UH can count on
kicking game

Punter Kurt Milne and kicker
Dan Kelly have been bright spots
for the Warriors

If Kurt Milne is getting a lot of work for the Hawaii football team, it usually doesn't bode well for the Warriors.

So the fact that the UH punter's name doesn't appear among the Western Athletic Conference's top kickers suits the junior just fine.

"The offense has been doing good moving the ball, so we've punted seven times which is actually less than what you need (to be eligible for the rankings)," Milne said. "That's always a good thing."

The UH kickers haven't had much of an impact on the Warriors' fortunes so far this season, but Milne's efforts haven't gone unnoticed by head coach June Jones.

"He's probably been one of our best players," Jones said yesterday.

Milne's average of 37.3 yards per punt would put him sixth in the league and he's allowed just one return this season. Three of his kicks have put the opponent inside its own 20-yard line.

Milne ranked third in the WAC last year with a 39.9-yard average on 54 kicks. He's added a wrinkle on his punts this season as he'll often run to the side before kicking the ball.

He started experimenting with the new style with the scout team last year as the Warriors prepared to face kickers from Michigan State and UAB who used the technique.

"He may punt it farther that way than he does normally," said assistant coach Mouse Davis, who oversees the kickers. "And you can get better coverage because it takes a little longer to punt it. You move the protection and you get better coverage downfield."

Milne didn't fare quite as well as a passer last week, as his toss on a fake punt was intercepted.

Freshman Dan Kelly stepped in for Justin Ayat to handle place-kicking duties, and made a 30-yard field goal in his debut against USC. He also connected on all four of his extra-point attempts this season.

"We can only do so much in special teams, so we want to make sure the little bit we have to do is perfect," Kelly said.

Kelly missed a 33-yard kick last week, but Davis has been pleased overall with the combination of long-snapper Tanuvasa Moe, Milne as the holder and Kelly.

"I've always had confidence in my teammates," Kelly said. "The guys have been perfect. I haven't had anybody even jumping at my feet yet.

"The miss was all on me. I let the crowd get to me a little, so I pulled it a bit."

The UH coaches had Kelly pull back on his kickoffs in the opener, having him kick the ball short to keep it away from USC All-American Reggie Bush. Although Bush didn't get a chance to break a big return, the Trojans still ended up with good field position due to the short kicks.

Last week, the coaches let Kelly cut loose and he put his first two kicks into the end zone for touchbacks against Michigan State. He was instructed to kick the ball shorter after UH's last touchdown and still reached the goal line.

"On the third one they wanted me to put it high and let them return it just so we could try to cause a fumble and try to get something started," Kelly said. "I'd been practicing all summer knowing I had big shoes to fill, because Justin had a cannon on his leg. I had to pull out a little more than just to get it to the goal line every other time. I want to make sure it gets to the end zone."

"That's what you're looking for," Davis said. "He's kicking it well and he's just a freshman, so I think he'll have a real strong leg by the time he has a lot of experience."

Taking a break: The Warriors will have three days off and resume practice Monday morning in preparation for next week's WAC opener at Idaho.

The team has been hard at work since early August, so the bye week offers a chance for the players to recharge.

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," receiver Ian Sample said of the break. "I'm kind of surprised we have three days, but it'll be real nice."

The Warriors ended this week's practice schedule with about 40 minutes of 11-on-11 work to close yesterday afternoon's session.

"We got a lot of good looks and looked at a lot of people, tried to give reps to a lot of the backup guys who don't normally get in there," UH coach June Jones said.

Sticking with silver: Jones said the Warriors will continue to wear their new silver-and-white uniforms for road games.

The team debuted the uniforms -- featuring silver helmets with the green "H" logo and white jerseys with silver numbers -- last week at Michigan State. The new look generated a bit of controversy, but Jones isn't fazed by criticism of the uniforms.

"If it wasn't the silver, it would be something else that we changed," he said. "Our players love them, we like them and, guess what, it'll be just like the other uniforms that we changed five years ago, everybody will like them."

More hurts: Offensive lineman Hercules Satele was added to the list of injured Warriors this week. The sophomore sprained his right ankle on Wednesday and Jones hopes he'll be available next week.

With starting tackle Dane Uperesa also nursing an ankle injury, Brandon Eaton moved over a spot to tackle, with Marques Kaonohi filling in at right guard with the first unit.