Signing day; live stream at 2 p.m.
Twenty-nine recruits have signed letters of intent with UH. We’ll have a live video stream of Greg McMackin’s news conference starting at 2 p.m. Here are the signees:
• Kamalani Alo, safety
• T.J. Alofipo, linebacker
• Kalanai Brackenridge, cornerback
• Rodney Bradley, wideout
• Aaron Brown, safety
• George Daily-Lyles, linebacker
• Lametrius Davis, cornerback
• Chizzy Dimude, running back
• David Graves, quarterback
• Alex Green, running back
• David Hafoka, defensive tackle
• Tank Hopkins, cornerback
• Joey Iosefa, defensive back
• Brett Leonard, offensive tackle
• Chad Lopati, linebacker
• John Lister, running back
• Jordan Loeffler, offensive tackle
• Benson Ma‘afala, offensive tackle
• Marcus Malepeai, defensive tackle
• Veni Manu, defensive end
• Zach Masch, defensive tackle
• Corey Nielsen, quarterback
• Deondre Powell, slotback
• Cayman Shutter, quarterback
• Destin Stewart, wideout
• Billy Ray Stutzmann, wideout
• Aulola Tonga, safety
• Michael Wadsworth, safety
• Chauncy Winchester-Makainai, offensive lineman
Deondre Powell* * *
By mutual agreement, it was decided that Jon Bon Watts will not attend UH. Watts gave a verbal commitment Sunday. But he lives in Florida and has two children, and it was decided it would be too much of hardship for him to play in Hawai‘i.
keep them coming and hoping for a surprise
Manti to Notre Dame
Yeah!!!!
Go Warriors!!
nice to see. i hope we get masch’s in soon.
I wonder when we will hear about the mainland recruits
Kekaula has said the past month Manti Te‘o was going to Notre Dame.
Top Ten, Baby!
Welcome, new Warriors!
Hi, SteveM. Got your email. Thanks!
Good morning Tsaikos everywhere.
Hiya gangee…
been busy lately, but getting things done.
and by the looks of the names up above, we’re on the way to a great recruit class. i wuz hoping for this good news.
Manti Te’o, and all other athletes headed to mainland colleges,
good luck to each of you and your families.
to all the UH Warriors,
welcome my braddaz, welcome welcome welcome. yeee haaaa!!!
Go Warriors!.
Go Warriors!
Congrats to all da players who signed today – UH or elsewhere.
Everyone better be careful with the microphone still on
all right!
great decisions!
are we getting any surprise LOIs? Y/N will suffice
lopati….!
agreed. lopati !!!!!! coaches turned back the tide. right on.
got to love the kid corey nielson, flew in from Cali to sign his LOI. right on welcome to Warrior nation!!!!
Class is shaping up nicely. Great to see Chad stays true to his dream.
Good morning Tsai-kos!!
This is the day we’ve all been waiting for.
Firewall at work won’t let me watch, so thanks guys for keeping us updated with all the haps. I’ll be lurking, trying to get some work done…
Top twenty!!
oh man, what excitement!
I am pretty surprised Manti chose Notre Dame. I wonder how much playing in the Hawaii bowl helped them. That would be pretty remarkable if you think about it for a team to factor in one recruit to a bowl invitation and have it pay off. You have to figure it was part of the decision for Weiss & Co.
Great to hear about Lopati (as well as all the others).
Wow, it’s like the NFL Draft in Hawaii.
when weis gets fired next year, and manti completes his mission, manti back to hawaii?
All da names above,
i stay soooo excited!
Have a nice day Tsaikos.
Go Warriors!
i was telling the boy, of the three, usc, ucla, and notre dame which one doesn’t belong there?
i explain that notre dame is a catholic school. usc and ucla have no religious ties but lds churches are abundant on the west coast, lots of polys, etc.
lots of folks couldn’t understand why nd was top 3. then when byu left the picture, nd became my illogical choice. but of course, no one will believe now.
Maybe next year on Letter of Intent Day, admission will be charged and breakfast buffet will be provided. Money collected can be used for scholarships at UH.
when will we see a full list of where the Hawaii recruits signed?
so what time is the kahuku signings?
Welcome home Warriors!!!
Top Twenny Five!
ST, anyway to let us know who the 3 guys that might not qualify? I’m guessing Powell and Sula but am unsure of the last guy
i hope we land jray…
wheres manu, malepeai, makainai and maafala?
NOW THAT IT’S OFFICIAL… AND NO ONE CAN BACK OUT NOW…
Dear T.J. Alofipo, Rodney Bradley, Lametrius Davis, David Graves, David Hafoka, Tank Hopkins, Brett Leonard, Chad Lopati, John Lister, Destin Stewart, Billy Ray Stutzmann, and Michael Wadsworth,
THANK YOU FOR BEING MEN OF YOUR WORD!
As fans, we won’t let you down!
Congratulations and good luck to all our student athletes who will further their education and also get to play a sport they love.
I don’t see Corey’s name at the top???
Good to see Lopati stay the course.
Good morning everyone, it’s another blessed day in Hawaii nei.
ok, top tirddy…
I would not single out any one name in the recruit class so far.
we getting some players with attitude. da Wadsworth kid is no slouch.
and neither are any of the others listed above.
now, if we can only send a coupla coaches to coaches school.
lurn some dirty trix 😀 lurn how to motivate in da 4th quartah. 
whitye, i hope i see you Sat nite. at da KK.
see ya.
Jray would be huge. i’ll feel better when i see Aaron Brown’s name on the loi list.
would you believe top 40?
when GDL is a 4th year starting senior, manti will come back to UH and redshirt. then take over for the next 3 years.
Kazz,
amen amen amen.
i gettin da season tix and will make da UNLV game for sure!
Go Warriors!!!!
Nice article on PIAA by Bruce Feldman
PIAA helps market Hawaii’s recruits – congrats Doris!
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3882342&name=feldman_bruce
lopati was huge…so are all those that signed…aloha and welcome to the warrior ohana.
AL:
Thought you’d said that you were working today and would not be able to blog ? 😉
Glad you could make it!
wasn’t kevin williams the third academic casualty?
Morning Tsaikos!
LOI day has finally arrived!
Kazz: your #30 says it all!
Looking forward to seeing the names to be added to this list!
tom….i have one foot out the door.
hahahaha.
welcome warrior recruits…this will be the rebuilding of the wac champions and it starts today…thanks coach mack…..
List is getting longer!!! WOOT WOOT!
Congratulations to all of the recruits. I know it is a big day for them and their families.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, outside of the last minute recommit by Chad Lopati, we really did not do as well as we could have with the big local blue chip recruits.
By the way, did Doris Sullivan mispeak about Wade Keliikipi? I thought he was headed to Oregon and not Oregon State.
yes! masch is IN! now we need all the M’s from hawaii.
Richie – Still get the Mililani, Kailua, and Kahuku boys.
Richie, you are welcome to call Manti and Wade and Mana and others and tell them they blew it by not opting to go to UH. The coaches did their part and made their pitch, but if the guys are inclined to go elsewhere, what more can you do?
I think it is a great class. Between the recruits and the walk-ons, we have a ton of new faces to compete for jobs. A lot of these guys are experienced.
BEAUTIFUL! Welcome home to all the new Warriors! Glad you all manned up to your word!
Good Luck to everyone else whereever you go!
I think Aunty Doris did mistakenly say Oregon State instead of Oregon for Wade. Looks like Hasiak couldn’t make up his mind. He ended going back to UCLA from Cal.
Anyway! Move on Warriors! We’re here for you!
shutter????
It will be interesting to see how many of the local boys come HOME after 1 or maybe 2 years of being away in the Mainland. Home sickness is one of the toughest illness there is and very hard to cure.
For those that are putting ink to paper to become a Warrior, there are only so many days till summer workouts and fall practice. So if you need to, get your butts in the classroom and pass those required courses. Secondary to that, work your butts of on the field and in the gym.
good morning tsaikos. another great day for the warriors and their future. many, many thank you goes to all the recruits who signed and the walk ons who will join the team. make no mistake, UH got most of the blue chip players from hawaii. we lost a few, but we got more to stay home. to the other players who signed their loi with other schools, congratulations and best wishes.
what is great about today for our fb players in hawaii is that many can now further their education and hopefully in the future contribute to our great state.
I hope its not true but Jray might have signed with BYU already
http://www.byucougars.com/Filing.jsp?ID=11757
Keliikipi…who would’ve thunk…good luck.
Wouldn’t it be something if Destin Stewart grows over the summer and comes in to UH at 6’6″. That is a tall receiver!
Damn, the list is getting more impressive!!!
so we got 22 loi’s of our alotted 30 in so far?
ST – double check name spelling on your list before al gets all irritated.
Wow COP, thanks for that info. I knew that Arnold Ale played at UCLA but didn’t know that he was at Notre Dame earlier.
Actually the last Polynesian to play at Notre Dame was Anthony Weaver, who I believe is still with the Houston Texans. Anthony finished up at Notre Dame in either 2000 or 2001. Anthony’s mom is of Samoan ancestry.
wow… powell???? thought he wasnt coming…. i hope hes not ineligible and steals a scholarship spot…
McMackin to Keli‘ikipi: “I’ve known you and your family for a year. I wish you the best, and I’ll always be a fan of yours.”
Linebackers T.J. Alofipo, Chad Lopati, Alema Tachibana, Art Laurel, Waylon Lolotai, Paipai Falemalu. That’s a good looking group there.
any word on Aaron brown?
Hope Wade enjoys going to small time bowl games as Hawaii goes back to the BCS. He’ll just join the list of other local kids that went away and was soon forgotten.
Still waiting on George Daily-Lyles?
I wish Wade well. If he is as dedicated in his workouts as his uncle Keola than he should be fine in the northwest.
Pride, you are the man, Anthony Weaver’s mom is Samoan and father African-Am., attended ND, NFL almost 10 years, Ravens for a while, now Texans.
That is great list and still going? Nice, very nice. No sense crying over the girl that got away.
They’re all just a bunch of young men, trying to get a feel of what life is all about.
A hearty welcome to the signees and good luck to the ones who want to go else where.
I remember with myself, when I was 17 or 18 (Civil War?), all I wanted was to get out of Germany. I can understand any young man who wants to at least try and spread his wings.
Oh man if Keliikipi didn’t feel bad for decommiting before he does now. Mack is such a humble person and it’s great that even if things don’t workout for some of these kids on the mainland he will accept them back like they never left awesome man wish I could attend the celebration tonight and shake his hand for doing such a fine job in hopefully taking this program to new heights on a regular basis Mahalo Coach Mack!!!
Welcome to the ohana new Warriors Mahalo for wanting to be a part of something special can’t wait to see you guys out here during fall camp. A Big Mahalo to all the Local boys who stayed home to play for this great state always carry a sense of pride knowing you chose to do what others didn’t.
Sorry I forgot to shout out all the other coaches for their hard work and effort throughout the years and especially this first year under Mack great job in recruiting now let’s get these guys ready for action. Mahalo R.Lee,C.Lee,Miano,Lumpkin,Smith and all the ga’s.
Next point of order who are the New Coaches?
Good luck to all da braddahz who have the opportunity to play college ball. No bad mouth da kid if he going someplace else. Whatever school he chose, I am sure he made the best decision for himself and his ohana. If you don’t know why, no try guess. I no like anything bad happen to these braddahz. In da end, they all still one of us. I still get plenty aloha for them. Things jus neva work out. I wish them good fortune and success. Between da lines, I still like our chances. Outside da lines, I still greet them with one big hug. Aloha.
TO ALL THE NEW WARRIORS!
We welcome you to the “family” and admire you for your honoring your verbal commitment to play for UH.
You are amongst a few who chose to keep your “word” in this day of great uncertainty.
We look forward to your contributions to UH,the Warrior football team, and the State of Hawaii.
Some went away, but just look at who stayed! Yeeeehaw!
After today, I hope we never mention the guys who went away again. Especially the last second “decommitters”. Good luck to them.
Best of luck to the guys who stayed true to their home, true to their word, and remained committed.
ST,
Do you know who the lead recruiters were for the guys who decommitted (Keliikipi, Tepa, Nobriga)? Just wondering….
Stephen, can you confirm Galeai to BYu??? saw a couple sites now with information posted… I believe it is true but wont give up hope til it is reported in hawaii
BYU’s website has Galeai as signed
Great job by the coaches!
Now to get to the rest of the job…get ’em in school, get ’em to class, get ’em in the gym, get ’em ready for play!
Nice to hear that Mack nevah jump on the kid for backing out on his word….
I don’t know about players leaving coming back. I thought UH now has a 5 year plan. So if players choose not to come to UH now they would be off the plan? I think with the quality of players that are coming in it will be very difficult for any one to come back and earn a scholarship. I guess they could always walk-on and pay their own way.
Manti going to ND will not make me a fan of ND. I wish him the best of luck but he will probably end up like Anthony Weaver. To me anyways who is Weaver????
Wade is my biggest disappointment but that is only for now. He will go the way of others whose names i can’t remember.
Mack showed who he is with the comment he made to Wade. It made me wonder why players would choose the coach at UCLA over this guy????
thanks go out to tony tuioti who did good on recruiting also….post#73 bruddah cuz i like what you said….think wac champions….
I thought Kahuku had its own signing, so not sure why BYU would have heard about Jray if we hadn’t heard about Aulola?
Manti goes to a catholic school that is signing him knowing he will go on a two year church mission for another religion…
What a strange world we live in.
Ahhh.. LOI day…
I love the smell of fresh ink in the morning.. !
We may have lost out on a number of local blue-chippers, but, at least, we can say, it wasn’t for the lack of trying. Kudos to the coaching staff and how they approached the recruiting task this past year.
Coach Mack is a true professional and a class act.
labrat:
Keli‘ikipi is a disappointment because he didn’t tell UH he was going to visit Oregon. The coaches learned on Monday.
They also were stunned that Lopati was considering Oregon State. But, in the end, some key people were influential.
stephen,what happened to alex greene and chizzy dimude?
stephen how about aaron brown?
So i guess no one knows about jray…. must have signed with byu if no one in hawaii knows
ypo:
Malloe = Keli‘ikipi.
UH did a good job getting on Tepa. But maybe the coaches left too much time on the clock. With the monster season he had for a high-powered program, it gave USC and UCLA too much time to get on board.
Nobriga’s father had a big say in his son’s decision.
Some say that to many offers were made based on the amount of scholarships available. Coaches may want to reconsider and offer less and concentrate more on a few.
We probably wouldn’t have known this if it weren’t for the blogs and active hardworking reporters like ST. As they would say in the sales field the more you ask the more you will get. I believe it’s a numbers game and no one will ever bet a 1,000%. The more no’s you get the more yes’s too.
I believe the coaching staff has taken recruting to a new level and get better each year going forward. The 2nd part of process is now getting these players to perform at their uptimum.
Great job to all involved and I will say that this blog is “da best”.
Ohana, I think Jon Lister scared um away… haha…. i been reading some forums on people raving how the hell we got him when he is the best player to come out of that school and he was MVP of the area. That area has schools like St Bonaventure and Oaks Christian which are top notch schools.. where former #1 recruits Lorenzo Booker, Jimmy Clausen, Mark Tyler, and Whitney Lewis are from. Probably a lot more but those 4 jump to me
ST chad was in my top 5. So was Wade but 4 out of 5 is good. I feel good.
I especially like the competition at quartertback. All freshmen.
Ohana:
Don’t worry about those three.
Chizzy is tough because he doesn’t have a cell phone.
How about jon ban watts?
congrats to all of the new warriors,
congrats to all the student athletes, good luck, represent and make Hawaii proud of their keiki o ka aina.
IMUA LANAKILA
The real remaining drama seems to be with Jray. I think the Kahuku signing is at 10, but I could be wrong. We are expecting 2 letters and hoping for 3.
jeezy, jray did sign with BYU
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/71038
ST
you hit it on the head with Nobriga, Scotty made the call on that one, plain and simple. good luck to all of these youngsters!
ST
same with Makaula from Punahou, ironically, those 2 played ball together when they were growing up in kailua, basketball.
oh well, life goes on, and may all of the recruits today, realize their dreams and remember their roots.
Not An Expert,
you’re right, recruiting is comparable to the hotel/airlines industry. you overbook and play the numbers, but making sure you have a base or a core group you’re working with. that way you always have your ‘funnel’ full of prospects that are ‘interested’ in what you have.
business math 101, haha
Malloe’s departure was odd in that he said his heart would remain in Hawaii, and I pointed out at the time that literally that means Yale was getting but a shell of a man. Maybe it was lost on Wade that you don’t get very far in life doing things without heart. I think Wade made a huge mistake. All the building blocks were here for him to assemble, and he could have climbed them like climbing a pyramid to find great success at the top. Departing for parts unknown, he’s going to stumble finding the blocks to assemble, let alone actually getting everything to come together for him.
YEah i saw that site over a hour ago. Im just waiting for someone in Hawaii to confirm it so i can give up hope. Jray, George, Lopati, and Destin are top 4 recruits in my book so im holding on to hope…
reposted from post #99
jeezy, jray did sign with BYU
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/71038
Nevermind Tanks Ah confirmed the signing….. Why cant Hawaii get any good signing day surprises ever?? I want to see some recruit pop out of nowhere and sign with us. I know we have the offers if we got turned down by 4 guys on signing day.
TanksAh reporting that Jray signed with BYU. we can let go of that hope now.
madeinhawaii,
the recruiting efforts this year by the current coaching staff has set a benchmark if you will for future years. for too many years, UH has had the mentality of an NFL coach, that if the kid wants to play for UH, he’ll play for UH, and we shouldn’t have to go chasing them. it is the old boy philosoph of ‘build it and they will come’. please, save that for Hollywood.
it’s business, big business for everyone involved. Football victories = cash flow, in all areas of revenue streams be it primary, secondary, or auxillary….it all adds up. that is why football is the proverbial ‘cash cow’ for every collegiate institution more often than not.
i applaud the efforts of Coach Mac and staff, and mahalo for taking a vested interest in all of the players by providing camps, clinics, and opportunities to interact with the staff.
GO WARRIORS
Wades LOI got received by Oregon. So it was Oregon and not OSU
Not sure why Jray would be known to have not signed with UH when we haven’t heard re Tonga or Alo from the same signing ceremony? Was Jray at the 7 am signing, in which case wouldn’t we have known about his decision hours ago?
well said Bulla re post 108
Jon Bon Watts is out.
Kahuku’s ceremony started at 10 a.m.
Lava,
Malloe’s departure is puzzling. at a dinner recently with a very seasoned coach, he laughed when i mentioned the course of events. he felt that going to Yale was putting yourself in a ‘dead end’ career wise, and that being at UH was a better stepping stone to bigger and better things. Yale is Yale, but very limited in exposure, and level of play, so by going there really is a personal decision. is it for the title? but it’s DC at Yale….gotta balance the good and the bad……but good luck.
either way, good luck to Malloe and his ohana, may you one day return to find your heart where it will always be…home, in Hawaii.
Makaula and Nobriga are best friends.
Does anyone know which of our signed Warriors are ‘qualifiers’ and those that are not or tba?
Does anyone know which of our signed Warriors are ‘qualifiers’ and those that are not or tba?
what happened to watts?
double – how can, sorry for that
I think Malloe’s a great guy and he’ll be a successful DC.
I think part of the reason is finances. He wasn’t able to buy a house here. Plus, DC looks better on the resume than ST coordinator.
Watts is out as in no longer coming to UH?
I love this day and how it all unfolds. It’s like opening the coup letting all the pigeons fly and see where they go. Some stay and perch themselves. Many leave and fly away to distant lands. Soon after new ones appear out of the sky, land and roost next to those that stayed.
As much as we’d like, there’s just not enough room to keep all our sons home.
To those who leave, we all wish you the best. Represent! Make us proud.
To those whom have chosen to join us, Mahalo and welcome. Lets start making some awesome memories!
YYEEEEHAW! I Love this game!
And, no, smart arses, Wena is not the ST coordinator.
addaknowjoe:
don’t some pigeons just poop on you, too?
Uno mas tiempo
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/71038
I hope this paper is lying, but they show jray signed, and have for at least an hour. Not sure how that’s possible if Kahuku guys are signing now.
wat happned to watts? i liked him.
sup tsaikos,
Blahblah,
Manti will be back much sooner than next year i think….just a matter if he comes on both Thanksgiving and X-mas break.
Weis fired?….dont think thats going to happen.
Manti comes back to Hawaii to play?.. i would probably put my lifesavings on a crapshoot. haha.
Best of luck to Jon Bon Watts. Family comes first.
Yes she is. Be a real man and admit it.
Here let me help you.
Sweety is the boss of me.
There. I said it. Ya aint got to lie to kick it, bro. 😆
BTW Mr. Tsai,
Great job keepin’ the piranhas fed with crisp, up to the minute details. Tell your coordinator Wena that we think ur doin’ a swell job.
Steve Tsai,
Not talking about the 4-5 Star players. How much of an impact does a schools academic rank play into a players decision?
Sure you can play at an Alabama or Tennesse, big time programs. But does a player take a lot into consideration the strength of the academic program? I.e. Boston College or Stanford or UCLA, Cal?
If i am going to be a “bench warmer” at Ucla or Stanford or play at Hawaii…….its UCLA and Stanford for xrist sakes. haha.
Student first, athlete second? Whats your take?
There’s some interesting stuff going on with Toma.
And the water boils with thrashing piranha…
wow, id take toma in a heart beat.
iwonder:
Depends on the kid, I guess.
A Stanford degree is going to carry some more weight in certain job interviews, but I’m not so sure students think that far ahead. It’s pretty difficult to balance school and football.
Nice to see Aaron Brown’s commitment official. He should be an impact player for us immediately.
Tell me Hawaii is pushing for TOMA
No, UH isn’t an option for Toma. But something funny is going on between Toma and UCLA, reports say.
i heard about toma on bc show. according to XXXXX, it’s not UH. it’s ND in the pix.
Chizzy should be on board, too.
ST What happend to Jon Bon Watts?
iwwthm – Another factor for choosing a certain school is the degrees or programs they offer the students.
I’ve heard about some stuff with UCLA trying to pull a 2 for 1 with Toma being he is bff’s with one highly recruited recent ND commit hope his schollie didn’t depend on that out come if it did R.Lee better pick up a phone and start dialing.
Toma to Notre Dame now? I heard that on the radio this morning
Did Watts fall victim to the same problem as cb Williams who opted for Idaho as a fall-back option?
It was decided it would be better for Watts and his family if he played for a school in the Florida area.
Heard about Toma not signing his UCLA LOI just before BC signed off; that he got a late offer from ND and was considering going with MT.
Wow, that’s a lot of abbreviations! 😆
See the Jon Bon Watts story above ☝
Steve Tsai,
Yeah, like most things in life, it depends. good point.
You would think that the majority of players are hit with the realization that the next level isnt a realistic option and that when push comes to shove a good education is one of the best fall backs ever.
There are a ton of things that can happen to a athlete that will take away his/hergame, but not many things that can take away an education.
As for Manti, USC, UCLA, and even Notre Dame….those are all top notch academic programs to boot too.
Wellz, we shall see. Go Warriors!
Uuuhhh… Only if you get too close, stand in the way or not paying attention.
But, if you do get plunk’d, don’t take it personally. In the end it’s just crap. Just wipe ‘um off and forgive them for they know not what they do.
OK. I go back to lurking; stuff is happening too fast for my level of keyboarding skill….
ST, will there be any surprise commits for UH (Grigsby, etc.)?
IS Cyril Ontai a lock for Navy? With the amount of de commits, Hawaii should get this guy. His Coach has high praises.
Ontai has since became a star in his own right, a big-time playmaker as both a safety and a fullback during his three years as a starter at Kapolei. The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder piled up more than 300 career tackles and did so in devastating fashion. His highlight tape is a nonstop series of bone-crushing hits.
“Cyril is one of the hardest hitters I have ever seen during the time I’ve been a high school coach. He has been laying people out since his sophomore season,” Hernandez said. “The kid is built like a tank, is extremely aggressive and has great instincts. He gets to the football and absolutely explodes on people.
Remarkably, Kapolei produced a pair of Division I fullbacks this year. Simione Vehikite (6-1, 243), who split repetitions with Ontai, will sign with USC on Wednesday. “Cyril is every bit as good a football player as Simi. If Cyril was 6-foot-1 or 6-2, he would be the number one recruit in Hawaii.”
Alo, Tonga sign with UH.
Jray Galeai signs with BYU.
Grigsby signed with San Jose State, I believe.
This day has the feel of an election night.
jray……………………..ah
iwonder:
You’d be surprised at how many people believe they can go to the next level.
At last year’s Pro Day, there was a guy who was there for third time. One of the scouts told him it might be time to move on.
So far Grigsby not listed on their site. But im sure he would have informed someone in Hawaii by now if he was coming here..
Hoh, big boo-boo, I meant day! not gay, weird typo.
Lessons are being learned this recruiting season, for sure, and one lesson is certainly to discourage coaches from leaving before LOI day. That cost us one of our best local recruits.
so any surprises headed our way?
Any news on George Daily-Lyles?
Whoops . . . sorry, just saw the bit at the top of the screen . . . hope all is well through 1 p.m. today . . .
it would be weird for Toma to go to ND to follow Te’o being that Manti will only be there for a year then go on a mission unless Toma is LDS as well and plans on taking the same path to go on a mission… The drama continues who knows Maybe Tepa’s LOI might be mistakenly sent here fax’em both GDL…JK…
Doris may have to eat come of her words. She’s on record for giving us some flack for saying Toma’s offer was bait to lure Manti, and schools like UCLA couldn’t waste a scholie on anyone who can’t make it on their own.
If Toma’s offer was pulled, that Nut-heisel guy may have again damaged his reputation, although I think it was widely felt he lacks integrity. Wonder where Norm Chow is in all of this mess. Does he get booted too for failing to secure a fellow Pun alum?
I didn’t hear that Toma’s offer was pulled. just that he got another one from ND and was considering it.
bstunna,
Tepa & McKay is on UCLA’s website already as signed.
re: toma, is it that he’s considering a last minute switch to follow his best friend from laie or is that ucla is pulling their offer b/c they couldn’t get MT. if it is in fact due to the latter, then i hope our local boyz who in the future are considering da bruins consider this as well, just my 2cents
My friends from Kahuku say that Kamalani Alo is a great get. These are guys who played for Kahuku and still live out there. They say that Kamalani is a real big hitter.
I don’t blame Ikaika Malloe for leaving. If finances and the inability to afford home for his family was one of the deciding factors you can’t blame him for that.
In the end the players are thinking of themselves and in this case Malloe was thinking of himself and his family. Good luck to him, Tara, and his kids.
DPK I think Alo and Tonga are great gets.
I have no complaints about this class, it’s a heck of a good one, any way you look at it.
what happened to the two surprises?
labrat-
Agreed. The Kahuku pipeline is is a great asset to UH. Look at the Super Bowl rosters…
I am with Florida Ted. You throw in the walk-ons and I see a bright future for the Warriors.
According to ST’s list, that’s 26 signees. Slightly overbooked? How many more coming?
if tepa and mckay are signed w/ ucla, shouldn’t gdl be as well…guess we just gotta wait a couple more hours.
Daily-Lyles is signing at 1 p.m.
I don’t blame Ikaika Malloe for leaving either, but in hindsight it could have been handled much better, particularly the announcement. Would several weeks have made a difference? It left us without a D-line coach, so what kind of message does that send to D-line recruits other than “reconsider your options about going elsewhere.” We didn’t have time to hire a new coach, and I’m confident the new coach will be a great addition.
There should be 30 signees.
In addition, there are three grayshirts from 2008 class.
Of the signees, two are expected to grayshirt. There are two on the academic bubble.
looks like uhatlhletics.com updated their site
any surprises brewing?
lava:
Reporters/sportscasters knew that Malloe had accepted the job before the conventiion. Nothing had been signed because 1) UH wanted to make sure Malloe put in a full year, so he wouldn’t have to pay back the moving expenses, 2) his departure would come after signing day.
But someone in the media put it out there, and so UH had to confirm it.
UH has a couple of good prospects if there are any more de-commits. But it doesn’t appear as if there will be any more de-commits.
I think a defensive minded coach like Mack will find a very good dline coach. He knows how important it is in the trenches.
26+
chizzy
gdl
alex g
who am i missing?
IF there are more de commits???
So what would have happened it Wade, Watts, Jray, Burton, and Liloa signed????
Thats 5 guys we had scholarships for. Shouldnt we still have available scholarships?
Alex Green listed as submitted on the UH site
http://www.hawaiiathletics.com/news/2009/2/4/FB_0204093411.aspx
and who are the 3 grayshirts?
tachibana
laurel
sione?
Thanks for the updates and clarifications ST.
Chizzy and Alex Green signed their letters, meaning … Jake Heun is officially a rush end.
While Dave Aranda is coaching the ends, he would make a good coach for the entire line.
The guy comes off as a good teacher and can verbalize what he expects out of his players.
Sula?
And what’s up with Earvin?
Apparently people close to the Teo / Toma situation were not caught off guard by Toma’s rethinking his options in light of Manti’s commit to ND.
ST: Great job!!!
The last Punahou alum that had the drums rolling and bugles blasting who went to Notre Dame didn’t play much due to injuries. Of course he became successful when he returned to Hawaii.
While T’eo would have been a valuable addition – for PR purposes, if nothing else – playing for one year may not help UH that much, especially if our recruiting continues on the upward climb.
ST…
Any pleasant surprises in works? Savala? Grigsby? Bellamy?
The only surprises in the past week or so haven’t been good with all the late (and sometimes unexpected) de-commits. First Makaula, then Tepa, then Keli’ikipi & Burton & Nobriga, and now Watts. Doesn’t help that 4 of the decommits are front seven defensive players.
Any contingency plans in the works by Coach Mack?
Mahalo!
Three decommits on DL hurt us bad for the future.
Too bad for Wade–he had a huge potential to stay home and make something happen beyond his football years…
Right now, it’s like we’re heading over the hill of the final drop on a rollercoaster. You know the end is near. This recruiting season has been a heck of a ride. Good job coaches, can’t wait to see how Coach Mack’s 1st full season of recruiting pans out.
I count 28 letters in. Plus GDL, that makes 29. Who is #30? Watts dropped out, was he #30 or is ST talking about someone else?
OK, OK. I added incorrectly.
There are 28 signees so far (five signed in December), with Daily-Lyles to sign at 1 p.m.
There also are three grayshirts (2008 graduates).
That adds up to 32 newcomers.
You guys can figure out the deductibles later.
UH will be fine at DE. They have enough in the program.
And they have a lot of depth at DT: Meatoga, Savaiigaea, Tufaga, Hafoka, Beaver, Masch.
woohoo Chizzy finally signed. I think he will be a difference maker. I really like his running style.
If the Long Beach Poly thing is a School ceremony, how did the 2 UCLA guys sign already? I saw them listed as signed in 2 different places for UCLA. Wouldn’t they be signing at 1pm as well?
I agree with ST. With addition of Masch, Hafoka and Beaver the dline will be solid.
Jack Sula and Jesse Williams still are on the radar.
But they’re not signing today because they still have academic issues. Sula has to take some classes; Williams, who’s from Australia, needs to have his courses approved.
I wouldnt say a lot of depth at DT. Our Returnees are unproven as of right now. It seems like everyones expectations are getting higher after sugar bowl, and it doesnt seem like we have been upgrading DTs and DEs since Francis, Lafaele, Laeli, Josh Leonard, and David Veikune. LBs on the other hand look great. RBs looking good. WR’s pretty good. GRAVES, the answer. Worried about OT’s , D linemen that can get it done, and DBs.
can you say ncaa violation?????
Maybe the 2 signed already & faxed it in but they’ll participate in the ceremony just for the media/PR purposes.
ST…
With 6 late de-commits (Makaula, Tepa, Keli’kipi, Burton, Nobriga, Watts), does Coach Mack figure to make any late offers after today?
I recall that both Adam Leonard & JP Davis accepted scholarship offers made by JJ after NLI Day.
Mahalo!
h2o
calm down brother.
gdl….i wouldn’t expect anything less of him to wait and sign in front of the student body. he committed to the ceremony and as a man of his word he will do such at 1 pm.
can’t say much about the other two though. well, actually just the one who decommit. i am not surprised.
more and more i like this gdl.
ST,
Jake Heun a “RUSH END” as in defensive end? I guess OLB is out of the question huh?
YpoWarrior –
That’s what I’m hoping, that they were so excited not to be signing with Hawaii that they jumped the gun.
Here’s the list for spring from the other day’s post:
Defensive linemen: Cameron Allen-Jones, Abraham Cavco-Amoy, Victor Clore, Haku Correa, John Fonoti, David Haoka, Geordon Hanohano, Chris Leatigaga, Waylon Lolotai, Antwan “Tua” Mahaley, Vaughn Meatoga, Bo Montgomery, Elliott Purcell, Aaron Rink, Landon Satele, Rocky Savaiigaea, Alema Tachibana, Alasi Toilolo, Tuika Tufaga, Keahi Watson, Quentin Beaver.
The only thing that worries me is will the coaching be able to harness all of this talent. If I’m not mistaken we gave away 3 games last year. I don’t mind losing if we play hard but SJSU, UTU & Cinn were just given away.
St. Petersburg Times this morning is reporting that a bunch of high school stars, by waiting too long, are suddenly without scholarships.
That’s what happens when you always wait for the best girl around and she never shows up.
for gdl….he gets to continue the history of the jersey number that he so adorned at lb-poly….
44
that is not a violation. br stutz signed like a month ago and i am pretty sure he is in school at UH now and working out with the team already, and WAS at the ceremony.
By the way , i say stutz and qb graves will be a huge gets. stutz was recruited by pac 10, has pac 10 speed and height. just will need to put on a few pounds between now and fall.
on defense, i like lopati as my top defense get.
I hope all these guys qualify academically now!
not #55??
We have paper tigers not proven entities on our DL.
Makaula, Tepa and Keli’ikipi were the future…we will have to wait another year and hopefully recruit big on the DL for 2010…but, again, next year, we will need to draw down on immediate help from the JUCO ranks.
john….that is correct. eh, double digit at least,
hahaha
re 219 – why was Makaula the future? Did he even line up at DE during his senior season at Punahou?
al, haha I no need calm down, I’m not mad or anything. Just wondering what’s up with that. You think those other 2 would have waited for the ceremony if that’s what it was for. It’s just that with the suspense, kinda wish now that GDL signed early too.
Well Good Luck to all the recruits who chose to go to the mainland but like Tonga said” you go away and come back no on remembers you”
Is the Advertiser going to tape the Mack press conference at 2pm like last year? I really enjoyed that.
Veni Manu is the future. I thought he was the best DE we recruited this year including Tepa.
sorry Mack with the loss of Keliikipi, you get no day off tomorrow. I want you at Iolani and Punahou, looking at Sealii Epenesa and Sani Fuimaono. We need to hit HS DTs hard!
Even though Manti signed Notre Dame instead of one of the local LA area schools, Manti is still the lead story for recruiting in LA Times…j
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-high-school-recruiting5-2009feb05,0,2519274.column
I agree with rog. Veni was in my top 5. He reminds me of Mel Purcell.
what happens w/ Alofipo and Lopati, do they stay as LB’s or DE’s? We;re kinda loaded at lb’s w/ BS, BS, R.J.K-K (though they’ll all be seniors IIRC) and PF – the jewel of last year’s class ready to get some PT this year
warriorfanny
each year we need to recruit:
4 each
oline
receivers
dline
lb’ers
dbacks
2 each
qb’s
rb’s
1-2 athletes
of course every positional need is based upon what is left of the cupboard.
wait, so did toma fax any LOI in yet? if so, where to?
I would love for us to someway add a late high school DT in this class
grigsby to SJSU
I think Veni would just smoke Kimo in a race.
Don’t forget the guy from Radford too. I thought Marcus Malepeai showed a great bull rush this year, strength and quickness. He went under the radar it seems.
forget those decommits.
I like the future with Manu, Malepeai, Tachibana, Hanohano, Correia, Lopati, etc.
re: Coordinators
Ok so a while back I posed the question..Can and WILL UH try and find Coaches equal to the level of those found in the BCS conferences.
Today I realized that aint happening any time soon.
Tennessee’s Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin and Recruiting Coordinator Ed Orgeron….yes RECRUITING coordinator are going to make………drum roll please…….OVER $1.1 MILLION!!
So, my question has been answered. But it goes to show….you have to PAY to PLAY.
yikes!
Happy Signing Day!
On my way home. And stoked to have iPhone service again. Missed you guys!
Welcome, new Warriors!
i tink toma’s still trying to decide b/t his prior commitment and his best friend’s new school
Wow al, you just got it all planned out don’t you.
letsgowarriors…I’m with you.
IMHO not as many top local prospects next year (compared to this year), so Epenesa & Fuimaono will be the very top local prospects next year.
When Coach Mack visits Sealii at Iolani, he should also stop by Kaimuki HS to visit Desmond Tautofi (younger bro of former UCLA Bruin David & former Warriors Darrell & Darren) too.
I think the guy that can leave the greatest impression from this class is qb David Graves. You don’t need to remember that name, because once he arrives here he won’t let you forget hit. Check out his You Tube back flip off the wall.
#235 – do you mean the”im”perfect season
Recruiting for 2010 begins tomorrow!
Andrew Manley?
Taz Stevenson!
V.J. Fehoko!
Hi Liz, whats crackin
Establishing the recruiting connection with Kahuku is definitely helping the UH program.
However, next season it looks like the Red Raiders will only have 1 major Class of 2010 prospect in DE Kona Schwenke. Surprising that UH hasn’t offered yet…since BYU offered a scholie back in Sept 2008. http://byu.scout.com/2/794423.html
also, coach Mack should offer a preferred walkon to Nick Maafala to help with the lack of DT recruiting. undersized, but can be like Lance Samuseva with more quickness.
i dont think we will need manley next year,with 3 freshman qbs on board this year
goin get some surprises soon.
always get some casualities.
j.m-o. was one in 2007, and looks like we’re trying to get him back for 2010.
although i don’t think there will be as much post LOI day surprises as during the JJ era because Coach Mack and his staff hit the ground running when it came to recruiting and I can’t recall a time during the JJ era when almost all the LOI’s were faxed and received by UH during the 1st day of signing.
lava:
is your # 241 post the answer to my question about who will make the biggest impact for the 2009 class?
Do you think that Coach Mack will “red-shirt” him in 2009 to get him ready for 2010 or 2011 with Rausch and Jantz still here?
yup Schwenke is definitely the top recruit out of Kahuku. They might have a couple of OL and some tweener DL, but Kahuku always pours out D-1 talent.
ST – any news re E. Sione, C. Vasconcellos or Whitley Fehoko?
Sione there was something about academics – is he a “later” or a “not ever”?
I think it was reported that Vasconcellos “is not coming” – was that due to academics, and is it permanent?
Fehoko I thought was in school. Any reason he didn’t sign up for the walk-on program?
lgdub, I agree with UH trying to get Nick Ma’afala.
blahblah, I wonder if UH didn’t think they could get Manley? Or maybe these 3 prospects this year were too good to pass up and wait for Manley.
we should greyshirt 1 of the 3 qbs. my preference is Shutter, since he already lives in hawaii. that way we can at least stagger the grade each qb recruit in this class is in.
Did anyone notice how so many of Darren Hernandez’s players are going off to college and playing football? He’s a tremendous coach. You can tell he’s a real support and advocate of his players. It would be interesting to see how many players he’s had over the years compete in college ball. He seems to work really hard to get them there.
I’m wondering if Rausch will be in the same mold as Jason Wheildon / Tyler Graunke.
Good enough to start some games, dependable enough as a safety net for another starter.
ST, good neighbor:
Any indication from Coach Mack regarding use of any extra scholarships?
al:
recruiting for 2010 should start TODAY – tomorrow is too late! (hehe)
OK, all you “eagle-eyed” fans, should we start a list, of our own, of all the possible recruits, by position, for 2010 and 2011 and see how well it compares with the “sheet” or “wall” used by UH coaching staff.
Maybe, you will find a players who is really under the radar, but could make a huge contribution to the Warriors.
ah, sh*t, now I gotta go back to work!!
A-House, yes, David Graves is my choice for impact player of the class.
How soon he sees the field is anyone’s guess. I think he needs to be here for the summer to have a chance to compete for the starting job next year, much like Alexander and Rausch came in last summer and trained with Inoke. Between last year’s red-shirts, gray-shirts, the walk-ons and the new recruits, there are so many new faces on the line and at receiver that the guys who are building chemistry will be at an advantage. I don’t mean to add additional pressure on him, but Graves in my opinion is far superior than anyone else we have at qb. He just has to go through the learning curve of working with the receivers in real time against an opponent’s defense, which we saw last year requires patience on everyone’s part.
I agree Kapolei is churning out some nice D-1 talent. Gotta admire how quickly their coach has built the program from the ground up.
Kapolei HS is well represented in Manoa: Ahmad, Medeiros, Toilolo, Otineru; and now Lopati and Brackenridge.
i see that my secret admirer has appeared………
…..again.
I know we brought in a lot of secondary help, but what about some of the players we already had playing a role next season?
I’m especially interested to see how Kenny Estes does. If I remember reading correctly, he got injured and just didn’t play for the ’08 season?
what i hear is that a lot of west side kids are transferring to kapolei because of the facilities, coaching, and the neighborhood.
sort of like how a lot kids were transferring to kaiser.
Will there be a QB competition this summer or will Mac just give the job to GA?
ahouse….
i beg to differ. recruiting for 2010 started a year or two ago when mack took over. he is now planning a junior day to go along with the football camps.
they need to ingrain the uh warrior program from a young age.
What will our secondary look like this year? It’s gotta be alot better than last year.
alina:
Hernandez is indeed a great coach and there is no question he goes the extra mile when it comes to preparing and disseminating videos and helping his kids get to the next level. The question is with all that D-I talent: Hasiak, Vehikite, Lopati, Brackenridge, and Ontai Why don’t they win more games? This year I think Kapolei produced more Division I scholarship players than perennial leader Kahuku or state champ Punahou. There were also several juniors on the team that will be highly recruited next year as well.
ga is the starter going in to spring camp. that has been out there for awhile now. i believe that rausch will really pick things up this year and when the opportunity presents itself he will be ready this time.
the battle for the third qb will be austin’s to hang on too. but, the three freshmen qb’s will duke it out. the best guy may end up the third teamer and other two may redshirt. they all have something to bring to the table.
this morning an la writer was praising the nielsen/powel connection.
i have to say that i too really like graves, but, shutter may be the sleeper of the bunch. all he did was beat out the projected qb last year (makaula) and win the state title.
i believe that all of the jc players recruited this year will make an impact. collectively as a group they have the talent and physical capabilities to do so.
the one with the biggest challenge will be brett leonard.
some of the freshmen are physically ready i think. lopati, alofipo, mafa’ala, tonga, for example.
I believe UH has already offered Manley, and I think that was an easy decision based on his performance over the last two years.
Since we’re all starting the UH Warrior recruiting campaign for next year right now, here’s my Top 10 wishlist for local Class of 2010 prospects (in alphabetical order):
– OT Kaiwi Crabb (Punahou)
– DT Sealii Epenesa (Iolani)
– DE/OLB VJ Fehoko
– DE Sani Fuimaono (Punahou)
– OT Micah Hatchie (Waialua)
– QB Andrew Manley (Leilehua)
– OL/DL Graham Rowley (Waialua)
– DE Kona Schwenke (Kahuku)
– WR Taz Stevenson (Mililani)
– DL Desmond Tautofi (Kaimuki)
Any thoughts?
shutter and makaula battle was a brypoduct of politics also, let’s not forget that. the powers that be are the powers that be, and for those in the know, they know. it is sad when a student is penalized for things he cannot control….play them based on the 3 A’s, Attitude, Ability, Application
Anything else you want to know? Just ask me.
I think we’re pretty set at QB for a few years but my main concern is the DBs. I can recount several games where we really got burnt on big plays (not including the Hawaii Bowl). There should be intense competition at DB this summer b/c we really need help.
Interesting how Coach Mack and his staff were able to get multiple players from the same respective schools (not counting Hawaii HS).
Nielsen/Powell, Brown/Leonard, Hopkins/Bradley, Davis/Green, Alofipo/Wadsworth
okay bulla.
J-Dog,
Multiple players from one school is actually common in recruiting. A coach looks at tape of a team for one player and ends up noticing another. Plus, that saves time on visiting the school and traveling for home visits. Recruits also like to know they have a high school teammate with them.
jdog….i hear that it is part of the plan. especially for those who live on the continent.
didn’t tsai say how good a recruited davis was.
kapakahi, is crabb is soph or junior? hes got size at 6-5 though.
theres also Moses Samia DE out of St. Louis.
Recruiting sure has a different look under Coach Mack. Although one thing I miss is having Jeff Reinebold as a recruiter. Didn’t he bring in some big time gets like Mouton and Patek?
Although it looks like we haven’t lost the Texas pipeline yet with the Navarro JC guys.
A-House,
Recruiting for 2010 has already started around the country. Many schools (LSU, SMU, etc.) have already had their first (most have 2) Junior Days. UH has already made offers to several 2010 recruits…and will hopefully be making more offers soon to the top local juniors.
ST,
Great job with all of the recruiting updates! I just caught up with the blog and there was just so much information today…it is great to get some of the tidbits, back stories, and reasons behind certain events.
I *hate* that I have 3 papers due on NLI day! Don’t these conferences and military folks understand it is NLI day? Anyway, I finished 2 of them and am working on the 3rd…
al / garret,
yeah that sounds like a good plan. Isn’t that how we discovered Colt? I believe the coaches were initially looking at his JC wideout teammate?
Congratulations to all of the recruits who have signed with the Warriors! Congratulations to the coaches who put in so much effort to get this quality recruiting class!
Shout out to JD for increasing the recruiting budget…some of today’s success would not have been possible without him finding that money for the Warrior program.
J-Dog,
UH (and every other school) has discovered players that way. It is especially important for UH because of the distance from mainland schools.
All this QB talk does Steele Jantz just need to go find another school???
George Daily-Lyles has signed LOI!!!
anyone know if 2 pm press conference going to be online?
welcome GDL
All in.
George Daily-Lyles signs.
And, a little birdie said, friends of UH have notified Toma that he has a scholarship, if he wants.
Steele Jantz was the star of this morning’s dodgeball tournament. He was named co-MVP. Wicked arm, as Adam Sandler would say.
GDL in the hale!
That little birdie sure gets around.
Brett Leonard and David Garness look like twins.
I just dont think we can write him off as a potential QB… Watching at practice last year I was always impressed with his arm and attitude..
There should be a Tsaiko vs Tsaikette dodgeball game.
Do you think we have a good chance of landing Toma. He would be a welcome addition.
(throws a shaka to George Daily-Lyles and ALL the commits)
dey u go…
homey ℞:
Jantz can shave his head and pretend to be me then maybe we can win..heard some of the Tsaikettes have “wicked arms”……………….
we’ve got some great looking linebackers for the next 4-5 yrs. hopefully we can find some stars in the secondary…
curveball – You were misinformed. Okay, to even things out we can give then DPK.
29 recruits! My impact player, maybe not this season, is…Destin Stewart.
another set of twins?
toma?
then = them
We’re live-streaming at 2 p.m. Go to our home page to view.
Would you give the schollie to Toma or see who else fell through the cracks or give it to a non-schollie player?
Stream doesn’t seem to be flowing…
is it 2 yet?
Nothing wrong with my stream….
Aloha Tsai-kos..Great news and Welcome to the new Warriors!
I’m hoping that we can get better relations with all the local high school coaches so we can get a “early” heads up on up and coming players. By early I mean like when the players are in the JV level programs.
Early detection and mentoring in academics, responsibility, commitment, integrity. The last three goes both ways.
To those who chose to go away, Hawaii will always be here. Most might not remember too much about you but home will still be here. Good luck and be happy.
thanks for stream info.
Not 2 yet but I would think they would at least see if the camera works.
A quick check of the Scout.com national rankings:
40. BYU
54. Utah
55. TCU
59. Colorado
60. Boise State
61. Hawaii
62. Southern Miss
70. Fresno State
75. Tulsa
99. Idaho
114. Nevada
118. New Mexico State
Aloha Kakou!
Aw-ryte, the big day finally arrived, and looks good for the Warriors!
I did a quick survey of the WAC recruiting classes according to Rivals.com, and here’s what stood out to me. Hawaii has:
The largest class (29)
Most 3-Stars (12)
Best WR’s (4) (3 3-Stars)
Best DT’s (3) (1 3-Star)
Best DB’s (5) (3 3-Stars)
2nd Best OL’s (4) (1 3-Star)
2nd Best RB’s (3) (1 3-Star)
#3 QB’s (3) (1 3-Star)
#4 DE’s (3) (1 3-Star)
#4 LB’s (2) (1 3-Star)
Hoo-tah!! The future’s looking bright!!
Now gotta wait for Spring camp.
Okay, back to lurking mode.
2:01
The still camera is working.
Coach Mac live on AM1420 now!
Tepa, Makaula, Nobriga, Keli’ikipi provided unwanted drama…
But, Toma to UH?
Could this be a pleasant surprise Warrior fans were waiting for but never got?
Chris Fetters, the Northwest recruiting analyst for Scout.com. Scout ranks Boise State’s class as the No. 1 class in the WAC, barely ahead of Hawaii.
But Hawaii has 11 more recruits.
“So star value and everything else, Boise State is really trumping the entire WAC,” Fetters said.
Fetters said RB Malcolm Johnson is his No. 2 running back in the Northwest and his No. 11 player overall in the region. Fetters said Johnson, whom he called “by far a Pac-10 caliber kid,” fell in love with Boise during summer camps here.
yippeeee kaiiaaaaa!!!
i am sooo sooo sooo happyyyyyy!!!!!
we scored. still gotta work on da oline though.
c’mon coaches, some help here please! 😀
But overall, a great job!!!
Go Warriors!!!!
Wea da video?
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/section/signingday
the link on the advertiser homepage isnt working……anyone else getting the live feed?
Mac says Billy Ray was the first in this class to commit.
IIRC Brother Craig was the first to commit his senior year, too. Back then, that was a huge leap of faith!
live feed not working
Live stream is acting like the blog.
Says he doesn’t want to be in that kind of QB situation like this past season again
Now the stream is showing the NLI video.
Radio is working fine for those that have one, as I said AM1420
Possibility of scholie for a punter is still there
See what happens when you cut operating expenses.
re #23 post…really now…if we charged admission and served food, the funds would come back to the organization who puts this all together, that works for these kids …not to UH (no offence but they have NaKoa, PIAA has Na Nothing)
i’m getting audio, but just a still pic of coach mack
Doris,
you got da tsaikos!
PIAA DS,
MAHALO! for all you do.
Outstanding results again!
Sorry, radio feed pau, got about 20 minutes of Coach Mac.
re # 46…maybe I did mispeak, havent heard a play back, but with less than 3 hours sleep and a really bright light in my eyes Im lucky I was still mentally functional.
Someone moved the camera.
Hey there Doris!
damn boise always got those skilled running backs, another Johnson too. saw somewhere that our recruiting ranks jumped 20 or 30 spots in one year, mack’s learning how to operate it here, can’t wait for next year too.
no worries Doris, you do a great job for all our boyz, the onez that go and the ones that stay. thank you plenty
re# 83..just because ‘we’ didnt hear about it? BYU would know because they reprobably spoke to Jray 2 seconds after he signed just like Coach Mack got the call from Aulola 2 seconds after he signed. Aulola called Mianos phone, Miano handed it to him and Mack had a huge smile on his face! Gave me a high five when I came in with a stack of NLI’s signed sealed and delivered.
Doris – great job assisting these kids get into college. Thanks also for recognizing the PIAA sponsors
Stretch – I see we are going to have a new batch of mother’s this Saturday.
homey – should be fun
Homey –
Do you really want to go there? I mean, Addahknowsports can take down a village with her arm and UHFan808 and I took all the guys out in the darts tournament!!
don’t forget, kkea will also rebroadcast bobby curran’s interview with colt from yesterday morning this afternoon at about 5 (i think), and then will go straight to murphy’s for a live broadcast fromt he celebration.
don’t quote me on those times though.
i’m sure they’ll be talking all about recruits the whole show though.
rob25, where was i for this darts tournament?
homey ℞:
maybe they are not really moms but sleeper dodgeball recruits….
i don’t think the live streaming camera can keep up with the speed of the video on the tv.
re: 166
Tomas offer was NOT pulled. He had the NLI in front of him, HE chose not to sign it. The coaches called my cell THREE times to see if the NLI had been faxed. Its not my place to tell them why not it was not faxed, thats Robys business, which I know every detail of and unless Roby decides to let the whole story out, it will stay his business.
And yes, he did have a Notre Dame NLI in hand. And they didnt have to buy Roby to get Manti as you seem to indicate UCLA did.
re# 181, there were two that signed financial aid agreements that started in the spring of the 2009-2010 season as ST indicates.
C_C,
Not sure why you didn’t show up…wait you might have been on the mainland already. We were unstoppable!! *High five to my darts partner!*
Now we gotta move on to another “sport,” dodgeball or billiards.
Rob25 – pfffft, so you and got lucky one night. Bring it on!
Welcome to the newest Warriors!
Now I gonna have to make time to check them out at Spring camp. I see a marketing opportunity coming up!
chawan – I don’t think the live streaming camera can keep up with movement.
curveball – If Esme is their leader then it’s a slam dunk for us.
Hey I just got back. Is the live stream over? I just see empty seats and people doing the herky jerky.
i wonder who’s operating the camera?
chawan – I don’t know who is operating the camera but the person keeps pressing the pause button.
i hear continuous audio.
don’t really get around to listening to 1420 in the mornings much but today had to for obvious reasons, was classic when BC had that ‘sc guy on and in the middle of the interview says breaking news MT to ND. ‘SC guy is silent, BC says thanx 4 ur time. ‘SC @ ND next year should be very interesting. too bad JD can’t get something w/ ND scheduled in the near future.
Well maybe we’ve already had a punter on the roster…
If Billy Ray is anything like his older brother he must have some mad punting skills! 😆
Will there be a replay of the press conference (from the beginning) available later on?
chawan – I think you need to see your ear doctor or a psychiatrist.
Owen-16,
I think a lot of UH fans would love a RE-MATCH with the Golden Domers.
.
.
.
.
.
Oh and having Manti on their team would be cool to see too…
homey,
which one first?
i would think they’d replay that video. they have this morning’s one available.
If Wade Keliikipi feels he needs to go to another school to grow-up and be independent or whateva at least he’s doing it with a scholie instead of his parents home equity line of credit or something. I wish him da best! I hope he follows through and gets his degree.
Press conference just finished.
I thought Pierce Burton signed with UH?
Oh well…
Burton signed with SJSU
advertiser main page has list of recruits? jon bon watts, wade keliikipi, pierce burton?? mistake i guess.
my bad, wrong page, time to sleep
audio is up on the site to relisten
ypo – yeah, I read that. Good size kid. At least UH gets to test him out in the years to come!
Recruiting ain’t over, excellent job so far coaches. Can’t wait to see what this recruiting class will develop into over the years.
Good Luck Bruddah Manti…Notre Dame is a great program and I know you will represent Hawaii well. Thank God you didn’t go to the PAC-10 at either USC or UCLA. I hate USC and although I like UCLA, Norm Chow can suck a fat one!
Up in Sacramento for the week, so maybe I should pay a visit to Pierce Burton at Rio Americano, previous HS I recruited at and see wassup LOL. Nah, frikk dat he no like be one Warrior, den fine beat it geek!!!
What is going on with JON BON WATTS………………
Lets not jump the gun on Toma. I was in the coaches meeting when it came up.
I appreciate all the support from the tsaikos. I just wish I had foot support, my feet are killing me – i havent worn heels in probably 2 years and duh, today, put them on. Bad idea. Over all the day went great but 3 fax machines went down and we were working off one to fax all the NLIs out (thus my carrying them to UH, was quicker than those fax machines) All the boys seemed very happy with their decisions and frankly thats what its all about. I had a row just for the UH signees and when they were introduced, I thought it was pretty cool to keep saying “University of Hawaii” time after time. Anyone have ESPNU? one of the coaches on the mainland called me and said “damn, you have a lot of players heading to UH” he saw the intros live. I hope the local stations do some re-runs tonight so I can see it. So much fun, so much work but in the end, the payoff is just awesome.
Did Manti give the heads up to Coach Carroll and Coach Neuheisel (as he did with the Stanford and BYU coaches?)
Bruddah Wade Keli’ikipi you know deep down you like be one Warrior…come dominate in Warrior Green instead of Ding Dong Duck Green! West need to knock some sense in your bruddah…ah c’mon!
curveball,
ST wrote on top that it would’ve been too hard with his family to come all the way out here from florida.
Okay, the obvious question: How well does this recruitc lass help with Hawai’i’s most pressing needs?
Thanks for all your hard work Doris…now go soak those feet! You deserve it!!
Pauoa Boy, don’t hold back tell us how you really feel. I miss seeing you on here. You busy getting ready for the big sandbox? When are you going?
PB,
as long as UH leaves the door open for them to come back if they want. give them a few long, cold winters without the surf, sun and Zippy’s and they might think about coming home. its happened before.
“recruit class” sorry 😳
I hope Toma plays for the home team
Great job Doris.
Hey 702WarriorNation (post #38) I didnt even see that article, thanks for putting it up. He said he would probably do a story – but I didnt know when. He said it would be for ESPN Magazine so this is nice to see online. Thanks for posting it so I could see it.
Whoa…wait a minute…I think that was midori7!!
@ Pauoa Boy #376
I thought he was a lock. Unfortunately, Oregon’s program is hard to turn down. Just look at what they have…the facilities, the Nike ties, the stadium, the atmosphere, etc. Shucks.
PIAA DS – I have ESPNU (find someone who has satellite TV). Will they be airing it again tonight or later? I’ll check when I get home, but it won’t be till around 7.
A big welcome to the Warrior ohana to all of today’s signees!!
Howzit Aunty Rob,
Yups busy doing shmall kine work-ups getting gear and stuffs ready to go. Plus all the training and stuffs no more much time to kick back at the moment. I been reading here and there but cannot keep up when no moa access to comp during the work ups. Anyway, supposed to leave in a few like Mayish…
bb – read it on espn i think but yup he did call the 2 other coaches, the only coach MT didn’t call was coach weis
Congratulations to all of the new Warriors!
Good luck to Jon Bon Watts. He had good intentions, but its understandable re: the hardship on him & his family.
Congrats Doris. Great work, as usual. You are always right (I mean that sincerely), but maybe one of these days one of us will get lucky and be right for once.
So, I couldn’t keep up with all the Toma news, how many offers is he sitting on right now? Is the UCLA offer still open? And ND now? And UH? And Bulla’s probably on the phone right now trying to get a Weber State offer put together?
What is your guess on how this turns out?
Beebler,
I get planny friends went Oregon, but all that is pointless. Eugene is kind of um lame…and why you like be known as one Duck in one ugly uniform for. Should be Oregon Ugly Ducklings! Sorry I just hatin cause I like Wade dominate in one Warrior Uniform! My friend Enoka Lucas played for the Ugly Ducklings but I wish he would’ve stayed home!
Rob25,
#385 – Well she is my sistah 🙂
Howzit Aunty Doris,
Long time no see…thank you for everything you do for our athletes! I too am glad you kept reading University of Hawaii committ!!!
to all the new recruits,
Welcome to the Warriors!
jm2375..it aired live, I dont know how or when they are doing repeats. If you see it let me know how it looked. Just curious on comments made about Hawaii athletes in general. Ill watch our local media who were all there for the boys, which was greatly appreciated!
Oh funny thing…a reporter for one of the USC websites came down. Says “Im here to take pics and do interviews with two of your signees” I said “well, one for sure and one that you’re hoping for” . Guess she was wrong.
400!+
@ Pauoa Boy #392
I’m a Oregon fan, they’re my second team haha. Eugene is lame but as far as football goes, it’s pretty top notch. I actually love their uniforms for the most part. Anyways, I do wish guys like Keliikipi and Lucas played for Hawaii, especially Lucas. Oh well, there’s always going to be the risk of losing these athletes to better programs. Hawaii’s gotta keep putting more into the program so it appeals to this generation that always has an eye out for better options.
eh chawan, maybe these guys are going away because Zippy’s changed their chicken!
and learned they put mayo in their chili
and salsa
Aaron – You mean the chicken I saw from Zippy’s with the back portion attached wasn’t a one time thing?
and peanut butter
If Zippy’s is going to be a big time UH supporter then they need to lower their prices, give way bigger portions, and stop talking on the food when it passes through the kitchen opening. Then there’s their Napolean branch…
Welcome to all the recruits and Mahalo for keeping your word & sticking with the Warriors! Because we lost so many games due to break-downs in the O-Line protection schemes and crappy punting performance (even with superb long-snapping), I’m hoping they address those weaknesses and we truly can have a “Pay-back” season!
I believe the more appropriate word is *wealthier* programs. 😉
“It feels good to be a Warrior,” said Zach Masch, a defensive tackle from Arizona Western (Junior) College. Masch turned down a football scholarship from UCLA.
He said is wearing a UH T-shirt today.
you just gotta love this…..
OT…Zippy’s changed their chicken? What reason do I have to go there ever again?
@ Kazz
haha “wealthier” is a nicer substitute, good call.
i don’t know how much of a chance they actually got, but if bryce brown can put off an early commitment to miami (fla) to think about committing to the ducks (KSU is also a possibility), then i guess i can understand WK’s thinking…don’t like it but can definitely see where’s he coming from
Jus Lrkn,
Ha! Been there! ….oh wait….Still there!
djmitcho,
I miss Hana Chicken and Chicken Alice’s…
I miss Hana Chicken and Chicken Alice’s…
howzit D1,
Hana Chicken, hmmmmm…..
btw – you can still get Chicken Alice’s chicken (wings only) but now more costly. Stretch knows where.
(throws a shaka to “Beebler”)
dey u go…
g-nalo,
Howzit.
Good to know.
aside from the waianae boy unexpectedly leaving.
no real surprises.
would have liked to keep him because i thought he was our best kept secret.
would have liked to keep jray galeai home too. i guess the last ditch visit by the byu coaches did the trick. oh well. i was hoping he could be another dual sport guy. we could have used him on the basketball court too.
great class all in all.
good job coaches!
thank you for all the updates today, ST
just saw this online:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/04/liberty-linebacker-accepts-walk–spot-hawaii/
Thank you and congratulations to everyone of our new Warriors! You will represent the State of Hawai’i on and off the field — do all of us proud!!!
Good luck to those that left. Hey, at least your family will remember you.
Congratulations to Mack and Co. for a job well done! Keep up the good work.
And, thank you to Doris S. and the gang at PIAA. Your good work and tireless efforts are appreciated by the players, their families and the Warrior faithful.
Bravissimo, all!
Did anyone go to the function with Colt and Bess last night? Any reports?
Welcome to all the new Warriors! All I have to say is this: 🙂
al: Looks like our dream to get Chris Dalman ain’t happening.
http://www.montereyherald.com/sports/ci_11624485
So, today’s also the day for new season ticket deposits. And now that I won’t be eligible for student tickets anymore, I have to get my tickets like everyone else. I have a question, though: Can you make a deposit at the Stan Sheriff Center box office? (Cause they don’t take Discover online [or at the SSC].)
wafan: Check your e-mail, please.
jason….darn it.
tomboahi….good find!
lizk….did you hear colt’s interview? he’s available these days.
Thank you, wafan.
al: I know, yeah? But you can’t fault a guy for wanting to be with his family. And there’s something about coaching/working for your alma mater. I hope to be doing that in a few months … 😀
Looks like quite a fruitful signing day! We’re not gonna be lacking QBs, that’s for sure.
About Keliikipi: Let’s not forget, he’s just a high school kid, and even if Hawaii was a USC-type of football power, people born here tend to like to “get off this rock” after graduation. I wish him well.
I find it interesting that Te’o decided to go to Notre Dame, but that’s mostly because I’m not really sure just how good a coach Charlie Weis is (or how long he has to put up or pack up). Wish him the best also.
Is Mack’s talk about the signees on-line anywhere? I missed it. I was reading to catch up with the blog and by the time I read where it was coming on it was finished. Oh well.
Solid recruiting class! Who do you think will rise as a star out of this class? My pick is walk-on Sage Nua who if he can work hard on his speed has all the potential to be another hard hitting strong safety like Oregon St Al Afalava.
who’s your pick?
Should be here: http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/section/signingday
As Tombo Ahi helpfully pointed out, you have to unmute the video.
ST coach Mack said he knows who his hires will be. Any idea????
Tombo Ahi,
LOL, I posted about Sage then scrolled up and read your post. 🙂 I live in Vegas and have seen this kid play. He is going to be a great one for the Warriors. Kudos to Tuioti.
Dear Kamalani Alo, T.J. Alofipo, Kalanai Brackenridge, Rodney Bradley, Aaron Brown, George Daily-Lyles, Lametrius Davis, Chizzy Dimude, David Graves, Alex Green, David Hafoka, Tank Hopkins, Joey Iosefa, Brett Leonard, Chad Lopati, John Lister, Jordan Loeffler, Benson Ma‘afala, Marcus Malepeai, Veni Manu, Zach Masch, Corey Nielsen, Deondre Powell, Cayman Shutter, Destin Stewart, Billy Ray Stutzmann, Aulola Tonga, Michael Wadsworth, and Chauncy Winchester-Makainai,
On behalf of Warrior fans and boosters I would like to thank all of you for believing in the cause.
At one point or another some, if not all, of you have “second-guessed” your decisions prior to sending Coach McMackin your letters of intent and we do not blame you. For the mainland kids, we UNDERSTAND that Hawaii is far from home and far away from your “comfort zone”, but you have shown the Warrior fans that you are fearless and are young men of your word.
For our local boys staying home, words cannot express the respect you have earned from Warrior Football fans across the state. The University of Hawaii may not have the amenities other programs have as a result of wealthy donors, but what UH can offer is a taste of the local life you were raised in. The values of “ohana” will never leave you as you have decided to stay home and DEFEND IT!!! In this, you will have a place in UH football history as kama’aina.
I, and the thousands of fans, can only promise you all that we will be there for every home game, cheering for all road challenges, and supporting you all spiritually and financially as you embark on a new chapter of your young lives. In the end, there is no way to know who will remain Warriors and who will make LARGE impacts on the program itself, but please understand that each time a young man or woman commit to the University of Hawaii, you are committing to a community of people that remain unique from the rest of the country in the fact that you bear the name of a people, of a belief, and a family on your chest.
Hawaii athletics has it’s OWN traditions. Some of them may not be steeped in National Championship lore, but ALL of our traditions carry the spirit of a nation that is unified by the belief that anything is possible if we are able to unite as ONE.
“Pupukahi I holomua” has been translated as “united to move forward”. I have heard this phrase before and I have seen the intention for this phrase to be carried out for those that embrace it. At the same time I have seen this mantra fail. With each passing recruiting class and each passing football season, this message of uniting as “one” will be tested and judged by wins on the field and the ability of young people in Hawaii and across the country to want to come to Hawaii and support this cause.
You all have now added your name to the list of hundreds of Warriors that came before you.
What you do with the opportunity and responsibility given to you on this day is all up to you.
Malama pono,
Kevin
Pearl City, HI
Aaron, homey,
yes, that’s not the Zippy’s chicken i’ve come to get fat off of over the years.
d1,
Chicken Alice’s…thats something I haven’t heard in awhile.
Is Chicken Alice still there???
Doris,
yr #384 – great story and you do a great job for the youth of HI!
Continued success especially calling out the long list of local high school recruits becoming WARRIORS.
Can’t wait for your next years shout out!
Advertiser Staff
Punahou School senior receiver Robby Toma delayed signing his National Letter of Intent to play football for UCLA today, saying he now is also weighing late offers from Notre Dame and Hawai’i.
BowsForever . . .
Thank you for the link from Tombo!
Kazz . . .
Hip! Hip! Huzzah!!!
Manti Teo is a traitor and is over rated We dont need him
Zippy’s coraling the loosa chickens from the fights o wat? Wat going on? Wen taste ok da last time.
Anyhoo, this class of 2009 is getting me excited. Look like some can step right in and help.
The QB situation is going to be a good one. You guys better get on the program because the young ones coming after da position.
Anybody invite Colt, Davon to the KK?
edline…take it easy..no need fo dat. The kid is a great kid with a good head on his neck. He is going represent Hawaii real good. I tink most parents would want a kid like him.
edline,
Why is Manti Te’o a traitor? Overrated? I don’t think so.
Ok.. that’s a bit much, but that’s your opinion.
The kid wanted to challenge himself and take himself out of his “comfort zone” and by going to South Bend he did.
Seriously speaking though, with our corps of linebackers, Coach Lee, and Coach Mack running our defense, we’ll have success without him.
Good one Kevin…
New goal for Mack and Co, and Doris . . .
Next year, when the young men and women of Hawai’i are introduced at the LOI ceremony only the University of Hawai’i is announced as the school of choice.
Sounds good to me!
Hey!
Let’s welcome USC Head Football Honcho Pete “park you car in a recruit’s driveway and call him on his cell phone to have a conversation to avoid violating an NCAA regulation with recruits in person during a dead period” Carroll to the Warrior Beat Blog!!!
One ting about all da kids today. Dey all good hs and jc players. now dey all gotta step up a notch and be all dey can at da D! level. Das why some going be deya at da senior walk snd some might not. One sta, two sta, five sta, no matta right now. Come spring ball, da main game start. Warriors going be ok an in two years even betta.
Imua Warriors!
well done coach mc and his staff. you know your needs better than any of us and it looks like you did address them with this recruiting class. this is the first class of recruits that you and your staff had time to evaluate and the results show that future recruiting by the warriors will be something to reckon with. now we get the show on the road to the 2009 season and make believers out of the non believers.
did JJ ever talk about players like this? we know he rarely did home visits. i think he had the NFL philosophy of coaching. he was never was a college coach. he didn’t get the whole college environment. bless him for what he did for our program and thanks for the groundwork he laid for us to grow upon.
JJ knew talent when he saw it.
jon bon, thanks for making UH your no 1 school, but your family comes first. very difficult decision, but thanks for keeping the warriors abreast of your decision. do well in your future endeavors and who knows, one of your kids may end up at UH in the future.
Kazz,
That was a heck of a speach, outstanding. Almost made me want to put on helmet and pads myself.
After tracking recruiting all day, I didn’t think I would come on here tonight and read someone bashing Manti. Give me a break. He and his family can hold their heads high as to how they went about the entire recruiting process, start to finish. Manti has a higher calling, and with that comes a ton of responsibility, and it would kill us to either be supportive or say nothing. Yes we would have liked him to play for UH, but every school can say that. You’ll be hearing about him a lot in the future, and I’ll bet you’d be happier if you could look back to this day when you wished him luck instead of bashing him. He’s been a class act. Walk a mile in his shoes and you’d find it ain’t easy.
Again, my congratulations to Coach Mack and his staff for the excellent work with the 2009 recruiting class.
This certainly sets the “standard” against which all future classes will be tested and, of course, places the heavy burden on the coaching staff of getting better athlethes to commit to UH.
Yes, some will decide to go away and that’s a fact of life. However, there are many who want to play for the Warriors and will have their opportunity to do so. And, there will be many more to come as Coach Mack and his staff continue to improve the quality of play year after year.
It will also take the Legislature and general public’s help to improve facilities for all sports which may propell UH into even higher limits for other sports. Take the improvement in the tennis and golf teams, soccer and softball, swimming and diving, and sailing.
Many may have missed the announcement that the UH men’s tennis team won the WAC championship last year and they have better players this year. Men’s and women’s golf teams have better players this year also. Who knows, maybe the future local “stars” will decide to play for UH rather than elsewhere on the mainland.
With Jim Donovan, the coaches, and players, they have the opportunity to break new ground in all sports and make UH the school of choice for athletics and academics. Mr Donovan has the entire Pacific Basin as a source of many talented individuals.
It will take time, but always, Hawaii no ka oi!!!
Toma, think seriously about playing for the home team. It may not have been your first choice, but you would be a good fit in this system. You are much better suited for the WAC than PAC-10 play or the typical opponents which Notre Dame schedules. Don’t get caught up in the recruiting hoopla. Pick a place where you can excel. You will be surrounded by people that can help you really mature as a student athlete, and have a lot of fun doing it, with a statewide audience rooting for you. Good luck to you in your decision.
LOI signing day:
Is the “day and time” based on the local time to put pen to paper?
If so, a player commiting from the East Coast or Europe or the Far East or Middle East, can really submit their LOI well before Hawaii’s designated LOI day. Far East is always a day ahead of Hawaii and it’s 12 hours time difference to England.
I like Manti. He never led UH on. He had a plan and stuck to it. I wish him the best.
I would have been mad if he had tied up a scholie then dumped UH at the last minute.
tonight’s news
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBTs_sDK-aw
might be more depending on what is shown at 9 and 10
For some students esp the privates ones, a unique academic environment from schools rich in academic opportunities plays more of an important when mulling over a choice on who to play football for
If anyone’s interested, ESPNU is supposed to be showing the replay of Manti’s signing shortly after 8 pm.
LOST time!
http://www.sportshawaii.com/sh/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30424&p=365620#p365620
THE Princess comes through once again!
links to all of the HA’s video coverage of today’s UH press conference.
Like i said before, recruiting is just getting better and better the past two years that Coach Mac has been here. We can’t take everybody, but just the list of recruits that the warriors is getting is just remarkable. Again, Good Job to coach Mac and staff. Alright warriors, let’s get ready for spring football.
GO WARRIORS!
Evening Tsai-kos!!
Congrats to Coach Mac and staff and PIAA DS for a job well done!!
Kazz – great speech. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
NSF sounds like he’s channeling bhf2! 😀
# postmanke:
February 4th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
For some students esp the privates ones, a unique academic environment from schools rich in academic opportunities plays more of an important when mulling over a choice on who to play football for
I believe the recruiting study released last year put an end to this myth.
# labrat:
February 4th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
JJ knew talent when he saw it.
Problem is knowing talent is not enough.
Good job Coach Mack and staff. I am pleased as punch with the men who are now part of Warrior Nation! Super great, just super!
PIAA DORIS SULLIVAN
on behalf of the families and players, Tsaikos and all of us in Warrior Nation, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
chawan_cut,
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU..
ST,
great job again, oh fearless leader!
Tsaikos and the 2009 Warrior recruit class,
I know some of you are giving super hypes to some of the new Warriors. and every one of them has burning accolades to back up their stuff. my personal favorite is Tombo Ahi’s info on the Nua kid.
I really am pulling for all of us, Warriors and Warrior Nation. Go get em, gang! work hard. exceed your expectations of yourselves. make yourselves really proud of yourselves. We are very proud that you chose to be one of us.
Go Warriors
where’d everybody go? everybody’s tired from all of today’s excitement? 😀
no need thank me
thank all the real reporters out there from all walks of media for doing the hard work. they got you the stuff running around all day.
Thanks for all the nice comments everyone, very much appreciated.
A-House…am I missing something? are we recruiting from Afganistan or Dubai or someting?
Toma update:
Late this afternoon UCLA flipped WR Randall Carroll, a USC commit. That may factor into Toma’s decision as well.
For the record, I called Midori7 to tell her that Colt would be at UH at 4:30 today. She said she had to work.
Good employee, bad fan.
Doris ~ Thank you for all that you do to promote our student athletes!
I know the parents appreciate your help in negotiating the maze of requirements in order for them to get their sons and daughters in a good program.
They know that it can’t always be at UH, but rather the school that best fits their needs scholastically or in the sport of their choice. You are the best at matching up their needs.
Please send me a list of the supplies you have exhausted in preparing this years recruiting class so that we can help you replace them. In these tough economic times, we have to take a running start at next years LOI day.
It’s okay to include a big box of Epsom salt to mix in a tub of warm water to soak your those tootsies in! Hehehe…
Your tootsies of course!
What’s most important is that Te’o does right by himself, his family, and his state. I’d wish him (equally) well whether he stayed here, didn’t stay here, heck, even if he had verbaled to UH and “reneged” at the last minute (of course I’d have been really disappointed). These recruits are just high school kids, after all.
fyi
three recruits’ video is not shown, lopati, iosefa, and alo.
*tiptoe-ing in … *
Hey, gang! Hi, ST!
I didn’t want to interrupt the conversation here too much, but just wanted to say hi and that I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of you at the KK on Sat.
OK, back to the big news of the day — the recruits! Woot!
tappity/whooooosh :mrgreen*
Ai-ya, typed that wrong. Try again:
P.S. homey, just because I’m not here as much these days, you thought I wouldn’t see that dig about me being the moms’ leader in dodgeball, eh? Eh? *rubs hands, plotting revenge*
😆
Hi Esme!!!
When we gonna have that supersoaker fight in the clubhouse?
Hi Esme!
Have you considered uniforms for your dodge ball team yet? May I suggest the latest hot color of the season as inspired by the USMC’s super trooper? Pauoa Boy calls it, Ding Dong Duckie Green!
jm2375 ~ No Supersoakah fights this weekend. Clubhouse is closed for new tile installation.
Howzit Everybody,
It has been a very crazy day but all in all a very good day for UH football. I am very excited with the class that we have put together and look forward to some of them making a very big impact going into next season.
To all the boys, continue to work hard and I will say this, anything less than a wac championship will be unacceptable. This is the mind frame all of you have to have going into the season, but until then work your butts off and look forward to spring ball.
One question did Preston King sign his letter of intent to anybody today?
i think king signed with sdsu
oh and one more, how about the Smith kid out of Farrington High School.
Now I think I’m going to start to get excited!! Way to go Mac en gang. Now it’s time for Mel en his crew to step up en git these guys in da best shape of their lives!!!! Work’em till dey drop den work’em some more. Den after dat, coaches teach, teach, teach.
I have a feeling just like FLTed, dis is goin be one super team.
Whew! A good morning to all!!!
Good morning Tsaikos everywhere.
was reading about all the recruits. in one spot. gotta go to da middle.
http://kgmb9.com/main/content/blogcategory/25/76/
really great job Coach Mack. visiting every single one of the recruit’s homes, huh? great job to you and your staff.
YEAHHHH COACH McMACKIN!!!
like coach said, don’t like to classify this as a great class, yada yada, gotta see what they each do between the white lines.
but this class is a GREAT start. the new Warriors are a class bunch of guyz. they’ll be playing for us, Warrior Nation. and we got some GREAT talent in the group. gives me hope, and I can honestly wish those that chose to go elsewhere, good luck to you. i gettin my season tickets for C, Row 3, seat 1. right there, where i belong…
Go Warriors.
About the proposed (?) dodgeball game between the Tsai-kos and the Moms. I do not think it will be a very fair game. If all of the male Tsai-kos were on one side of the court there could be several scenarios.
1. The court/building could tip leading to injuries of the imbibing arm (at least the Moms would have something soft on which to fall);
2. There would not be much space for the Tsai-kos to move around to “dodge” the balls the Moms throw;
3. Will there be sufficient EMT’s and other aid services available;
4. I cannot see a Tsai-ko intentionally beaning a Mom with a ball;
5. Is there a sufficient number of full oxygen tanks in Hawai’i;
6. Each of the Moms must be CPR/1st Aid certified by the Red Cross; and,
7. If there are adult refreshments prior to the game is it really Staggerball rather than Dodgeball?
And number 8.
The Moms must roll the ball underhand to give the Tsai-ko males time to attempt to dodge or stagger from the ball — no fair aiming at the passed out Tsai-kos lying on the floor!!!.
wafan,
first you gotta have warmups before you can bean a mom.
gotta study videos. go to honolulu advertiser and check these out.
Warrior recruits video: Wide receivers (12:28 a.m.)
Warrior recruits video: Running backs (12:27 a.m.)
Warrior recruits video: Quarterbacks (12:27 a.m.)
Warrior recruits video: Offensive line (12:26 a.m.)
Warrior recruits video: Linebackers (12:25 a.m.)
Warrior recruits video: Defensive line (12:24 a.m.)
super great job, Mr. Tuioti!
Wafan ~ Are you a wannabe WAC official? The Tsaikettes would *roast* you in your 1st outing! Instead of Dodge Ball, you would be dodging slippahs…lead ones!
Top of the mornin’ to ya bhf número dos!
Remember the 40 yard low crawl for time under a web of barb wire strung 18 inches off the ground? Wouldn’t that be a lovely finish after their early morning 2 mile run up and over Kole Kole Pass?
Once the coaches had their complete attention, they could complete the rest of their grass drills with a little more enthusiasim! Maybe finish it with an ocean swim across Pokai Bay, and then paddle back to the start…losers run sprints.
It’s all about bonding and seeing what your team members have in their reserve tank. May not be as much fun as dodge ball, but then…this is not PE football is it?
~~~•~~~~•~~Good..Morning..Tsaikos..and..Warrior..Nation!!!~~•~~~~•~~~
Congratulations to all the new Warriors!!! And big mahalos to ST & coworkers, Doris, and all my Tsaiko pals for the great coverage of NLI and the student athletes!
And a quick shout-out to 702WarriorNation –
~~•~~~~•~ 😀 😯 🙄 Happy Birthday 702!!! 🙄 😯 😀 ~•~~~~•~~
Shall we make it 500 this AM?
We SHALL make it 500 this AM!
Checking Scouts.com I came up with the lists of recruits who turned down other schools in favor of Hawaii.
I think the lists of schools would be much more higher for these recruits and even others if it wasn’t for the integrity of some coaches and programs not targeting our recruits.
In the last few weeks I learned more about what “targeting our recruits means”.
It simply means that other programs would provoke and initiate the recruiting process onto our recruit. Usually the word we hear is called poaching.
What I hear is that a lot of programs seeing that we had cemented a verbal commit would lay off our recruit.(This is very honorable- I read where SMU and UH fall in this category) Yet it is understandable if the recruit had initiated the contact and opened the door to be recruited by another program. This , to me, is not the fault of the other program. But on the onus of the recruit.
The correlation I see when checking Scouts.com is that almost all of our recruits, once they had verballed, didn’t take recruiting trips to other schools. The ones that had committed to UH and then visited other schools-turned out to leave for another school.
Looking at where some of these high schoolers could have played in the PAC-10 and then instead opted to play for UH shows a lot of where their hearts are at.
I join others who have enthusiastically wrote about how excited they are in welcoming the new recruits. For I subscribed to everything Coach Mack said in his first press conference, the day he was introduced as the new coach, “we are going to be a perennial contender for the WAC title, a top 25 program and our student athletes will do well in school”. I believe this.
For this realization to manifest it takes a lot of team work. And I can see this happening.The fruits of lot of people’s labor– from the high school football programs, football camps, speed and quickness camps, combines and all to all the work PIAA and Doris does helping in bringing out he best in our athletes. And I’m happy especially for the athletes that have chosen UH in keeping this flame burning of Hawaii wanting to be the best. And the UH football team wanting to be the best.For I believe in this. And I hunger for this to happen.
For the recruits coming in embarking on this trail… it’s so easy to follow the path of others. But it’s not as easy as to go where no one has gone before. That said, you’ll have to strive to go higher where no one has gone before . This is my wish.
• Billy Ray Stutzmann, wideout Ranked 107 at his position
Hawaii Signed
Colorado, Michigan State, Oregon State, Washington, WashingtonState
• Corey Nielsen, quarterback Ranked 60 at his position
Hawaii Signed
Arizona
• T.J. Alofipo, linebacker Ranked 50 at his position
Hawaii Signed
Colorado State, San Diego State, UNLV
• Deondre Powell, slotback
Hawaii Signed
Arizona
• George Daily-Lyles, linebacker Ranked 62 at his position
Hawaii Signed
Arizona
• Michael Wadsworth, safety
Hawaii Signed
Arizona
• Chad Lopati, linebacker Ranked 48 at his position
Hawaii Signed
Hawaii ,Baylor ,California ,Colorado ,Oregon, Oregon State ,Washington
• Zach Masch, defensive tackle
Hawaii Signed
Idaho ,Louisiana , Nevada
• Cayman Shutter, quarterback ranked 61 at his position
Hawaii Signed
New Mexico
• Benson Ma‘afala, offensive tackle ranked 61
Hawaii signed
California ,Washington
• Chizzy Dimude, running back
Hawaii Signed
Colorado State
• David Hafoka, defensive tackle
Hawaii Signed
Arizona ,Utah
• Brett Leonard, offensive tackle
Hawaii Signed
California ,Kansas ,Marshall
• David Graves, quarterback
Hawaii Signed
Nevada
• Destin Stewart, wideout
Hawaii Signed
Kansas State ,Toledo ,Wyoming
• Aulola Tonga, safety
Hawaii Signed
BYU ,UCLA
• Alex Green, running back
Hawaii Signed
Liberty
• Kalanai Brackenridge, cornerback
Hawaii Signed
Idaho, Wyoming
• John Lister, running back
Hawaii signed
Nevada ,UNLV
Great Morning All!
Now that the list of incoming players is set, the next step is to formulate the training regimen….
http://tinyurl.com/b27fsl
Happy Birthday 702WN!
Good morning Tsai-kos!!
Are we all hung over from yesterday’s great news? 😀
Kekoa -#483 – so will the tile be green and black? 😀
wafan – #492-3 – 😀
d1 – #502
of course, there’s always 1) the HURT 20 mile loop in the forest and 2) Wilhemina Rise.
oh yeah, Happy Birthday 702WN!!
Well, it’s the Day After NLI. All those Seniors need to get back to their campii and make-up the work they missed yesterday! No can put the academics in jeopardy now! Might as well start making a habit of finishing strong!
For many of us, it’s just one more day ’til Friday!
HiHo….
when its all said and done–if all who signed–make it to Manoa, this recruiting class marks a cornerstone in UH recruiting.
Unlike other years, recruiting was organized, nearly all of the staff contributed–good to see our coaches on the road–especially George Lumpkin…and kudos to MAC, on a job well done.
As far as Tony T goes–can we expect to see Mr T as a UH coach soon?
Gotta B.
when its all said and done–if all who signed–make it to Manoa, this recruiting class marks a cornerstone in UH recruiting.
Unlike other years, recruiting was organized, nearly all of the staff contributed–good to see our coaches on the road–especially George Lumpkin…and kudos to MAC, on a job well done.
As far as Tony T goes–can we expect to see Mr T as a UH coach soon?
Gotta B.
702 Warrior Nation, let me be among the first to wish you a Happy Birthday. This is your lucky day, so go out to Wynn and win.
Good morning Tsaikos. what a coaster ride for lots of the tsaikos. we now back at the starting point for 2010 recruiting. Congratulations and thank you to this year’s class and may your career with the warriors be one of fun and accomplishments. College life at UH will be one of the highlights in your life.
kekoa
good morning friend. great great news,huh!
d1
where do you find this stuff? 😀
got sore just watchin it.
i say for the line guyz the ab slide roller
is the way to go. 4 minutes non stop,
FULL STRETCH, to the floor with the stomach.
okay, call me a panty. 😆
kekoa
good morning friend. great great news,huh!
d1
where do you find this stuff? 😀
got sore just watchin it.
i say for the line guyz the ab slide roller
is the way to go. 4 minutes non stop,
FULL STRETCH, to the floor with the stomach.
okay, call me a panty. 😆
how’d that happen 2x?
Happy birfday 702WarriorNation!
good morning bhf2, you doing excercises????? no strain yourself
some of us were a little edgy coming to the LOI day, wondering if any of our recruits were gonna cut and run.
Warriors NEVER cut and run!
Great job coaches, all of you, for bringin da bacon from Cali, Oky, Las Wages, Ore and Hawaii preps and JUCOs.
Next step, remind the cutes ah da story of the 14 baby pigs and 1 mudda pig wit 12 nipples
and da moral ah da story 😀
you gotta fight for your nipple!
Go Warriors!
that is one big mudda pig. hahahahahaaaa
or like the lady who gave birth to 8 babies and get only 2 nip
got to get ready to go to breakfast of champions, then big game at gc. all fired up, going kick some arse. hooooooo haaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!
Happy Birthday 702WarriorNation!
whitey
howzit howzit
so you coming or you stay going
KK Sat nite? I coming tomorrow,
lurk your Hnl hideawayz
tomorrow nite after I tuck my cuz in 😀
practice singing 😆 somewherez incl
Shinsho Tei, then Sat am hang out
Chinatown, go look at the field turf 😀
think of all the possibilities when we put
our MIND to it. gotta go work. i not retired yet…. 😀
GO WARRIORS!
d1, jm2375
Mahalo….. another day in the life that seems to be going faster than I used to run. Can’t ask for better gift than yesterday’s signings but now down to work and get the talent to work as team Warrior. Shhh don’t tell the boss I said that.
So, when do we know who are the new coaches?
by the way d1-
the tinyurl link you posted above, I got a Zonealarm warning
that it’s known as a site for ‘spyware’.
Might be prudent to run a scan on your pc for spyware presence.
roysan16,
I really think that you need to put behind the fantasy of integrity in recruiting, even at UH. UH was able to convince quite a number of recruits (or poach, as you say) that had committed to other schools.
As ST mentioned in his article yesterday, UH went *hard* after Jray even though he had committed to BYU 2 years ago. UH brought him in for a recruiting visit while he was committed to BYU. UH was fighting to get him and ST said that his decision was 50-50 as recently as a day or two ago. All of that occurred even though Jray had never taken back his commitment to BYU, if we go by what was reported.
If UH can target someone what was committed for 2 years to another school, how can its fans claim some type of purity in their recruiting process? Mac and the UH coaches understand how the recruiting business works, which is why they are so effective. I think that some fans either haven’t seen this trend occurring for decades…or they have a double standard, because I’ve seen UH fans openly hope that UH is able to poach other team’s commits while complaining that other teams try to poach UH’s commits.
Okay so recruiting is done. Now, who’s our new coaches?
Garret, would you feel any differently if at the time Jray gave a verbal to BYU 2 years ago he said “but I definitely want to take a recruiting trip to UH before I sign,” and he didn’t arrange his trip until shortly before his signing day, and he came out and said the UH trip was the best one he had. Based on what he was telling us, what should we have done differently? Not offered? Refuse to let him trip despite his desire to see the campus?
As much as most if not all of us would have loved to see Mantai in a UH uniform, I for one believe that the choice to go to ND was the absolute right choice. His solid foundation from what appears to be a very close and supportive family is the essence of the midwest. Having been there, I will tell you that the folks in that state are kind, warm and very doww to earth, much like what we’ve seen in this young man.
He will get a very good education and as he says, he is going to contribute to the commencement of a new winning tradition of a once storied program.
Not taking anything away from the other two contenders, I do believe Manti would not have had the experience he was looking for if he had gone elsewhere.
Good luck and above all enjoy your college life.
As for UH, I am absolutely overjoyed that these young men made the choice to help re-build a powerhouse in the WAC. I am truly happy to see so many polynesians in the mix. These young men have tremendous competitive hearts and are going to be the nucleus of what will be a very good team.
Gentlemen, represent well, swagger does not come after a brilliant play, it comes all of the time when you make the decision to deliver the best you can be. Swagger will come as others talk about you, fear playing against you and respect your intensity and respect for the game, your teammates and the institution you represent. You will not need to draw attention to yourself with displays of chest thumping, throat slashing or other unnecessary gestures. Rather, attention will be drawn to you because every big hit, every spectacular catch, every accurate throw, every amazing pancake, every sack, would be your normal, everyday display of talent.
Garret,
Thanks…. hope your papers completed and submitted with positive results.
Back later, gotta start getting backyard ready for desert spring/summer.
garret
Zero comprehension .
your rebuttal is disparagingly cutting towards me and maybe coach mack if what you say is true
There’s a huge difference in other team’s recruits who came to UH
They came on their own volition
They open the door and initiated the recruiting process
We didn’t recruit them or poach as garret said
as far as jray how do you know he wasn’t the one who initiated the recruiting process
whats acceptable and i said this above is that if the recruit who has committed to another program yet looks at another program at his own behest then thats ok. The onus is on him.(not coach Mack as garret said) this is not hard to understand.
“I wanted to make a difference, and Notre Dame is on the way up,” said Te’o, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound all-around athlete, honor student and Eagle Scout. “I want to help build a dynasty, instead of just joining one. That was a big pull for me.”
Teo could’ve made the biggest difference playing for the Warriors, UH and the State of Hawaii. When you go away, you are respected, but when you stay, you are truly enjoyed and loved. Best of Irish luck to him and all the local athletes that go away, but the real heroes are the ones that stay. IMHO.
Haka, I agree that Manti’s impact would have been great right here, but he can’t do it alone, and Hasiak and Wade and many others all were eager to leave the rock. Their loss — Hawaii is a good program, and good things are going to happen right here, and they’ll miss all of that.
Pride,
Good call. It will be very interesting and important to see who will step in to coach.
What if some player was first approached by a Mainland team and we made a offer to that player afterwards? What if the player was first offered a scholarship and we made a subsequent offer?
Is this considered “poaching”?
It’s a great day in our state when so many kids are offered D1 schollies.
Good luck to those who are leaving. Mant Te’o and the others will represent well on the mainland.
Welcome aboard to all the excellent athletes who signed with Hawaii. Work hard, play hard and it will come to you. Thanks for choosing to represent us. 🙂
Like Pride sez, now, who are the new coaches?
“When you go away, you are respected, but when you stay, you are truly enjoyed and loved.”
Like the majority of my community, I am tired of hearing this b.s. Want an example? Look at how this community treated Funaki, the name calling that went on, the declarations made by many who post here that Funaki can’t play QB, that he is better suited to sitting on the bench or playing slot. This is an example of how local players who opt to play for UH are “enjoyed and loved” by the fans?
Am very happy and proud of Manti Teo. He made an excellent decision. Go Teo!!!
Good Morning Lava,
I believe that one day, the best football player in Hawaii will decide that he wants to stop the bleeding exodus trail of top local athletes to mainland schools and say to the other athletes that if you believe, you don’t have to go away to make your dreams come true. I agree with you wholeheartedly that one can be balanced with many. That’s a team. That’s the importance of chemistry.
Go Warriors!
8) morning tsai-ko’s hows everyone doing? sun on the wessai looking good but not so for the eastsai peeps.
waiting to see what oddah players might make last minute commits to UH. supa pick up is the Nua guy wonda how he slipped under the radar?
kudo’s to coaches for working hard to keep homeboys and getting others to become warriors. will give my comments latter.
good to hear many of the pro bowlers giving positive 😀 comments about having the pro bowl staying in Hawaii. many of them want to come here and play as opposed to da commish 👿 idea of moving it back to the mainland…..wonder if he related to HF ❓ .
be back latter.
Uce2,
It is obvious that you have a personal issue with Inoke’s situation and you make that b.s. yourself.
Here’s a good one for you, lava. Why don’t you tell everyone next that the earth is flat and that the center of the universe is Manoa, Hawaii. That’s a good one. I’m sure the simple minded people who accept your commentary as sound will swallow that one easily.
Here’s a good one for you, haka. Why don’t you tell everyone next that the earth is flat and that the center of the universe is Manoa, Hawaii. That’s a good one. I’m sure the simple minded people who accept your commentary as sound will swallow that one easily.
sorry lava. comment was meant for haka.
Garret, I’ve thought more about your post, and I just think you are dead wrong. The UH coaches showed integrity throughout. I can’t think of a single instance that can be likened to what some of the mainland coaches did with local recruits. Players initiated contact with our coaches, not vice versa, and communicated their uncertainty about their college choice and a possible change of heart from whatever school they had been leaning toward attending. There were always a set of circumstances, and a lot of times we are not privy to the facts because the coaches can not comment.
On the other hand, the local guys that were swayed to go away tell the same story of how the mainland school reentered the picture unexpectedly, and made a strong push at the end, complete with coaches coming here and tripping the kid back to the school. UH never did any of that. They got Wade so confused they have him thinking he needs to go away to become a man. lol
Uce2, ok. By the way, I love Inoke. When I first heard JJ offered him a scholarship, I thought it was simply to repair relations with Kahuku, but when I saw the practices, I came away very impressed with Inoke. He is one of my favorites. He has a great arm, and a strong arm, and he’s very mobile. I think he might be better suited for some other offenses, but I’m glad he’s a Warrior and I’m anxious to see how we use his talents next year.
And for character, I don’t know if people appreciate how much time Inoke put in with Alexander and Rausch and others over the summer. He’s just a great team player.
I’m sure all the qbs last year were frustrated. There were some major growing pains. I didn’t hear any of the qbs complaining about unfair treatment. I don’t think Inoke was treated unfairly, but if he was, I’m SURE his skin color had nothing to do with it.
the troll is here again. get a life!
thanks for announcing your presence, jm2375.
Lava, since you have chosen to become involved, Mr. Helper Man, here is my reply.
It had nothing to do with Funaki’s skin color or tone. Never said it did. Will, however, maintain the same position I have taken all along. Since you do not know what that position is at this point, you likely will never know what my position is no matter how many times I explain it to you.
I understand from reading your post that you do not seem to understand this, and this is okay. My position is easily misunderstood by people like yourself. This is not your fault. The fault more likely lies with the schools you attended or your not having applied yourself more diligently to your studies.
It’s all good, though. Better for you to stick to watching lava as it flows to the sea.
“Please let me play”
Is that what I supposed to say to get these tickets? Man, if only I knew where he hid those tickets!
“Please let me play”
Is that what I supposed to say to get these tickets? Man, if only I knew where he hid those tickets!
PLEASE, LET ME PLAY
PLEASE LET ME PLAY
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