Chang, Elimimian
back at practice
It was no big surprise, but Hawaii football fans can relax a little now. Two of the team's most consistent performers, quarterback Tim Chang and cornerback Abraham Elimimian, practiced yesterday, and both look like they're ready to play tomorrow against San Jose State.
Chang (non-throwing shoulder) and Elimimian (hamstring) were both injured during last week's 51-20 loss at Texas-El Paso. Neither practiced until yesterday.
"You could tell the motion wasn't the same, but he'll be ready by game day," coach June Jones said. "Abraham took some snaps today, so that's a positive."
Another player did enter the injured ranks, though, as cornerback Turmarian Moreland -- a victim of myriad injuries since preseason camp -- hurt his left foot near the end of yesterday's 2-hour practice.
"Turmarian rolled an ankle at the end there, so that's unfortunate," Jones said.
Defensive back seems to be a cursed position for the Warriors lately. Starting safety Lono Manners is out for the season with a broken ankle, and starting corner Kenny Patton looks like he'll miss a second game with a strained hamstring. Cameron Hollingsworth was also out this week due to illness.
All kinds of players are in the mix as possible replacements to join Elimimian and healthy starting safety Leonard Peters. True freshman George Perry saw considerable reps at corner, as did second-year freshman Ray Bass and juniors Moreland (before he got hurt) and Omega Hogan. Senior Matt Manuma and junior Landon Kafentzis were at safety, along with true freshman Keao Monteilh, as possible time-sharers with Lamar Broadway.
Iceman returneth: Former UH defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga, now a member of the San Francisco 49ers, visited practice yesterday. The 49ers have a bye this week, and Sopoaga gets a little break from rehab work on the back injury that has him missing his entire rookie season.
"I'm so happy to be here and see my teammates, my boys running around the field," Sopoaga said. "Especially since it's homecoming."
Actually, San Jose State is Sopoaga's "home" team now, since he lives there.
"I've met some of the Spartans," he said. "My cousin, Andrew Westbrook, works with them with their football equipment, so he showed me around over there and I visited their practice."
Backups improving: Defensive coordinator George Lumpkin and defensive line coach Vantz Singletary both said former offensive linemen Larry Sauafea and Michael Lafaele are improving rapidly, and they got invaluable experience in the fourth quarter of the UTEP loss. They and Darrell Tautofi are the backups for Matt Faga and Lui Fuga.
"I think he'll be really good," Lumpkin said of Lafaele. "And Larry Sauafea, he's shown he can contribute this week. I think we're a little better there than we were last week."