Stronger UH end
making strides

Alama-Francis is serious
about making a difference on
the Warriors' defensive unit

Three years ago, Ikaika Alama-Francis was a 6-foot-6, barely-200-pound freshman forward on the Hawaii basketball team. Now he's a 260-pound defensive end on the UH football team -- with, according to his coach, a future in the NFL.

According to June Jones, Alama-Francis is already better than former UH star Travis LaBoy, now of the Tennessee Titans.

Alama-Francis blushes at such comparisons. But he does feel good about the way things are going in fall camp. At times, he has been simply dominant, disrupting Hawaii's offense with sacks and batted passes. And he's still learning the game; Alama-Francis never played high school football.

"There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm feeling confident every day. Everything is coming together now," said Alama-Francis, who was in on 22 tackles in 10 games last year, all but one as a backup.

Alama-Francis does have at least one thing in common with LaBoy. The fathers of both were outstanding football players. LaBoy's father, Cliff, was a star at UH. Joe Francis, Ikaika's father, was a standout at Oregon State and played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers.

Alama-Francis has made huge gains in the weight room since joining the football team. He bench-presses a maximum of 375 pounds and has done 25 reps of 225 pounds.

"I've gotten a lot stronger since I got here, I know that," he said. "There's no comparison. I think I could do 225 one time when I came over here."

He doesn't play basketball very much anymore.

"It's been a while," Alama-Francis said with a laugh after yesterday's practice. "I played a little bit this summer, trying to stay in shape. Sometimes serious, mostly just for fun. Got to be careful either way. I know my main objective is football and I don't want to jeopardize that, what I've got going on."

Defense rules: Full contact (except quarterbacks) didn't go well for the offense yesterday. Even with most of the first-stringers sitting out most of the plays, the defense consistently derailed the offense.

Outside linebacker Kila Kamakawiwo'ole intercepted Tyler Graunke's screen pass, and then stiff-armed the quarterback on his way to what would've been a touchdown. A couple of plays later, Kamakawiwo'ole batted down a shovel pass by Colt Brennan.

Then, with all backups in on defense, Brennan threw a pass that outside linebacker Khevin Peoples deflected toward safety Mike Malala, who made a diving interception.

"I thought defensively they did some things," Jones said. "But there's positives on both sides. Hopefully each day we'll get better."

One of the few plusses for the first-team offense was a 50-yard run by Bryan Maneafaiga. The 5-foot-9 senior from Waianae has bulked up to 200 pounds (from 184) without losing any quickness.

"I wanted to be the best I can for this camp with quickness, speed," he said. "I worked on it all summer. I came out here every day to work on my moves, make sure I didn't lose the muscle memory."

Without four-year starter Tim Chang around at quarterback to throw the ball around, the Warriors may use backs Maneafaiga and Kala Latuselu more, with draws, tosses and screen passes.

"I love it," Maneafaiga said. "They're utilizing me and my talents much more. I get to contribute."

Patton mending: Starting cornerback Kenny Patton was sidelined yesterday with a strained knee. He is listed as day to day.

Patton missed three games last year with injuries, and 11 in 2003 (he was granted a medical redshirt) with a hamstring pull.

The other starting corner, Turmarian Moreland, is also resting a minor knee injury. Keao Monteilh and Ryan Keomaka ran with the first team yesterday.

Short yardage: Freshman B.J. Fruean has moved to strong safety from linebacker at his request. "I'm kind of small for a linebacker," the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Leilehua graduate said. Fruean has run the 40 in 4.5, but wants to improve his quickness. "I've got to get used to it. DB is all about footwork. Eventually I'll be there." ... Junior college transfers Lawrence Wilson and Siave Seti have joined the fray for playing time at nose tackle. Renolds Fruean and Reagan Mauai got most of the action last week, but defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville wants to have as many widebodies available as possible.