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

Acronymity: JC DC to UH GA

By Stephen Tsai on March 30, 2012

Jared Vanderbeek, the defensive coordinator at American River College, will be joining the Warriors as a graduate assistant for defense. He officially starts this summer. Vanderbeek was a stand0ut defensive back at Granite Bay High who then attended California for two years. He then transferred to American River for a year before finishing his college-playing career at Sacramento State. He played professionally in Europe. * * * * * It wasn’t an easy day for Jim Donovan yesterday. En route […]

Shutter might face suspension following arrest

By Stephen Tsai on March 29, 2012

Cayman Shutter, regarded as UH’s No. 2 quarterback, faces a possible  suspension following his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving early this morning. Shutter was released after posting $500 bail. UH’s code of conduct for student-athletes calls for disciplinary action following an arrest. UH released this statement from Norm Chow: “We are aware of the incident involving one of our student-athletes. We are in the process of gathering all the facts. We have a code of conduct which our student-athletes […]

Flag day

By Stephen Tsai on March 28, 2012

A flag football game involving former Warriors will precede the Warrior Bowl on April 27. Asked why it will be flag and not tackle football, organizer Tony Tuioti, a UH coach and former defensive tackle, said: “We’re old.” Still, passions don’t die away, and it should be competitive. Interested participants need to call Tuioti at the UH football office: (808) 956-6508. * * * * * Quarterback Danny O’Brien has decided to transfer from Maryland to Wisconsin. What the heck […]

Playing all the angles

By Stephen Tsai on March 27, 2012

When the Warriors resume practicing next week, there is some hope that an end-zone platform for videos will be placed on the Diamond Head side of the grass practice field. Last year, the company that leased the video platforms decided to dramatically limit their liability. That forced UH to look for other ways to video practices on the grass practice field. It wasn’t a problem at the Ching complex, where practices could be shot from the roof of the athletic […]

Monday ramblings

By Stephen Tsai on March 26, 2012

I’ll be busy today meeting with the CPA — I’m trying to figure out how I can claim as dependents people who post more than five times a day — so DPK and Al can serve as monitors. Here are some starter topics: • Kesi Afalava’s son committed to Nebraska, and Kyle Kafentzis’ son has been contacted by Texas, Baylor, USC, Washington, UCLA, Florida State, Utah, BYU, Michigan State, Boise State and Oregon. Should the sons of former Warriors be […]

The Princess bride

By Stephen Tsai on March 25, 2012

Congrats to Princess Leila and Doug.

And away we go

By Stephen Tsai on March 24, 2012

As Ross used to remind Rachel — “We were on a break” — so it goes for the Warriors, who are on hiatus for  spring break. The players are excused from workouts, early wake-up calls and late-night studying. Some of the coaches are on the mainland helping their families complete moves to Hawaii or visiting friends. Norm Chow is in China with his family. Chow said the trip was planned before he was hired as UH’s head coach. He said […]

Three down, 12 to go

By Stephen Tsai on March 23, 2012

The goal of the Warriors’ first week of practice was to set the tempo (fast), rules (strict) and evaluate the players. There is enough information for the Warriors to begin making personnel assessments. Observations: • David Graves remains as the No. 1 quarterback entering spring break, but the coaches have opened the competition. Ikaika Woolsey received extended playing time in the second 11-on-11 drills yesterday, and when he is in system, he appears to be very good. Last year, Woolsey […]