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Dec 24th
The offensive line was the Hawaii football team's most stable and consistently effective unit most of the past season. But late-season injuries to center Lui Fuata, left guard Shayne Kajioka and left tackle Wayne Hunter -- all starters -- disrupted that continuity.
Kajioka has returned from a strained knee. But Fuata is out with a torn ACL. That, combined with Hunter's lower back spasms, could cause major changes in the Warriors offensive front five for tomorrow's ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl game against Tulane.
Hunter practiced yesterday, splitting time with Uriah Moenoa (normally the starting right tackle). Moenoa has also worked out at center, where freshman Derek Faavi started the last two games. Sophomore Ryan Santos has taken most of the reps this week at right tackle, and might start.
UH offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh and head coach June Jones declined yesterday to say who would start where.
"Those are going to be game-time decisions," Cavanaugh said.
Senior guard and team captain Vince Manuwai said on Sunday he thinks Santos will start at right tackle.
"He will definitely get some playing time," Jones said earlier in the week.
Santos went into last spring as the projected starter at right tackle, with Moenoa at center and Fuata at left guard. But Kajioka performed so well at left guard that Santos ended up being left out of the starting lineup and did not play much during the season.
"I'm glad I'm getting another opportunity," he said.
With the same five starters -- Hunter, Kajioka, Fuata, Manuwai and Moenoa -- in the first 11 games, UH allowed only 12 sacks. But Alabama and San Diego State sacked Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang a combined seven times in the last two games.
Hawaii, which led the Western Athletic Conference in fewest sacks against most of the season, is now second with 19. Rice allowed 14 in 11 games.
However the Warriors align, they will have to hold off a talented and veteran Tulane defensive front. Roxie Shelvin, Floyd Dorsey, Marlon Tickles and Kenan Blackmon are all seniors and have combined for 599 tackles in 169 career games.
Blackmon is Tulane's all-time sack leader with 20 1/2. Dorsey is second with 19 1/2.
"They've got a good front four that can bring a good pass rush," Jones said.
On Hawaii's defense, All-WAC safety Hyrum Peters is out, Jones said yesterday. The junior who made 77 tackles and intercepted a team-high four passes cannot run well enough to play after spraining his knee last month against Alabama.
"Hyrum won't play," Jones said.
He will be replaced again by second-year freshman Leonard Peters. Leonard Peters, who went into fall camp as a starter before being sidelined by an injury, made 19 tackles and recovered a fumble in eight games, mostly as a special teams player.
Short yardage: Tulane defensive coordinator Eric Schumann was an assistant with Southern Methodist when the Mustangs came to Hawaii in 1998 and 2000. ... The Green Wave players gave mixed reviews of the Hawaiian food at a luau on Saturday. "They had a lot of stuff that I didn't even know what it was, but the roasted pig was good," offensive lineman Will Blaylock said. ... This is the first time in its four bowl appearances that Hawaii is favored to win. ... The tickets-distributed count for tomorrow's game was at 33,600 at 4 p.m. yesterday, Hawaii Bowl executive director Jim Donovan said. (That includes 10,000 tickets purchased by Tulane and Conference USA, many of which will go unused. The Hawaii Bowl is working on re-distributing the tickets to underprivileged children and military personnel.)
Tulane Papers
Tulane defense has to control Warriors
12/25/02
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
HONOLULU -- Rick Minter's Cincinnati Bearcats are the only team to play Tulane and Hawaii this season. The Bearcats were solidly beaten by Tulane in the Superdome and later had won four straight before losing to Hawaii. Here is Minter's take on the two teams:
Hawaii
Offensively, they're a run-and-shoot team. It's the same offense Mouse Davis helped invent, and then June Jones has been around it as a quarterback, a quarterback coach, and a head coach. That's his offense now. He's the best disciple out there in the business of running what's known as the run-and-shoot. It's a four-wideout offense. They have certain abilities to run the football out of this thing, and they have certain concepts and packages of how to throw the football, all based on your coverages, your rotations and everything else.
You have to have a quarterback to run that offense, and they have Timmy Chang, who's a good, solid quarterback. He's still young, but he knows the system. He's going to be a really, really good one. They're a passing team. They line up with four wideouts all the time. They don't even have a tight end or another back on their roster. They run the ball for 125 to 130 yards a game and they'll pass the ball for close to 390 to 400 yards a game. They're high-powered.
The run-and-shoot has its own little flavor, but what makes it different is that it is always 100 percent committed to four wideouts. You run packages of routes and concepts of routes that are all based on reading the coverage. Then you have to be able to stop the zone play, and the traps and the screen. They involve the running back; there's always one running back. It's all spread, but every now and then they'll bring the inside receivers in tight to get a six- and seven-man blocking protection to throw the ball a little bit deeper down the field. They're not hard to break down. Here's what they are, and here's what you've got to stop. They just execute their offense better than anybody executes it.
"Defensively, they're primary a four-man-line scheme and will mix in a little three-man line, but they're an aggressive man (to-man coverage). They'll mix in a little zone but won't hesitate to play you man. They're an aggressive defensive front. They've got some good solid guys . . . big strong kids across the front four. They try to control the line of scrimmage and not let you run the ball.
The key against their defense is you've got to score more than 20 points, because it's going to be more difficult to hold them down (offensively). What you see is what you get with the run-and-shoot, and they're going to find out whether or not Tulane's good enough to stop it."
Tulane
Offensively, we knew we couldn't let Tulane run the ball on us. You have to slow Mewelde Moore down and not let him have a banner night. Chris' (Scelfo) teams have traditionally been a much better offensive club than a defensive club. I don't know if their offense had any weaknesses. I think Scelfo's team matches up with them because their offensive systems are similar. Tulane's offense is not far off from being, or close to, a run-and-shoot. It has a lot of four-wideout plays.
"Defensively, teams just want to run their stuff, but (Tulane's) not going to let you do it very easily. They're a good, solid defensive team that's improved on all fronts. They stop your run now better than they used to, and they're a great take-away defensive unit with interceptions, so you don't throw the ball very well. Now, Tulane doesn't have to score as many points as they did with Patrick Ramsey because they've got a defense now.
I think they match up well against Hawaii; I think that'll be a good game to watch because they're both high-powered offensive teams, but both teams had better not underestimate the power of both the defenses. I think the two defenses will determine the outcome of the game. I think great defense always wins. I think Tulane's defense matches up well because it practices every day against its own offense, which knows how to throw the ball.
Any time you have a chance to prepare for somebody, it's all about whether you have the ability to demonstrate or show the other side what they have to do to stop them. I think Tulane's offensive kids can line up in an offensive formation that can simulate a run-and-shoot offense."
The offensive line was the Hawaii football team's most stable and consistently effective unit most of the past season. But late-season injuries to center Lui Fuata, left guard Shayne Kajioka and left tackle Wayne Hunter -- all starters -- disrupted that continuity.
Kajioka has returned from a strained knee. But Fuata is out with a torn ACL. That, combined with Hunter's lower back spasms, could cause major changes in the Warriors offensive front five for tomorrow's ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl game against Tulane.
Hunter practiced yesterday, splitting time with Uriah Moenoa (normally the starting right tackle). Moenoa has also worked out at center, where freshman Derek Faavi started the last two games. Sophomore Ryan Santos has taken most of the reps this week at right tackle, and might start.
UH offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh and head coach June Jones declined yesterday to say who would start where.
"Those are going to be game-time decisions," Cavanaugh said.
Senior guard and team captain Vince Manuwai said on Sunday he thinks Santos will start at right tackle.
"He will definitely get some playing time," Jones said earlier in the week.
Santos went into last spring as the projected starter at right tackle, with Moenoa at center and Fuata at left guard. But Kajioka performed so well at left guard that Santos ended up being left out of the starting lineup and did not play much during the season.
"I'm glad I'm getting another opportunity," he said.
With the same five starters -- Hunter, Kajioka, Fuata, Manuwai and Moenoa -- in the first 11 games, UH allowed only 12 sacks. But Alabama and San Diego State sacked Hawaii quarterback Tim Chang a combined seven times in the last two games.
Hawaii, which led the Western Athletic Conference in fewest sacks against most of the season, is now second with 19. Rice allowed 14 in 11 games.
However the Warriors align, they will have to hold off a talented and veteran Tulane defensive front. Roxie Shelvin, Floyd Dorsey, Marlon Tickles and Kenan Blackmon are all seniors and have combined for 599 tackles in 169 career games.
Blackmon is Tulane's all-time sack leader with 20 1/2. Dorsey is second with 19 1/2.
"They've got a good front four that can bring a good pass rush," Jones said.
On Hawaii's defense, All-WAC safety Hyrum Peters is out, Jones said yesterday. The junior who made 77 tackles and intercepted a team-high four passes cannot run well enough to play after spraining his knee last month against Alabama.
"Hyrum won't play," Jones said.
He will be replaced again by second-year freshman Leonard Peters. Leonard Peters, who went into fall camp as a starter before being sidelined by an injury, made 19 tackles and recovered a fumble in eight games, mostly as a special teams player.
Short yardage: Tulane defensive coordinator Eric Schumann was an assistant with Southern Methodist when the Mustangs came to Hawaii in 1998 and 2000. ... The Green Wave players gave mixed reviews of the Hawaiian food at a luau on Saturday. "They had a lot of stuff that I didn't even know what it was, but the roasted pig was good," offensive lineman Will Blaylock said. ... This is the first time in its four bowl appearances that Hawaii is favored to win. ... The tickets-distributed count for tomorrow's game was at 33,600 at 4 p.m. yesterday, Hawaii Bowl executive director Jim Donovan said. (That includes 10,000 tickets purchased by Tulane and Conference USA, many of which will go unused. The Hawaii Bowl is working on re-distributing the tickets to underprivileged children and military personnel.)
Tulane Papers
Tulane defense has to control Warriors
12/25/02
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer/The Times-Picayune
HONOLULU -- Rick Minter's Cincinnati Bearcats are the only team to play Tulane and Hawaii this season. The Bearcats were solidly beaten by Tulane in the Superdome and later had won four straight before losing to Hawaii. Here is Minter's take on the two teams:
Hawaii
Offensively, they're a run-and-shoot team. It's the same offense Mouse Davis helped invent, and then June Jones has been around it as a quarterback, a quarterback coach, and a head coach. That's his offense now. He's the best disciple out there in the business of running what's known as the run-and-shoot. It's a four-wideout offense. They have certain abilities to run the football out of this thing, and they have certain concepts and packages of how to throw the football, all based on your coverages, your rotations and everything else.
You have to have a quarterback to run that offense, and they have Timmy Chang, who's a good, solid quarterback. He's still young, but he knows the system. He's going to be a really, really good one. They're a passing team. They line up with four wideouts all the time. They don't even have a tight end or another back on their roster. They run the ball for 125 to 130 yards a game and they'll pass the ball for close to 390 to 400 yards a game. They're high-powered.
The run-and-shoot has its own little flavor, but what makes it different is that it is always 100 percent committed to four wideouts. You run packages of routes and concepts of routes that are all based on reading the coverage. Then you have to be able to stop the zone play, and the traps and the screen. They involve the running back; there's always one running back. It's all spread, but every now and then they'll bring the inside receivers in tight to get a six- and seven-man blocking protection to throw the ball a little bit deeper down the field. They're not hard to break down. Here's what they are, and here's what you've got to stop. They just execute their offense better than anybody executes it.
"Defensively, they're primary a four-man-line scheme and will mix in a little three-man line, but they're an aggressive man (to-man coverage). They'll mix in a little zone but won't hesitate to play you man. They're an aggressive defensive front. They've got some good solid guys . . . big strong kids across the front four. They try to control the line of scrimmage and not let you run the ball.
The key against their defense is you've got to score more than 20 points, because it's going to be more difficult to hold them down (offensively). What you see is what you get with the run-and-shoot, and they're going to find out whether or not Tulane's good enough to stop it."
Tulane
Offensively, we knew we couldn't let Tulane run the ball on us. You have to slow Mewelde Moore down and not let him have a banner night. Chris' (Scelfo) teams have traditionally been a much better offensive club than a defensive club. I don't know if their offense had any weaknesses. I think Scelfo's team matches up with them because their offensive systems are similar. Tulane's offense is not far off from being, or close to, a run-and-shoot. It has a lot of four-wideout plays.
"Defensively, teams just want to run their stuff, but (Tulane's) not going to let you do it very easily. They're a good, solid defensive team that's improved on all fronts. They stop your run now better than they used to, and they're a great take-away defensive unit with interceptions, so you don't throw the ball very well. Now, Tulane doesn't have to score as many points as they did with Patrick Ramsey because they've got a defense now.
I think they match up well against Hawaii; I think that'll be a good game to watch because they're both high-powered offensive teams, but both teams had better not underestimate the power of both the defenses. I think the two defenses will determine the outcome of the game. I think great defense always wins. I think Tulane's defense matches up well because it practices every day against its own offense, which knows how to throw the ball.
Any time you have a chance to prepare for somebody, it's all about whether you have the ability to demonstrate or show the other side what they have to do to stop them. I think Tulane's offensive kids can line up in an offensive formation that can simulate a run-and-shoot offense."
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