Football

Kai Kaneshiro’s natural instincts have been unleashed. Kaneshiro, a Saint Louis School graduate who’s in his second fall camp with Hawaii, is still a defensive back. But in the spring, the UH coaches switched him from cornerback to nickelback going into his redshirt freshman season. It boils down to proximity for the 6-foot-2 youngster with hybrid talents. “I actually really like the switch to be more closer to the ball. I’m always around it. I really like it,” Kaneshiro said […]

Jahlani Tavai reached up, batted a ball thrown by NFL veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, hauled it in and took off running. You can bet the Detroit Lions’ rookie linebacker’s younger brother, Hawaii defensive tackle Justus Tavai, heard, saw and talked all about it right after UH football practice Tuesday morning. The two brothers and former Rainbow Warriors teammates are still tied by bonds of training camp. They just happen to be thousands of miles apart. Jahlani Tavai was taken as […]

At a typical Hawaii football practice, the specialists — kickers, punters, long snappers and the like — form their own little group in an adjacent grass clearing to hone their craft while the offense and defense clash on the elevated practice field. But when they’re called in for some team-wide special teams work, with the full roster and coaching staff either participating or spectating, that’s their time to shine. It’s not quite action under the bright lights, but as fall camp goes, […]

Sixteen touchdowns. One-thousand, three-hundred and forty-three yards. That’s what John Ursua did last season for Hawaii on 89 catches. Ursua, who left Manoa a season early, was drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Seahawks, leaving a hole in the Rainbow Warriors’ offense considerably larger than his 5-foot-10 frame. A single player alone will not likely make up what Ursua did in the run and shoot. One of those who will try to defray his loss is fifth-year senior […]