5 and 264 pounds, was unable to bend a spoon. Correa, a diligent student who is always near the top in grade-point average, agreed he might have concentrated too much on the task. He took the spoon back to his dorm to try it again later.
Quarterback Tim Chang didn't get to the metal bar, but he did manage to bend the tines of a fork in different directions.
"It really worked," the 6-foot-2, 191-pound sophomore said. "It's like what we do on the field. The first thing is set a goal. Then after you know you can do it, let loose."
Full pads, same-same: Since the Warriors rarely go full-contact in practice -- and didn't yesterday -- the first day in full pads wasn't much different than the first three of fall camp. The practice pattern is a little different now, though, as the morning session is now three hours and then an hour-and-a-half in the afternoon of mostly special teams work.
The Warriors worked on kickoff and punt team individual techniques. Mike Bass, Clifton Herbert and Owens lined up to shag punts, but it's too early in camp to read too much into that.
Short yardage: Junior defensive endtackle Houston Ala was a terror in one-on-one drills yesterday. Even the team's best offensive linemen couldn't stop his quick, explosive moves. "He's always been one of our hardest workers, and if you saw him today you can tell he took it up a notch this summer," linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said. "I don't think too many guys want to go one-on-one with him." ... Freshman running back Pesefea Fiaseu said he expects to return to practice next Monday. He has been rehabbing a knee injury he suffered two weeks before camp. ... Freshman inside receiver Nate Ilaoa's hamstring was healed enough for him to practice yesterday. He is listed No. 2 on the depth chart behind Gerald Welch, who yesterday rested the knee he injured last spring. Welch said it was just soreness and he would be back in the lineup soon. ... Shawn Withy-Allen and Jason Whieldon are still No. 2 and No. 3 at quarterback behind Chang, in that order, Jones said. "The second and third guy get equal reps," the coach said.
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