Warrior Beat

Twenty-two Warrior hopefuls participated in a walk-on session this morning at Ching Athletic Complex. They sprinted and went through agility drills. NCAA rules, however, restricted the workout from the use of a football. There was a running back from South Dakota (Leroy Banks) and a lineman (Kalani Kapiko) who was raised in Michigan but dreamed of playing for the Warriors since he was 5. Makai Manuwai, a defensive end/tight end from Bedford, Ore., said his first cousin is former UH/NFL […]

Yep, we get to do it all over again on Feb. 7, 2018 — the next signing day. But reflecting on the 2017 signing day, Nick Rolovich thanked: > Athletic director David Matlin for budgeting for a recruiting coordinator; > Recruiting coordinator Jason Cvercko for organizing the operations; > His assistant coaches for evaluating talent and visiting recruits; > Fans for social-media engagements, > And … Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji. Shoji recruited outside hitter Kalei Greeley, whose younger […]

It’s signing day, and the Warriors showed their reach with their first commit coming from Australia. Running back Hekili Keliiliki, who won an Arkansas state championship in 2014, made his commitment official today. Keliiliki is serving a church mission in Australia. As a senior at Bentonville High in 2015, he received offers from Stanford, Arkansas, Harvard, Dartmouth, Columbia and Penn. In the biggest surprise, linebacker Paul Scott of Oakland’s McClymonds High de-committed from California to sign with the Warriors this […]

After this morning’s practice, strength/conditioning coordinator Bubba Reynolds emphasized the teamwork in workouts. “We hunt together, we eat together,” Reynolds said. The Warriors have made significant progress from a year ago, particular in the sled drill, in which a player pushes a weighted sled (weighing up to 200 pounds) 20 yards. Last year, each player started the offseason program doing six 20-yard reps of sled pushes and ended with 10 reps. Today, the players each did 16 20-yard reps. The […]

A sorta-sorta funny thing happened to the Warriors this morning: the Ching Athletic Complex lights were not turned on for the 6 a.m. workout. But in the dark and cool (61 degrees), the Warriors worked out on the turf before heading to the weight room for the “strength” part of the offseason strength/conditioning program. There was plenty of light when the group returned for the second phase of the workouts. The second group worked out at 8 a.m.

Running back Miles “Bam-Bam” Reed of Centennial High in Corona, Calif., and defensive tackle/nose guard Doug Russell of O’Dea High in Seattle committed to the Warriors today. Here’s the skinny (full story in Monday’s Star-Advertiser): Miles Reed: > In 2016, he rushed for 2,198 yards (8.2 per carry) and scored 34 TDs. > Gained 302 yards against Chandler, one of Arizona’s top schools, and 179 against IMG Academy. > His close friend is UH running back Freddie Holley. > He […]

Imagine organizing a banquet five days a week for five months. As director of football operations, Lois Manin did the equivalent of that from the start of training camp through the Hawaii Bowl. And that tripled during road trips. Manin also represented Nick Rolovich at functions, directed daily operations of the football office, wrote speeches and reports, served as liaison between the program and the athletic department and Upper Campus, managed the football budget’s allocation and … well, there actually […]

Hey, we’re running late, so let’s get this thing started. Congrats to Riley Wallace for his induction into the UH Circle of Honor: Also, congrats to “The Voice” — Jim Leahey — for also earning a plaque in the Stan Sheriff Center. Both are truly deserving. Here’s the story: Circle of Honor inductees * * * * * Some fun facts about Brandon Kipper, UH’s new offensive line recruit: > He is 6 feet 6 1/2, but doctors project he […]