Warrior Beat

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/

Latest news

Game day: Lamar

By Stephen Tsai on September 15, 2012

It has been 287 days since the Warriors last played in Aloha Stadium — a span during which they changed everything from the coaching staff to the schemes they run on offense and defense to the way they practice to the way they will enter the stadium and how they will conduct post-game interviews. The most important thing: It’s tailgate time!

Weekend promotion

By Stephen Tsai on September 14, 2012

No official announcement until tomorrow, but all signs point to cornerback Ne’Quan Phillips, linebacker Kamalani Alo and safety Mike Sellers earning starting jobs this weekend. Also, it appears David Graves is now the No. 2 quarterback. There are rewards for perseverance. * * * * * As expected (a long time ago), Sean Carney is the new assistant coach for the volleyball Warriors. He has great knowledge of the sport, as well as an easy manner that helps him relate […]

Three and out

By Stephen Tsai on September 13, 2012

Punter Alex Dunnachie and quarterback Cayman Shutter made mistakes, accepted responsibility, were punished by the Honolulu District Court and the UH football team, showed remorse and then made amends. Now both have learned their suspensions following no-contest pleas to DUI charges are set at three games. They will be cleared to play beginning with the Sept. 28 BYU game. It was an expensive lesson, and not only in terms of lost playing time. Both are allowed to drive under a […]

Wednesday ramblings

By Stephen Tsai on September 12, 2012

• Expect an announcement any day now on the suspensions of punter Alex Dunnachie and quarterback Cayman Shutter. Since their no-contest pleas to DUI charges, both have been good students, teammates and tutors while repeatedly expressing remorse for their incidents. They won’t play against Lamar and it is highly unlikely they will be allowed to play against Nevada in the MWC opener. But it would seem reasonable for them to be cleared  after that. • David Graves and Darius Bright […]

Graves situation

By Stephen Tsai on September 11, 2012

Entering the summer, David Graves had aspirations of being the Warriors’ opening-game quarterback. Not only did that not materialize, after moving to receiver, he did not make the first travel roster. But Graves remains a valued member — and leader — and now he is back practicing at quarterback in the hope that his versatility will lead to some playing time as a receiver, wildcat, quarterback or special-teams contributor. * * * * * * The amount of on-campus burglaries […]

McKnight vision

By Stephen Tsai on September 10, 2012

Norm Chow had just stepped off the bus in El Paso when he was told there was somebody waiting to meet with him. Unexpected visitors had become habit since Chow had been named UH’s head coach a week earlier. (He was allowed to finish his duties as Utah’s offensive coordinator by coaching in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.) But Chow had been told there was something unique about this visit: The guy had driven a truck 725 miles from […]

Skip the formalities

By Stephen Tsai on September 9, 2012

Put away the silverware. Ditch the long speeches. At the suggestion of head coach Norm Chow, plans are in the works to replace the pricey end-of-year banquet with a luau. For all but one year the past three decades, the Warriors’ annual banquet was held in a Waikiki hotel. Chow’s suggestion is to have a luau on the grass practice field. There will be food tents, live entertainment and, because of an affordable admission fee that would cover only the […]

Assessment tests

By Stephen Tsai on September 8, 2012

The UH coaches indeed have calendars and they indeed have special days circled. One of the most important is Oct. 19, when the Warriors are expected to make a full recruiting push on the mainland. Teams are allowed 49 evaluations, when coaches can visit a school and watch a game in person. With a bye on Oct. 20, between the Oct. 13 homecoming game against New Mexico and Oct. 27 road game against Colorado State, the Warriors will be making […]