DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jason Whieldon made a throw at a recent practice. Quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison, left, and other QBs looked on.
The competition among the Hawaii quarterbacks is about to heat up a bit. Hawaii quarterbacks
fighting to improveWith Chang already the starter, those
Defense's recipe dominates scrimmage
behind him focus on getting betterBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comSophomore Jeff Rhode is working the back channels trying to get a read on his counterparts, and the newer guys are letting loose with the trash talk.
But the resolution will come soon enough when the Warrior signal callers line up against each other -- on the golf course.
"We're talking about our quarterback challenge," Rhode said. "All the quarterbacks get on the course and find out who's the best.
"I won it last year, so I've got the title, but (the freshmen) won't let me have it because they weren't here for it," he added. "Of course, I'm claiming defending champion and I'm going to hold true to that until we're done with 18."
The mini-tournament figures to be one of the more competitive aspects of the spring for the six Warrior quarterbacks.
With incoming junior Tim Chang entrenched as the starter, the five behind him are concentrating on personal improvement as much as climbing the depth chart.
"It's just trying to get yourself better, it's not really like a competition," redshirt freshman Ryan Stickler said. "You just have to get better each day and things will fall where they fall."
Chang, who threw for 4,474 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, is suiting up for practices and has done some light throwing. But he's leaving most of the repetitions to his understudies this spring.
"We'll take Timmy out of the equation because he knows so much already and let these guys take the reps," UH quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison said. "That's the only way you learn, to get out there and do it."
Added sophomore Kainoa Akina: "There's only so much chalk can do and only so much film can do. You have to actually get in there and get thrown to the wolves."
Shawn Withy-Allen, last year's top backup, completed his UH career in the fall and Morrison said the coaches are looking for the younger QBs to use the spring to improve their decision-making and accuracy.
"They're progressing nicely," Morrison said. "We're not even halfway through spring and we've already got most of the offense in. This is a great opportunity for them."
All of the quarterbacks were with the team in the fall, but Chang and sophomore Jason Whieldon are the only ones who haven taken a snap at UH.
Whieldon played in four games last season and threw three touchdown passes. He left the squad midway through the campaign due to personal reasons, but later returned and is the top candidate to be Chang's backup.
Whieldon has been first in the rotation this spring, followed by Rhode, Stickler, Preston Maloney and Akina.
"You want to be ready so when your number's called you make something happen," Whieldon said. "I'm taking this real serious as I think everyone is. This is a big competition time amongst ourselves, which is sometimes a harder competition than going against other people because we're all trying to play."
Rhode is the biggest of the bunch at 6-foot-5, 243 pounds. He played baseball as a freshman, but decided to concentrate on football this spring.
Stickler and Maloney spent their freshman years as redshirts and realize their opportunity for playing time may be a bit farther down the road.
"Obviously you want to put yourself in a position to play, but sometimes you have to wait your turn," Maloney said.
Akina transferred from Eastern Michigan last year and comes from one of the state's most prominent football families. His father, Duane, was a standout athlete at Punahou and served as an assistant coach at UH in the early 1980s. After a successful stint at Arizona, Duane is now assistant head coach at Texas.
"I was kind of making a name for myself (at Eastern Michigan) and got away from my dad's shadow, but nothing beats being back here," Kainoa Akina said. "I didn't know (Duane) was so popular. I know my uncles and my dad were pretty good in high school, but I didn't realize they were so well known."
While the backups take the snaps, Chang is offering his counsel to the quarterbacks and receivers, and patrols the secondary as a free safety during passing drills.
"It's fun getting a different perspective and seeing what DBs look for and what kind of tips they'd be looking for," Chang said.
The number of orange jerseys at the practice field will swell to seven in the fall when incoming freshman Jack Rolovich, brother of former UH starter Nick Rolovich, enrolls at UH. He'll join a group that Whieldon describes as "diverse."
"That's what makes it fun, they're all good guys," Whieldon said. "They're all funny, so we have a good time."
As far as golf goes, Morrison hasn't been on the course with the quarterbacks, but gives the early edge to Rhode.
"They compete in everything they do," Morrison said. "But they also support each other very well."
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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Se'e Poumele braced for a hit by Wilson Cluney, who fought off a block by Lamont Williams yesterday during a spring scrimmage at the UH practice fields.Mix youthful quarterbacks with auditioning offensive linemen. Add water. Defense’s recipe
dominates scrimmageBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comFeeds 11 hungry defenders.
Walk-on defensive backs Gary Wright and Lono Manners gobbled up loose footballs, and backups made six sacks during 40 plays of full contact marking the midway point of Hawaii's four weeks of spring football practice yesterday.
Most players considered locks for starting spots in the fall watched from the sideline, except for a hyped-up Hyrum Peters. The senior safety ran onto the field to help freshman Tala Esera celebrate his second sack toward the end of the soggy scrimmage.
Offensive playmakers like Tim Chang, Jeremiah Cockheran, Chad Owens, Nate Ilaoa and Britton Komine sat this one out. But so did the Warriors defensive line and secondary starters. The front-four's backups dominated the O-line, which is looking for replacements for three starters.
The situation looked worse than it probably is for the offense.
"You can usually expect the defense to be ahead at this time, whether it's all-star games, beginning of training camp, beginning of spring practice," secondary coach Rich Miano said. "We just react; they have so much to learn. We've got guys just going to the football and kind of letting it go, and that's what we want them to do. Offensively you have to learn so much scheme stuff. At every level, from Pop Warner to the Pro Bowl, it's like that."
A slippery pigskin caused by a sometimes-heavy Manoa downpour added to the offense's woes. There were four fumbles.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Se'e Poumele was pulled down by Anipati Mailo.
But it wasn't all bad for the attackers.
Running back Mike Bass was one of the few starters to play much. The beefed-up Bass -- he's added about 10 pounds of muscle and is up to 170 pounds -- showed he is still speedy and shifty.
Freshman quarterback Ryan Stickler looked good in spots, too. He completed consecutive long passes to Ross Dickerson and Gerald Welch and also scrambled for a good gain.
"I understand the offense a little better now than I did in the fall," he said. "The ball being wet made things a little harder today, but mixing in a lot of players wasn't a problem. That didn't make a difference because if the guys didn't know what they were doing they wouldn't be in there. Just the wind and the rain."
And the defense.
Wright, a 5-foot-10, 201-pound senior from Kalaheo High School, always thrives in scrimmages. Yesterday his close coverage caused several incomplete passes early in the session. Later, let loose on blitzes, he sacked Jeff Rhode and two plays later picked up a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown.
"Gary's getting better and better," coach June Jones said. "Every year he's made improvement."
It will be difficult to unseat starting cornerbacks Kelvin Millhouse and Abraham Elimimian, but Miano said he will look for ways to get Wright and Manners into games.
"(Wright's) going to be our third or fourth corner. He's going to get a lot of special teams work and we'll try to work him into our nickel and dime packages," Miano said. "Lono, I thought last year he was our most promising young walk-on. We've got Hyrum, David (Gilmore) and Leonard (Peters) at safety. But Lono is right there challenging for playing time. Athletically he's a 4.5 (40 time) guy, benches 400 pounds. He's the strongest defensive back I've been around and he's ready to go."
Manners, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound sophomore, came to the program as a running back from Waianae High School and spent most of last year learning how to play safety.
"I'm glad I made the switch," he said. "We're pretty much stacked at every position with guys who have played or guys who have a lot of potential."
Wright's fumble recovery and Manners' twisting interception were worth 25 points each and gave the defenders more points than the offense. UH's scoring system for scrimmages is skewed toward turnovers.
"That's to teach the offense to hold onto the ball, and for the defense the most important stat is turnovers," Miano said. "Our goal is to lead the nation in turnovers."
The defense looked like that's an attainable goal yesterday, even though the group is "uncoordinated."
Since defensive coordinator Kevin Lempa resigned in February, Jones has directed the boys in green (with a lot of help from Miano, linebackers coach George Lumpkin and defensive line coach Vantz Singletary), while keeping the other eye on his beloved run-and-shoot offense.
"I don't think it's that hard," Jones said.
When asked yesterday if a new defensive coordinator might be chosen from the current staff -- speculation centers on Lumpkin and Miano -- Jones remained noncommittal.
"Yeah, it could be," he said. "Whichever way we go it will be the right one."
Wright said he would like a current assistant to get the position.
"Coach Miano and Coach Lumpkin, they've been here awhile, they know what's going on. It would be nice to see either one of them," he said.
Saint Louis School athletic director and Hawaiian Islanders coach Cal Lee remains a possibility, as defensive coordinator or a defensive position coach. But Lee would likely have to give up his Saint Louis job -- which pays more than most college position coach salaries -- to work at UH.
Jones could also select someone he knows from his 15 years of coaching in pro leagues. But because of the timing of the hiring (Jones doesn't plan to do it until after spring practice ends in two weeks), the other options seem more likely.
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