Warrior Beat

There won’t be any first-day clumsiness when Rockne Freitas begins his job as acting athletic director today. Freitas will be filling in for Jim Donovan, who is on paid leave while the circumstances leading to the canceled Stevie Wonder concert are investigated. Freitas should be making a forceful debut — in part because of his quick-acting personality, in part because he comes from a position of power. In Donovan’s 4-plus years as AD, it appeared he had to operate within […]

Worse came to worst on the Manoa campus with athletic director Jim Donovan and Sheriff Center manager Rich Sheriff being placed on paid leave indefinitely while an investigation is launched into debacle of the cancelled Stevie Wonder concert. Manoa chancellor Tom Apple, who imposed the leaves, will hire investigators to look into the matter. Apple said the main goal is to recover the $200,000 that was paid to Epic-Talent, a third-party promoter. Rockne Freitas has named the acting athletic director. […]

Tony Grimes, a former 4-star cornerback who played nine games as an Ole Miss freshman in 2010, will be joining the Warriors. He has been accepted into UH and will be moving to Hawaii this weekend. He has three years to play two seasons. “I’m going to be a Warrior,” Grimes told the Star-Advertiser. “Hawaii has a good program and good coaches. I want to be a part of that.” Ole Miss suspended and then dismissed Grimes near the end […]

Today is the cut-off day for the Warriors. As part of the new team rules, the Warriors will not be permitted to have long hair from today through the end of the 2012 season. The rule was implemented mostly for safety reasons, partly for uniform standards. The NCAA is cracking down on dislodged helmets during games, and long hair has been shown to be a cause, according to some studies. Quarterback Ikaika Woolsey and receiver Corey Paclebar will be donating […]

There is a presumption of innocence, of course. But if Alex Dunnachie — the only listed punter on the 2012 roster — is found to be guilty of DUI, he will face a suspension. If so, what are the Warriors’ options? One scenario is to bring in a junior-college punter. Another is to look at the two placekickers — Tyler Hadden and Kyle Niiro. (CeeJay Santos, who is transferring from Weber State, must redshirt this season.) The feeling is running […]

Punter Alex Dunnachie was arrested this morning on suspicion of drunken driving. He was arrested at 2:40 a.m., then released 2 hours later after posting a $500 bond. Dunnachie is scheduled to appear in District Court on Aug. 3. Dunnachie, a senior from Australia, is considered to be the Warriors’ top NFL prospect. The arrest came 19 hours after a team meeting in which head coach Norm Chow told the players there would be serious consequences to anyone who gets […]

Scrap the depth chart. At the end of spring training, David Graves and Jeremy Higgins were bracketed atop the depth chart at quarterback. But head coach Norm Chow, who serves as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, said Duke transfer Sean Scrhoeder, Graves, Higgins and Ikaika Woolsey all will be given a chance to compete for the starting quarterback’s job. The competition will be quick. Chow said he wants to name a starer early in training camp, which opens on […]

Cornerback Justin Turner arrives in Hawaii this evening. He said he still is awaiting final approval to complete his transfer, but is “on the right track.” Asked if he will be cleared before the Aug. 1 start of training camp,  Turner said: “I know I will be.” * * * * * It is a concern that City College of San Francisco, as one headline phrased it, is on the “brink of closure.” CCSF has the largest enrollment (90,000) among […]