Scout Bowl draft held

About how his team got the first pick in the Scout Bowl draft, Sol said to Adam:
“They were sleeping, so we get the first pick.” (HA)

HA Note: “Several minutes later, linebacker Adam Leonard showed up, protesting that he was tardy because he was in class. And, besides, he was not told of the location.”

Responding to Adam’s protests, Sol said:
“Too bad. We’re picking first.” (HA)

HA Note: “And with that, Elimimian and center John Estes selected quarterback Jake Santos No. 1 in the Scout Bowl draft. The annual full-contact scrimmage features redshirts and developing players. The four team captains are the “coaches.” Leonard and defensive tackle Keala Watson lead the White team; Elimimian and Estes have the Green team.”

Trash talking the Green team, Adam said:
“We’ll just dub them the losing team.” (HA)

About being selected #1 overall for the second year in a row in the Scout Bowl draft, Jake Santos said:
“That’s cool. I’m happy to be picked first.” (HA)

About Santos, Sol said:
“He’s intelligent. He makes the right decisions. And the No. 1 thing is he has good character. We want character guys.” (HA)

About center John Estes, Santos said:
“He’s a scary guy. He gets into fights in practice. He’s trying to get our offense fired up. These days, the offense has been quiet. I’ll go to battle with Estes. He’s a California guy.” (HA)

Asked who the White team picked in the first round, Adam said:
“There’s no No. 1 pick. You know how the Patriots won their first Super Bowl as a team? There are no individuals. It’s not who we picked first, it’s the combination of the guys on the team.” (HA)

About how they required toughness in their draft picks, Adam said:
“If I’ve got wide receivers, I want them to go out there and block the crap out of people. If we pass, I want them to run over people. I want a physical team.” (HA)

About picking Bryce Kalau’oka’a'ea as the White team QB, despite how he was moved to RB three weeks ago, Adam said:
“We feel he’s a great athlete. And we can use him as a secret weapon.” (HA)

HA Note: “The White’s co-head coach, Watson, is experienced in evaluating talent. In March, head coach Greg McMackin implemented the Super Games, in which teams received points for academic work, conditioning drills and competition in such activities as no-rules basketball and dodgeball. Ten seniors were named captains.”

Proud how his Super Games team did, Watson said:
“We all know how Super Games turned out. I do have a good record as far as drafting goes.” (HA)

HA Note: “The Green is installed as the early favorite, mostly because it took both available centers.”

About the Scout Bowl, which will take up the second half of today’s practice, Mack said:
“We’ll be looking at some guys for the future and just see them compete.” (HSB)

DE Marcus Malepeai commits to the Warriors!

About his commitment to the Warrriors, 6′2″, 245-pound Marcus Malepeai said:
“I wanted to stay home.” (HA)

About how his son wanted to play for UH, Ofati Malepeai said:
“It was up to him. My wife (Legalo) wanted him to stay home. We’re really happy, and really proud.” (HA)

HA Note: “He will be the second Marcus Malepeai to play for the Warriors. He was named after his older cousin, who was raised by Ofati and Legalo.”

About naming his son after his nephew, Ofati said:
“My wife wanted to name him after me, but I said to name him after my older brother’s son.” (HA)

About his older cousin who played for UH, Marcus said:
“My dad took care of him. My dad treated him like a son.” (HA)

About participating in UH’s Big Man’s Camp in July, Marcus said:
“It was fun. It was real competitive.” (HA)

About how his decision was based partly on wanting to play for Mack and DL coach Ikaika Malloe, Marcus said:
“I like them a lot.” (HA)

HA Note: “Last year, Malepai also competed in the shot put and discus. In addition, he was a member of Radford’s basketball team. This coming spring, he will compete in volleyball as an outside hitter. He has a 29-inch vertical jump, and can squat lift 455 pounds and power clean 265 pounds.”

News on Dan Kelly, Tim Grasso, Aaron Kia, and Po’okela Ahmad

About the positives and negatives of the bye week, Dan Kelly said:
“I wish it wasn’t a bye week because I want to get out there and kick again. At the same time a bye week is good to get the rest and figure out the mechanics and figure out all the kinks because we’re going into the WAC.” (HSB)

About missing his last 3 FG attempts, Kelly said:
“I try not to overanalyze it. It’s a very natural thing that I’m trying to do and it hasn’t been feeling natural. I just have to kick enough to have it feel natural again.” (HSB)

About how Kelly has been doing well in practice, Mack said:
“He’s been kicking the ball well and he just has to take it from practice to the game. I believe in Dan. He won two big ballgames for us last year and I’ve got complete confidence he’ll be the guy I know he is.” (HSB)

About punting last year despite the pain he was in, Tim Grasso said:
“I had to just scrap to get by (last year), and this year I can do what I can do.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “Grasso’s average of 42.4 yards per punt ranks him 28th in the country and he’s landed four of his 16 kicks inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. But the Warriors have faced two of the nation’s premier returners and breakdowns in coverage left the Warriors 109th in net punting after three games.”

About how Grasso has been doing his job well, Mack said:
“He’s been punting outstanding. We couldn’t ask any more of him. He’s been putting it where he’s supposed to.” (HSB)

About seeing a specialist in Utah who kneaded his muscle to work out the scar tissue that had built up last season, Grasso said:
“When I’d be in pain I’d be like, ‘This is going to be worth it.’ It’s most definitely one of the most painful things, but it worked for sure.” (HSB)

About how Grasso is more confident this season, long snapper Jake Ingram said:
“You can definitely see he’s more confident, especially during the games. He’s not second-guessing or questioning himself, he’s just going out and punting. I guess that comes with being healthy.” (HSB)

About punting 5.3 times per game this season, compared with 2.7 times last season, Grasso said:
“Punting is kind of a contradictory spot. I really don’t care if I punt or not. If I do, I’m going to take advantage of it because that’s my position on this team. But I’d rather go the whole game without punting and see us blow somebody out.” (HSB)

About being the starter again at LT, Aaron Kia said:
“It’s more like a third or fourth chance. This is another opportunity and I need to stop talking and actually do it.” (HSB)

About his sore knees, Kia said:
“I have to man up and execute.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “With Adam Leonard resting some aches during the bye week, sophomore linebacker Po’okela Ahmad has made the most of his increased repetitions with the second unit over the last two days. He had an interception on Tuesday and added another yesterday in 7-on-7 drills. He also closed quickly on a play to hold Kealoha Pilares short of a first down during the team period.”

About getting reps with the second team D, Ahmad said:
“I’m working hard and just trying to get into the rotation. I’m listening to the coaches, watching film, just trying to better myself every day. Right now it’s a bye week so I’ve got an opportunity to work.” (HSB)