Warriors’ Chang
back at practice

The QB is still nursing a sore back
as UH prepares for the Hawaii Bowl

Hawaii starting quarterback Tim Chang returned to full duty at practice yesterday, with eight days to go before the Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl against UAB at Aloha Stadium.

Chang said his back is still sore at times, though, from an injury he incurred while scoring the go-ahead touchdown in UH's season-ending 41-38 victory over Michigan State on Dec. 4.

"I got speared on that play," Chang said of the 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.

He said the joy of the touchdown didn't anesthetize the pain of the injury.

"I definitely knew it was there, but some things you just have to play through," he said. "It's getting better. It's going to be all right."

Many are expecting a shootout on Christmas Eve, since the Warriors (7-5) and Blazers (7-4) have high-powered offenses.

Quarterback Darrell Hackney and receiver Roddy White are the primary weapons for the Blazers, but running back Dan Burks is also a threat.

"They're very talented," UH coach June Jones said. "They have a wide receiver who looks to be a first-round pick and a running back who might go on the first day, too."

This will be the first bowl game for UAB, after the Blazers were left out of the postseason twice in recent years with bowl-eligible records.

"I think they want to send a message that they're a talented, excellent team," Hawaii cornerback Abraham Elimimian said.

Yesterday, the message the Blazers sent was one of respect.

Hackney spoke of his counterpart, Chang.

"He is calm, cool, and collected. I watched the Michigan State game when they (Hawaii) were down at least 14 or 21 points and he never got rattled, even when he was getting hit he never got rattled," Hackney said. "He brought his team back and made them bowl-eligible, and now they are playing us in a bowl game."

The Blazers held their first practice of the week yesterday after completing finals. They arrive in Hawaii tomorrow.

"It's tough going over there," coach Watson Brown said. "When you look at the history of the teams that have gone over there, you see that it's how you handle the trip. You have to get used to the change in environment, and the difference in the time change.

"I've talked with a lot of coaches who have gone over there to get some input from them. I do think that the bowl teams have a better shot than the teams that have to go over there in a one- or two-day time frame," Brown said. "Maybe we do have an advantage, since we're going to be over there for six days."

Hawaii is 7-1 at home and 0-4 on the road. This season the Blazers averaged 30.2 points per game while allowing 26.5 points per game. The Warriors averaged 34.0 points per game and allowed 38.2 points per game.

Brown wasn't happy with UAB's practice yesterday.

"When you take several days off, you pay for it," he said. "We have to get back and have a better practice tomorrow. Our timing looked like we hadn't practiced in quite some time. We need to get better and I think we will tomorrow. If we can get some conditioning and work on timing and assignments, that's good enough. We'll get a couple of days of pad practices in Honolulu."