[ COLLEGE FOOTBALL ]
Kauffman starting
in place of Moenoa
Junior Phil Kauffman will start at right guard for Hawaii when it opens its football season against Appalachian State tomorrow at Aloha Stadium, UH coach June Jones said last night.
Uriah Moenoa, the projected starter at right guard, returned to practice yesterday, but he will not start tomorrow, Jones said.
Moenoa bruised his right Achilles' tendon when a teammate fell on his leg at practice Sunday night.
Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh said Kauffman is ready for his first collegiate start.
"Phil's had a great camp. He's worked real hard and is ready for the challenge," Cavanaugh said.
Since joining the Warriors in 2000, Kauffman has trained at every position on the offensive line.
Jones did not say if Moenoa -- who has started 26 consecutive games at right and left tackle -- would play at all tomorrow.
"He was out there and that's a positive. We'll look at the tape and see how he did," Jones said after yesterday's practice.
Kauffman (6-foot-1, 291 pounds) is in his fourth year in the UH program. He pushed Derek Faavi for the starting center job during fall camp and also practiced at both guard positions.
Kauffman played four games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman and four games at right guard last year. He said he's more comfortable playing on the left side of the line, but added that playing multiple positions in his career will help his adjustment to the right side.
"It was a little rough because I usually play left guard and center, but it'll be all right, I just have to be confident," Kauffman said Monday after practice. "It's just remembering that you're on the right side and that the backside is different. But other than that it's pretty much the same. You just have to transfer what you do on the left to the right footwork-wise.
"I think (Moenoa) will be all right. But if not, I just have to do my best to step up."
Moenoa suffered his injury just as he had been working his way into shape after reporting to camp overweight. Moenoa entered fall camp at 365 pounds, but lost more than 30 pounds since.
"I went through all of camp so I want to be ready for Saturday," Moenoa said. "I'm going to do everything possible that I can do and whatever the trainers can help me to do to be on the field Saturday night.
"It's part of the game, injuries happen. Sometimes things don't go the way you plan it, but you just have to face it and do what you can."
Moenoa is the second projected starter to be taken out of the UH offense's opening lineup. Quarterback Tim Chang will serve a one-game suspension for playing in the Hawaii Bowl while ineligible last year.
Running back still wide open: Jones is keeping his options open at running back.
"It will be one of four players," he said when asked yesterday if he had narrowed it down.
Judging by which players are getting repetitions, the candidates appear to be senior John West, juniors Mike Bass and Michael Brewster and freshman West Keliikipi.
Freshmen into the fray?: Jones said he will probably play some true freshmen tomorrow.
"I'm not starting any but would anticipate they will get in," he said.
First-season candidates for playing time include wide receiver Jason Rivers, cornerbacks Ernest Powell, Ray Bass and A.J. Martinez, offensive tackles Jeremy Inferrera and Larry Sauafea and center Michael Lafaele.
Mountaineers arrive: The Appalachian State contingent arrived yesterday afternoon after a 4,948-mile trip.
The Mountaineers -- many of whom had never been on an airplane -- flew out from Charlotte, N.C., at 9 a.m. and arrived around noon Hawaii time after stopping over in Dallas for a nine-hour trip.
Around the WAC: Nevada coach Chris Tormey suspended four players from tomorrow's opener against Southern Utah on Wednesday, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Cornerbacks Leondre Lewis and Randy Landingham, running back Jamaal Jackson and defensive tackle Tim Sylvester will miss the game for an offseason violation of an unspecified team rule. They join defensive end Craig Bailey and wide receiver Maurice Mann, who were previously announced as suspended.
Landingham, Sylvester, Mann and Bailey were all listed as second-stringers on Nevada's depth chart going into fall camp.
Hawaii vs. Appalachian State
When: Tomorrow, 6:05 p.m.Where: Aloha Stadium
Tickets: $19 sideline, $17 south end zone, $10 north end zone (adult), $9 north end zone (students/seniors, age 4-high school), UH students free (super rooter only). Available at Aloha Stadium, Stan Sheriff Center, UH Campus Center and Windward Community College's OCET Office. Or call 800-944-2697 or etickethawaii.com on the Internet.
TV: KFVE (Channel 5), delay at 10 p.m., with rebroadcast Sunday at 9 a.m. Also available live on Pay-Per-View. Call 625-8100 on Oahu or (866) 566-7784 on neighbor islands to subscribe.
Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM.
Parking: Gates open at 2:30 p.m. Parking is $5. Alternate parking at Leeward Community College, Kam Drive-In and Radford High School.
Traffic advisory: 1420-AM is the official traffic advisory station and provides updates before each home game.
Bus: Roberts Hawaii School Bus will run shuttles to and from the stadium with pick-ups at six Oahu locations. Call 832-4886 for information and reservations.
