ROTC ‘coach,’
Warrior motivator
off to Iraq
He was never an official member of the Hawaii coaching staff, but the Warriors will miss the influence of Trey Johnson.
The Army major, who instructed ROTC at UH and helped the football players with conditioning, leaves today for Iraq.
"I'm Baghdad-bound," Johnson said. "I'm going to miss this big-time."
"As a coach and teacher at UH I will miss the football players and cadets. As a family man I'll miss the wife and kids," Johnson said. "But as a soldier I'm very excited."
UH won the MacArthur Award last year as the nation's top-ranked Army ROTC program of 270 nationwide. Johnson received the Recruiting Operations Officer of the Year award for the Pacific-Northwest region.
Former Warriors linebacker Chris Brown is a fan of Johnson and what he did for UH.
"His class was great. It wasn't hard, but it was very practical and about leadership concepts we can use in football and life," Brown said. "We know he wasn't an official coach, but he always helped us, motivating us. He helped a lot of us with focus and preparation, and he always did it with a smile.
Johnson, a former member of a Ranger battalion, was cited for bravery for saving the life of a woman threatening to jump off the balcony of the 32nd floor of a building he lived in 10 years ago.
Johnson's orders have him in Iraq for the next six months. The former East Carolina receiver said Hawaii is now his home and he plans to return to live here after his deployment.
"When he told me yesterday where he was going and what he was doing -- and that he volunteered -- I told him he's crazy," Brown said.
Fiaseu returns: Coach June Jones said no new scholarships have been awarded recently, but sophomore running back Pesefea Fiaseu has had his restored.
Fiaseu, the Star-Bulletin's Back of the Year in 2000 at St. Louis, started one game as a second-year freshman last season. He carried three times for 11 yards.
He missed part of last fall with a knee injury and left the team for personal reasons after the 2002 season.
The Graduate: Defensive tackle Lui Fuga completed his coursework for a bachelor's degree in communications during the first summer session. He will take graduate classes in the fall.
Fuga, a senior in eligibility, said the broken left ankle he suffered early in the first game of last season should be healed enough for him to go strong in fall camp.
The Waipahu alumnus won UH's Most Inspirational Player award in 2000, but he missed all of 2001 with shoulder injuries he played through the previous year.
UH plans to petition for an additional year of eligibility for Fuga. Coaches say game tape indicates Fuga's ankle was broken by an illegal helmet-first block by Eastern Illinois tackle Frank Castognelli.
Short yardage: USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow (Punahou graduate, former Waialua head coach) is in town this weekend for the wedding of his daughter, Maile. ... Junior starting quarterback Tim Chang is visiting on the mainland and returns to voluntary workouts later this month. Sophomore Kainoa Akina threw most of the passes in Thursday's workout.