Much focus has been on Hawaii's quarterback situation going into tomorrow's season-opener against Eastern Illinois at Aloha Stadium (6:05 p.m. kickoff). But the Panthers have a pretty good one themselves in Tony Romo. Eastern Illinois
Road Warriors
has a quality QB
Lelie, Rolo make 1st pro TDsBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com"He's a real threat," UH defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa said. "Any time a quarterback completes two out of three of his passes and has a big-play receiver, that's a definite threat."
Romo, who passed for 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions last year, is a top contender for the Walter Payton Award. The award goes to the Division I-AA player of the year.
Inside stuff: Time-sharing at wide receiver worked well with Justin Colbert and Tafiti Uso last season. Hawaii coach June Jones plans to start the season with the same plan at one of the inside receiver positions.
Freshman Nate Ilaoa and junior Clifton Herbert will split duty at one spot, Jones said. Seniors Colbert and Neal Gossett start on the outside, and Chad Owens earned the other inside position in fall camp.
Herbert has vastly improved his hands and route-running since last year. "Consistency was important for me. I knew coming in I couldn't have an up-and-down camp," Herbert said. "That's not going to get me there. Either be consistent or get a little bit better each day. If I did have a little setback, next practice come back and do what I didn't do, either run better routes, make better reads, or catch the ball."
Herbert and Ilaoa will be expected to contribute heavily, especially with Gerald Welch still trying to come back from knee surgery.
Another inside receiver, Britton Komine, has practiced well after missing much of fall camp with a hamstring problem.
Short yardage: Eastern Illinois' Bob Spoo needs four wins to become the winningest coach in school history. ... The Panthers went directly to Aloha Stadium to practice after arriving here yesterday afternoon. ... UH outside receiver Mark Tate appeared at practice yesterday, but it will likely be several more weeks before he can participate because of an offseason knee injury.
Around the WAC: An insurance dispute has been resolved, allowing San Jose State's Neil Parry to continue pursuing his dream of playing again. Part of Parry's right leg was amputated after he suffered compound fractures from a game injury two years ago.
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