---

Reinforcements
ready to play

Hawaii coach June Jones says
many of his recruits will be able
to contribute immediately

Foundation for the future or stars of the present?

This year's group of signees with the Hawaii football program could provide a bit of both.

The project of restocking the Warriors roster continued over the last two days with the signing of 20 freshmen and junior-college transfers. Although the Warriors have some holes to fill, particularly on offense, UH coach June Jones said most of the newcomers won't be called upon to be standouts the moment they arrive in Manoa.

"We have enough guys on campus that we can compete pretty good right now," Jones said. "Obviously, I think some of those (new) guys have a chance to beat those guys out. But we've done a pretty good job keeping up."

Jones spoke publicly about the Warriors' recruiting class for the first time at a press conference yesterday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"We lost a lot of guys, and you have to rebuild and restock and I feel like we've got athletes to do that," Jones said.

Along with the signees who announced yesterday, Jones said he expects a few more national letters of intent to arrive at the UH football offices in the coming days.

Among those who gave oral commitments to the Warriors but weren't on the list issued by UH yesterday were JC receiver Jordan Slye, Leilehua linebacker BJ Fruean, offensive lineman Adrian Thomas of Australia, and cornerback Ulysses Dalton of Vallejo, Calif.

Of the players Jones was allowed to comment on yesterday, seven were listed as offensive players, 11 on defense, and three two-way athletes.

"You never really know about any of these kids until you get them on campus and get to work with them," Jones said. "All in all, I'm very pleased with the players we got locally and some of the kids we attracted from the mainland. It'll be fun to get them going. I think all of them will have a chance to one day really help us."

When asked about players who could play right away, Jones pointed to linebackers Brashton Satele (Word of Life) and Blaze Soares (Castle) and receiver Michael Washington (Aliquippa, Pa.). He also said Mario Cox of Oakland, Calif., could contribute at either running back or linebacker.

Jones said players like Cox (5-11, 231 pounds) and Washington (5-7, 160) often fall through the cracks because of their size, but fit into the Warriors' scheme.

"(Cox is) a big-time impact kind of linebacker," Jones said. "A lot of times schools don't look at kids thoroughly enough because of their height. I think he can impact us as a running back, too. He's one of those special guys in both those areas.

"(Washington's) real smart and he knows we do things different with guys like him, so he'll have more of a chance to play."

UH signed seven players from Hawaii high schools, and Jones addressed the issue of local players choosing to attend mainland schools rather than UH.

"There's enough kids in Hawaii that we can recruit the kids that we need, get on them and we know they're going to come," he said.

"The bottom line is we have the kids we want and the kids who want to stay home. If they don't want to stay home, hey, that's great. There's a lot of kids that need to get away.

"We're not going to do a whole lot more once we identify that they want to go away. You do what you do and you move on."

Along with recruiting matters, Jones wasn't shy about speaking out on issues related to the program, including the state of UH's facilities, saying the future of the program could be in jeopardy unless changes are made.

"(UH athletics director Herman Frazier) has really stepped up to put some things in place to get us where everybody else has been for the last five to 10 years. Unless we get those things done, we've got a problem here," he said.

"It does start to matter when those kids go up and see (other schools') locker rooms, see their fields, their stadiums, their weight rooms, and all that stuff. It is now an issue in recruiting. Unless we make these changes with the stadium, with the ticketing, football's not going to be for long here. And I'm not afraid to say that.

"Do we want to be big time or do we want to just forget about it. We're at the point over the next 24 months here where we've got to decide."

Following is a positional look at UH's incoming class as of yesterday's signings:

Quarterbacks

Key losses: Tim Chang

Signees: None.

The Warriors didn't sign any quarterbacks this week, but former Kahuku all-state signal caller Inoke Funaki is in school after returning from a mission. He will compete with the returnees for the job of replacing Chang, the NCAA's all-time passing-yardage leader.

Jones says: "We've got kids on campus who can play, I'm confident about that. ... It's going to take us spring ball and probably two weeks into training camp before I say, 'That guy's going to start against SC.' I have a feeling about who that guy is already, but I'll give everybody equal opportunity to prove me wrong."

Running Backs

Key losses: Michael Brewster, West Keli'ikipi.

Signees: Mario Cox

As with the quarterback position, Jones feels the Warriors have enough in the cupboard to fill their needs at running back.

Jones said Nate Ilaoa, a slotback who missed most of the last two seasons with injuries, will be moved to running back. Cox will have the opportunity to choose between running back and linebacker.

Jones says: "I think (Ilaoa's) going to be 100 percent, but when you have a history of being hurt you have to prove you can make it through the year."

Receivers

Key losses: Chad Owens, Britton Komine, Gerald Welch.

Signees: Kirk Alexander, Marquez Jackson, Antwan Mahaley, Michael Washington.

Most of the Warriors who were on the receiving end of Chang's passes much of the past five seasons are gone, making pass catchers a priority for this class.

Jones is particularly high on Washington's potential in UH's run-and-shoot offense.

Jones says: "We have some tall receivers outside, which we needed. They're freshmen and they have to learn in a hurry, but we've got some guys on campus that can make us proud until those guys learn their way.

"You guys are going to be in shock of how quick and fast (Washington) is."

Offensive Line

Key losses: Uriah Moenoa, Phil Kauffman.

Signees: John Estes, Daniel Johnson, Aaron Kia, Laupepa Letuli.

The Warriors have created a stockpile of linemen with recent classes and have four starters slated to return. Jones said meeting Letuli's grandmother in American Samoa and his having relatives in Hawaii helped draw the Californian to UH.

Jones says: "All of the offensive linemen are very gifted, talented players, and we're getting some great depth there."

Defensive Line

Key losses: Lui Fuga, Matt Faga, Darrell Tautofi.

Signees: John Fonoti, Tomi Halai, Raphael Ieru, Rocky Savaiigaea, Siave Seti.

Injuries thinned the defensive front last season and UH picked up two junior-college linemen (Halai and Seti) along with three high schoolers to create depth. Ieru was an offensive lineman in high school, but will play defense at UH. Freshmen Fale Laeli, Clarence Tuioti-Mariner and Keala Watson missed most of last season due to injuries and illness, but are expected back to bolster the line.

Jones says: "We got two JC D-linemen that we think will fill a need for us. ... When we line them up this spring we're really thin in the D-line, but when everybody's healthy after the surgeries they have, we've got the guys we needed."

Linebackers

Key losses: Watson Hoohuli, Chad Kapanui, Lincoln Manutai.

Signees: Cox, Solomon Elimimian, Fonoti, RJ Kiesel-Kauhane, Brashton Satele, Blaze Soares.

UH targeted linebackers as a need in the recruiting season and Jones feels Satele and Soares could contribute this season. Elimimian is the younger brother of former UH defensive back Abraham Elimimian.

Jones says: "We had some injuries and we really felt like that was the spot we really needed to get some guys. We felt too that those guys improve your special teams, guys that can run and are physical.

"Brashton Satele I think has got an unbelievable great future here. ... Blaze Soares is an impact kind of kid. I'm going to tell you right now he can play for anybody."

Defensive Backs

Key losses: Abraham Elimimian.

Signees: Alexander, Erik Pederson, KayBrin Stevenson.

UH returns seasoned performers in the secondary, including starting cornerback Kenny Patton and safeties Leonard Peters, Lono Manners and Lamar Broadway. The Warriors' experience should give the newcomers time to ease their way into the system.

Jones says: "A lot of the athletic DBs look good on their high-school tape, but until they learn the defense, until they know what to do when such-and-such is called, you never know."

Kicker

Key losses: Justin Ayat

Signees: None.

Although UH didn't sign a kicker this week, Jones said the team will add another kicker to compete for the job vacated by Ayat, a four-year starter.

Jones says: "We almost did sign one, but at the last minute we said, 'Let's just hold on to it and wait and see what happens.'

"Before camp starts in the fall, there will be someone on campus different than what we have now."

---

2005 Hawaii football signees

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Exp.	Hometown/Last School
Kirk Alexander	DB/WR	6-4	217	Fr.	HS	Altadena, Calif./Pasadena HS
Mario Cox	RB/LB	5-11	231	Fr.	HS	Oakland, Calif./McClymonds HS
Solomon Elimimian	LB	6-1	220	Fr.	HS	Los Angeles, Calif./Crenshaw HS
John Estes	OL	6-3	280	Fr.	HS	Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's HS
John Fonoti	DL/LB	6-3	237	Fr.	HS	Honolulu/Farrington HS
Tomi Halai	DL	6-4	245	Jr.	JC	San Francisco/Coll. of the Canyons
Raphael Ieru	DL	6-4	330	Fr.	HS	Honolulu/McKinley HS
Marquez Jackson	WR	5-8	150	Fr.	HS	Gainesville, Ga./East Hall HS
Daniel Johnson	OL	6-4	270	Fr.	HS	Sammamish, Wash./Skyline HS
Aaron Kia	OL	6-4	268	Fr.	HS	Mililani, Oahu/Mililani HS
Richard "RJ"Kiesel-Kauhane	LB	6-1	210	Fr.	HS	Aiea, Oahu/Aiea HS
Laupepa Letuli	OL	6-4	265	Fr.	HS	Torrance, Calif./North Torrance HS
Antawn Mahaley	WR	6-4	200	Fr.	HS	Carson, Calif./Carson HS
Erik Pederson	DB	6-1	195	Fr.	HS	Palos Verdes, Calif./Peninsula HS
Brashton Satele	LB	6-2	240	Fr.	HS	Mililani, Oahu/Word of Life Academy
Rocky Savaiigaea	DL	6-3	290	Fr.	HS	Ewa Beach, Oahu/Aiea HS
Siave Seti	DL	5-10	315	Jr.	JC	Long Beach, Calif./West L.A. College
Blaze Soares	LB	6-1	225	Fr.	HS	Kaneohe, Oahu/Castle HS
KayBrin Stevenson	DB	6-0	170	Fr.	HS	Chandler, Ariz./Chandler HS
Michael Washington	WR	5-7	160	Fr.	HS	Aliquippa, Pa./Aliquippa HS

Source: University of Hawaii