Warrior Beat

• Right wideout Jovonte Taylor missed his third consecutive practice while receiving treatment on his infected right arm. He is suffering from a staph-like infection. The coaches remain hopeful he will be available to play in Saturday’s game against New Mexico State. • Joe Avery and Craig Bell have been sharing reps as the No. 1 right wideout. • Kealoha Pilares and Dustin Blount have been practicing as the kick returners in Taylor’s absence. • Wideout Royce Pollard, who is […]

Wideout Jovonte Taylor did not practice today because of a staph infection in his right arm. It was the third such infection for a Warrior in recent weeks. Safety Aulolo Tonga suffered a staph infection on his right elbow from a cut suffered at Idaho. Safety Spencer Smith believes he suffered his infection in the Boise State game at Aloha Stadium. Smith aggravated the condition last week Friday, and spent that night in the hospital. He was cleared to play […]

The UH compliance officer has ruled that it is against NCAA rules for the players to have a gentleman’s bet on the Leilehua-Kahuku game. Bryant Moniz was supposed to have worn a Kahuku shirt because his alma mater lost in the OIA championship game. Not sure why it’s improper to have a gentleman’s bet. No money was exchanged. No new shirts were purchased. The Kahuku players were going to make Moniz wear  one of their old shirts. It would be […]

Running back Leon Wright-Jackson, who rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-36 victory over Utah State, has been named the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Week. Wright-Jackson will be the guest on tomorrow’s Warrior Beat Show, which will begin at noon. Wright-Jackson said there’s no truth to message board reports that he and Alex Green are in some sort of a feud. He said they both get along, they help each other, and they’re committed to helping […]

• It was nice to see Leon Wright-Jackson finally have a breakout game. He has remained upbeat the past couple of years even though injuries and inconsistency made it difficult to come close to meeting the hype he attracted when he first signed. • Through most of the season, blog readers have been saying that UH should run more against defenses showing three-man fronts or playing man-to-man coverages. And while UH would have success with the rush, defenses knew they […]

We’ve heard it all this week. ‘Back against the wall.” “Five-game playoffs.” Thing is, UH is at home. It’s homecoming. And this is a team that is just 22 months removed from a BCS appearance. Sure, there have been injuries. Devastating injuries, if you will. And playing on the road is never easy. And the last two home opponents were very good. But there’s enough talent in personnel and coaching that the Warriors should be able to deliver today. At […]

Defensive back Joey Iosefa, running back Jon Lister and defensive lineman Marcus Malepeai are grayshirts who are enrolled at UH-Manoa as part-time students this semester. They join the Warriors in January. Jordan Loeffler, an offensive lineman, is a part-time student at UH-Hilo. He also will come aboard in January. Defensive end Veni Manu is enrolled at a school on O‘ahu. He should be joining the team in January. But T.J. Alofipo will need to attend a junior college.

Here’s the deal: Leilehua and Kahuku meet in tomorrow’s playoffs. The Warriors who attended those schools have a bet. The alumni from the losing team must wear a T-shirt representing the winning school. “I’ve got Leilehua shirts for all of them,” said quarterback Bryant Moniz, a Leilehua graduate. Safety Aulola Tonga, a Kahuku graduate, said: “I’ve got a red Kahuku shirt for Moniz. It has the years of our state championships.” Game on. * * * * * Assistant coach […]