Quotes about JJ and Colt

About what he’s built at UH, JJ said:
“I wanted to make our program like the Miami Hurricanes of the Pacific. I wanted to create a tradition of winning. We’ve done a pretty good job of that.” (Houston Chronicle)

HC Note: “The Warriors are 66-40 since Jones arrived in 1999 and have won 13 of their last 16. That’s pretty good stuff for a program that had lost 18 in a row before Jones took over. Did I mention the offense? The Warriors are averaging 585 yards and 54 points a game. When they get on a roll, they’re unstoppable. Quarterback Colt Brennan, who threw 58 touchdown passes last season, has 10 in two games and is completing 76 percent of his passes. He’s a serious Heisman Trophy candidate.”

About how he family and friends took him to dinner at his lowest point after the Colorado incident, Colt said:
“They just told me they were going to stand by me. Your family and your real friends are all you’ve got at a time like that.” (HC)

HC Note: “Brennan has become the kind of role model other athletes talk about being. He’s brutally honest about his mistakes and even more careful about avoiding a repeat. Oh, by the way, Jones promises Brennan will be the first quarterback taken in the 2008 NFL draft.”

HC Note: “At 54, he brought his team to Houston this week for five days of practice and rest between games at Louisiana Tech and UNLV. As an assistant with the Oilers, he helped usher the run-and-shoot offense into the NFL. That offense changed football at every level with its emphasis on playing fast and relying on short, quick passes.”

HC Note: “When the Chargers put a five-year contract worth more than $1 million per season on the table in 1998, Jones did something odd. He walked away. He accepted what appeared to be a dead-end job at the University of Hawaii. He still has trouble explaining why he did it.”

About taking the job at UH instead of the SD Chargers’ head coaching job, JJ said:
“Destiny? I don’t know how to explain it. I’d told people I was going to coach there someday. It just felt right.” (HC)

About his car accident, JJ said:
“I should be dead. I have that thought every day of my life.” (HC)

HC Note: “Jones’ daughter was initially informed her father had died. He did recover, but he needed six months and still has days when he “aches all over.” He has had offers to leave, but he says he stays because he loves the people, the islands, the culture. And Brennan.”

About how he first heard of Colt in 2004 when an assistant coach showed him a video of Colt, JJ said:
“He was the best guy I’d looked at in a long time. He had incredible accuracy. He reminded me of (Dan) Marino and Jeff George. He had that kind of arm. Then one of my coaches said, ‘OK, here’s the rest of the deal. He got in some trouble in Colorado.’ ” (HC)

About how he did his research on Colt, JJ said:
“I called his high school coach, people at Colorado, eighth-grade teachers, his weight coaches. They all said he was a great kid.” (HC)

JJ met with Colt 1-on-1 and asked him:
“OK, tell me what happened that night.” (HC)

Convinced Colt was worth the risk, JJ said:
“He kind of reminds me of Joe Montana in his demeanor. He just gets it. That’s why he’s going to make it. I just love the guy. He’s so caring of his teammates, so committed to taking advantage of this second chance.” (HC)

About what he learned from his Colorado incident, Colt said:
“I was drunk, cocky, arrogant. Call it what you want. I put myself in a bad position. I have no one else to blame. That’s a great lesson.” (HC)

About choosing UH over SJSU, COlt said:
“I didn’t feel like going to a place an hour’s plane ride from my family (in Southern California). I’d just humiliated myself and my family. I wanted to get away. What better place to get away to than Hawaii?” (HC)

About how he can serve as an example for kids, Colt said:
“Everyone likes to tell kids that if they work hard in life, they can get what they want. Everyone wants to present a fairy tale for kids. I walk in there and say, ‘Look, it’s not going to be easy. Sometimes, it’s not going to be fair.’ Everybody faces those times in their lives. Whether it’s family members dying or getting into trouble or addiction, you’re going to face adversity. It’s whether you’re willing to continue to press on, to continue to try.” (HC)

About how the UNLV game will be special, with so much family driving to Vegas to watch him play, Colt said:
“It’s going to be real special. The last time some of these people saw me, I was being taken off to jail.” (HC)

Quotes about Travis LaBoy

MIJ = Marin Independent Journal

About Travis, the Titans’ DL coach Jim Washburn said:
“He’s a guy we want to have a breakout season. He’s one of my favorites. I really like him. I just hope for him and for us he has a big year. It’s a big deal. He’s on the verge.” (MIJ)

About how he’s fairly healthy right now, LaBoy said:
“This is as healthy as I’ve been here.” (MIJ)

MIJ Note: “LaBoy is as happy as he’s been with the Titans, too, despite what the depth chart shows. He and his wife, Nohealani, welcomed their second son, Koa, in the offseason and LaBoy, 26, also managed to set aside some quality time to get fit. After the game at Jacksonville on Sunday, he text-messaged Travelle Gaines, a longtime friend who finally convinced LaBoy to accept a standing invitation last June to participate in a five-week training and conditioning program. Gaines has opened a training facility in Seattle where he trains other NFL athletes. He also worked as a strength and conditioning coach with newly-signed Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell at LSU, where Gaines said he was falsely accused of a state law violation last year for assisting a sports agent.”

About how his goal was to make LaBoy more effective and efficient in the NFL, Travelle Gaines (who met Travis when they were freshman football players at Utah State) said:
“I was going to take it personally if Travis didn’t do well this year. If he didn’t, it was going to be my fault. He is re-focused on the game. He did nothing here but eat healthy and work out.” (MIJ)

MIJ Note: “For LaBoy, the timing was right. His wife and kids were going back to Hawaii for an extended visit so he sublet an apartment in Seattle and stuck around.”

About training with Gaines in the offseason, LaBoy said:
“I had been trying to get away from the football field to be a good father. It was time for me to get back to playing football (better) and train like I did in high school.” (MIJ)

MIJ Note: “Gaines concentrated on LaBoy’s core strength, explosiveness and quick first step. The results were pleasing to LaBoy and Gaines. LaBoy, who will be a restricted free agent after this season, went to training camp this summer weighing 265 pounds with 6-percent body fat.

Then, early in training camp, LaBoy suffered a mild, albeit annoying, hamstring injury that caused him to miss almost two weeks of practice. Physically, he was fine but another setback was a quick reminder that LaBoy hasn’t been able to play a full season without being hurt in his first three years with the Titans after they selected him in the second round of the 2004 NFL draft.”

Frustrated with how his injuries have prevented him from being the player he could be, LaBoy said:
“I feel all of my (lack of) production is because of health issues. It seems like a snowball effect. One injury leads to another. I feel if I could stay healthy there’s no question about the things I could do on the field.” (MIJ)

About how LaBoy is frustrated with how injuries have hampered him, Washburn said:
“He’s really frustrated because he should have had 10 sacks two years ago. But then he took so many hits and missed opportunities. He’s frustrated. I’m frustrated. We’re frustrated. We hope this will be his year.” (MIJ)

MIJ Note: “LaBoy has extra motivation. After starting 11 games at right defensive end last year, LaBoy has been shifted to the left side. Washburn has him playing behind Kyle Vanden Bosch, who Washburn is trying to free from so many double-teamed blocking schemes. Atwan Odom is now starting at right defensive end and, on Tuesday, the Titans acquired veteran defensive end Bryce Fisher from the Seattle Seahawks.”

About being moved from right to left DE, LaBoy said it:
“is like shooting a basketball left-handed.” (MIJ)

About their defense, LaBoy said:
“As a team, our defense is the best it’s been since I’ve been here.” (MIJ)

Quotes about the UNLV game

About UH’s offense being hard to stop, UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said:
“I don’t think you’re going to stop [Hawaii] or control them. I think you’ve got to slow them down.” (Rebel Yell)

About how they need to run the ball against UH, UNLV coach Sanford said:
“However we do it, we have to get first downs, keep the ball and score. Ideally, we’d like to be a balanced offense, running and passing. We have to run the ball more effectively and efficiently than we have.” (Rebel Yell)

About UNLV, JJ said:
“Their quarterback (redshirt freshman Travis Dixon) is scary … and they do a lot of things that create problems for you on defense.” (USA Today)

About their close win at La Tech, JJ said:
“Boise had two or three of those types of games last year, one against San Jose that they hung on and won at the end. That does wonders for your team. It does more than beating a team 70-10 or something.” (USA Today)

Quotes about the Warriors not on the road trip

About watching the La Tech game with other Warriors at the Eastside Grill, freshman QB Shane Austin said:
“We were biting our fingernails, for sure.” (HSB)

About the reaction when Lewis broke up the 2-pt conversion for the win, Austin said:
“We went crazy. I was on the phone with my dad. I was like, ‘He drops back, he throws it …’ and he didn’t hear anything after that. All he heard was screaming.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “With the Warriors’ travel roster capped at 65 players for last Saturday’s game at La-Tech, the 40 or so still on campus during the 11-day trip keep in shape with mandatory 7:30 a.m., conditioning and weight lifting sessions under the unrelenting watch of UH strength coach Tommy Heffernan and his staff. Some will also show up in the afternoon to run through plays to keep sharp between practices.”

About their training sessions while the rest of the team is on the road trip QB Jake Santos said:
“A good thing about it is you get to bond with some of the other guys you don’t bond with during regular practice. It’s just fun. We wish we were there, though. I definitely do.” (HSB)

About how Tommy Heffernan won’t accept any yawns in their morning workouts, Santos said:
“Tommy makes people do push-ups if they yawn,” . I got called out the first day for yawning right when I walked in the weight room.” (HSB)

About how there is no sitting or lagging during their workouts, Heffernan said:
“If I’m in there, it’s constant movement. There’s no standing around, there’s no sitting down at all once you enter this gym.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “With the Warrior football team’s travel roster capped at 65 for Saturday’s game at UNLV, the back end of a rare two-game road trip, it’s Heffernan’s duty to make sure the 40 or so players who remained on campus put the 11-day gap between practices to productive use.

In place of the morning practices, there’s mandatory workouts from 7:30 to 9. Instead of coaches running drills, they’ve got Heffernan and his staff pushing them through a non-stop session of weight lifting in the Waterhouse Training Facility or running sprints out on the practice field.”

About how they are being worked hard, Austin said:
“I think this week has been harder than just normal practices.” (HSB)

Praising the attitude of the players working out under him, Heffernan said:
“They want to be on the trip, but they also see this as an opportunity to get better and make some gains while the team is away. Some of them might be a little discouraged, but they also see it as a chance to get better.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “While the mornings belong to Heffernan and graduate assistants Steve Englehart and Dujuan Hathaway, the players show up on their own after classes to run through plays while they await the team’s return. That’s when most will resume their roles on the scout team or trying to work their way up the depth chart in hopes of perhaps making the travel list for the next trip.”

About how they work hard for the scout team and hope to earn playing time through their work, RB Camron Carmona said:
“A lot of us that are left behind, we play an important role on the team just making the team better. If we’re doing a good job we could actually earn a position and that’s what some of us came here to do. It’s a lot of guys who just want to work hard and not only want to make the team better, but themselves.” (HSB)

About how they have to stay motivated despite being on the scout team, Austin said:
“Everybody who’s redshirting, everybody who’s a walk-on, they have to look at it as our practices are our season. It’s hard to be motivated when you know you’re on the scout team, but if you’re trying to make the other guys better the coaches will notice.” (HSB)

Quotes from Joshua Rice

About the big “Rice” pointed out to him in the end zone, Joshua Rice said:
“That’s pretty nice. I like it. I should’ve brought a camera so I could take pictures of it.” (HSB)

Hoping to play in the UNLV game (he didn’t play vs. La Tech), especially since he has “tons of high school friends” and family going to the game, Rice said:
“I pretty much know every special team, and I played kickoff and kickoff return in the first game. Hopefully I’ll get into this one.” (HSB)

About going to Vegas is different for him because that is where he’s from and where his family lives, Rice said:
“It’s like anywhere else, if you’re from there you don’t do the tourist stuff. We almost never go to the Strip. It’s like Waikiki — nobody goes unless they have guests.” (HSB)

UH will still do the haka

About how UH will still do the haka, JJ said:
“We’re going to try and abide by the rule, but at the same time, we’re not going to change what we do.” (HA)

HA Note: “Last Saturday, the Warriors were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct when they performed a pre-game haka while the Louisiana Tech players were ascending the ramp leading to their locker room. The Warriors argued that the penalty was unwarranted because the haka was done in front of their locker room at the top of a hill overlooking the field. They also said they did not face the Louisiana Tech players.”

About his conversation with WAC Commishioner Karl Benson, JJ said:
“I told Karl we’ll try to abide by the rule. But we’re going to do it. … We’ll wait the proper amount of time. If a team is going to stay out there, we’ll do what we have to do.” (HA)

HA Note: “Jones also consulted with his senior leaders, who decided to perform the haka at the risk of being penalized.”

About how they want to do the haka whether or not they get a penalty, Colt said:
“We’ll take the penalty and do it. We’re going to make the message.” (HA)

HA Note: “Brennan noted how several college teams have several pre-game rituals intended as motivation, yet none face penalties.”

About the haka, Colt said:
“It’s part of our culture. It’s a part of what we are. It’s wrong of the WAC to say we can’t do it.” (HA)

HA Note: “Brennan said the Warriors use the haka as motivation and as a tribute to their fans.”

About being panalized for doing the haka, Colt said:
“The sad thing is, if the coaches are that scared and that intimidated, then turn around and don’t watch. You don’t have to cry to the refs or cry to officials to try and penalize us for not doing anything wrong. … We did it last year with no penalties. It’s completely wrong for them to penalize us. But if they’re gonna, they’re gonna.” (HA)

Quotes about Colt’s courage

About what is important, Colt says:
“it is all about the dubba-yous.” (HA)

HA Note: “He means the wins, of course, and he says it a lot. It has become the mantra of his senior season and the push for perfection. But to have glimpsed him after last Saturday’s game against Louisiana Tech is to know it could also stand for wounds, which he hardly mentions and of which he barely complains.”

About all of the hits he took in the La Tech game, Colt said that he was:
“really, really sore and with bruises all over my body.” (HA)

Respecting Colt for taking that beating and still competing at his high level, La Tech coach Dooley said:
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Colt. I thought we got to the quarterback as much as anybody has.” (HA)

“I can tell you I love the guy for his competitiveness. I always respect great competitors. We hit Colt as much as I think he’s been hit and it didn’t even faze him. That’s what great competitors do. He would stay in there, take the hit and make the throws. And he did it the whole game.

I felt that he was never affected even through we were doing our best to try and affect him. I have a world of respect for him because of how he competes and you can pass that along to him. I enjoy watching him but for the fact that he’s doing it against our team. But I love watching him compete. Great football players compete and Colt certainly fits that mold.” (HA)

HA Note: “In the unlikely event Brennan didn’t know the fine print of the bargain he struck by coming back for his last season, then it was laid out for him in black and blue right here on the FieldTurf by the Bulldogs: He is a hunted man. Stop him and you stop the offense and the No. 24-ranked Warriors. And teams will stop at nothing to do just that. While some opponents will tighten up on the receivers and lay back, others, such as Tech, are hell bent on coming after Brennan with a vengeance — and as many men as they dare.”

Praising his OL in the La Tech game, Colt said that they:
“played great; they really had my back” (HA)

HA Note: “It is then we often see Brennan at his best. Not just threading throws and firing touchdown passes but in just getting up, dusting himself off and standing in against the rush all over again without losing an ounce of resolve or yielding a millimeter to intimidation. For all the yards he piled up and records Brennan compiled at Ruston, La., this is where we’re seeing the real measure of the Warriors’ leader.”

Colt said at practice yesterday (Wednesday) that his pains have:
“faded away and I’m feeling more like myself.” (HA)

About the win was all that mattered, Colt said:
“They (Tech) won some (plays) but we won more — and the game. Its about the W’s — and winning games makes all the pain that much more endurable.” (HA)

Quotes about how the Warriors are worn down by their road trip

About how the team is worn down from their road trip, Colt said:
“We were so worn down. You could tell by the hours we were sleeping. I had two nights where I slept over 10 hours.” (HA)

About how the rain and breeze cooled things off a little, Colt said:
“Once the rain stopped, it was nice because it was cool. It actually turned into a pretty good practice.” (HA)

About Rice’s FieldTurf, Gerard said this about the field conditions in the rain:
“It wasn’t muddy at all. Just a little wet. It was a nice practice.” (HA)

About practicing from 8 to 10am yesterday, their first morning practice on the road trip, JJ said:
“We’re trying to get them more on a Vegas-West Coast time. By Saturday, we’ll be back on the regular schedule. Then we’ll have to go back to Hawai’i and get screwed up again.” (HA)

HA Note: “The change in times was not easy for some players. Roommates Viliami Nauahi, B.J. Fruean and John Fonoti, who arrived Tuesday afternoon from Honolulu, woke up late. Nauahi said the maintenance workers inadvertently unplugged the telephone and alarm clock when they added Fonoti’s bed to the room.”

About being late for practice, Nauahi said:
“We relied on our alarm clock.” (HA)

HA Note: “The three tried to walk the mile to Rice Stadium when they noticed equipment manager Al Ginoza was driving a van in traffic. They hitched a ride. Offensive linemen Keith AhSoon and Laupepa Letuli also overslept.” (HA)

About being late for practice, AhSoon said:
“I think this time difference messed with my mind. I woke up, and I thought something was wrong. I asked my roommate, Pepa, ‘What time is it?’ He said it was 8:30. We checked the schedule, then we started running. We went downstairs and grabbed our stuff. We just ran. I told him to wait for me, but he was gone. I just ran, too. I was running in flip-flops in the mud. People were looking at me. I didn’t care. I was scared. When we got there, coach (Jones) was mad.” (HA)

HA Note: “As punishment, each had to run eight gassers. One gasser is the equivalent of four 50-yard sprints.”

About their punishment for being late, AhSoon said:
“That’s 1,600 yards. I’m never going to be late again.” (HA)

Not as upset after cooling down after practice, JJ said about the players who were late:
“They’ll run, but it’s not as serious as breaking curfew. They know what they’re doing and some other guys got some reps because they were late.” (HSB)

Quote from Mouse Davis about how it takes time for QBs to learn the run-and-shoot

About how it takes at least a year for a QB to become consistently dangerous to opponents in the run-and-shoot, Mouse Davis said:
“Colt was really pretty average his first year, but by the time he got to his second year he was lighting it up. Now, after this season, he’s gone. That’s the problem. You teach a guy for three years, then you have to start all over.” (LA Times)