Expanded coverage of UH football, including practice notes, game analysis, recruiting info and observations on the Mountain West Conference.
About the blog host
Stephen Tsai covers University of Hawaii football for the Star-Advertiser. Follow him on Twitter @StephenTsai and sign up for the Hawaii football newsletter here: http://www.hawaiiwarriorworld.com/email-signup/
About 35 football players are expected to compete in this afternoon’s walk-on tryouts. Current walk-ons do not have to apply. The tryouts are restricted to current UH full-time students. The top participants will be able to participate in spring training, which begins March 20. The tryouts begin at 5 p.m. because that is the earliest available time for the Ching complex.
Running back John Lister said he will need a couple of more weeks to decide on his college-football future. Lister, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, is set to earn his bachelor’s degree in May. His goal is to earn a master’s in kinesiology. UH’s kinesiology program is not accepting master’s applicants for the 2013-2014 academic year. His options are to wait until 2014 to apply or to transfer to another school that will admit him into the master’s […]
The “likes” began to add up. “A lot of people were congratulating me on Facebook,” Kealakehe High’s David Fangupo said. “I was like: ‘What’s going on?’ I didn’t know what they were congratulating me about until I went online and found out.” What he found were numerous links, from sites across the country, to a 69-second Youtube video of his long rushes. The catch? Fangupo is a 350-pound defensive tackle who moonlights as a running back. “All of the credit […]
There will be at least four positions locked up — for now — entering the start of next month’s spring practice. Norm Chow said center Ben Clarke, defensive ends Tavita Woodard and Beau Yap, and kicker Tyler Hadden will be with the No. 1s for the first play of spring practice. He said returning starters will get the first shot, but they will be challenged by newcomers. No surprise that there is open competition at quarterback with Taylor Graham, Ikaika […]
Chris Naeole, a Kahuku High graduate who played 11 NFL seasons, is joining the Warrior staff as an assistant coach. An opening was created with Tommy Lee’s retirement as offensive coordinator in December. Norm Chow said there will be an “adjustment” to the coaching staff, and assignments on offense still are to be determined. Chow praised Naeole as the best fit from among 15 finalists who met UH’s minimum and desired qualifications. Naeole, a former first-round pick, played five seasons […]
As of today, the Warriors have assigned 80 scholarships for the 2013 roster. That list includes all of this past week’s signings except for three who will grayshirt and one who will go on a two-year church mission. With some new scholarships counted retroactively to the 2012 class, the Warriors have used 19 of the maximum 25 initial scholarships on the 2013 class. The Warriors might sign another three prospects this month (although there is a possibility one will go […]
There are 360 days until the 2014 signing day, but Kahuku High’s Lamone Williams already has emerged as the state’s top high school prospect. Williams is a defensive lineman/tight end for the Red Raiders. He was exclusively a tight end in 2011. In 2012, he was the defensive tackle in the Red Raiders’ 3-man front. “We stood him up sometimes,” Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. “He stood up in the championship game as an outside linebacker.” Williams is 6 feet […]
Smith Last night, the Stan Sheriff Center rocked. The student section rolled. Jamie Smith, a self-styled student coordinator, seized the lead in this rock-and-roll revival. This season, there have been retro themes for Rainbow Warrior basketball games. The zaniness of the past Manoa good times — think Bowzos — has been revived, in large part to Smith. Smith is responsible for the witty on-campus advertisements of upcoming theme nights, with players, in full costume, serving as models. In the arena, […]