Feature stories on Bess becoming Miami’s top WR

PBP = Palm Beach Post
SFSS = South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Praising Bess with the words he used to use for top WR (until his injury) Greg Camarillo, Chad Pennington said:
“He’s quarterback friendly. He understands how to get open. He understands how to run routes and work defenders and he’s really patient. There’s a lot to be said for being quarterback friendly. A lot of people don’t understand what that means or how important that is to a quarterback.” (PBP)

“There’s a lot to be said to being quarterback-friendly. Not a lot of people understand what that it is or how important that is. [Bess] understands how to get open and understands how to run routes and work defenders. He’s really patient. He does a great job of taking angles and getting open in spots.” (SFSS)

About how he’s worked hard extremely hard each week, Bess said:
“My focus has been extremely outrageous, just really, really focused on what I have to get done. We work so hard during the week. I don’t think people realize how hard to work to get things accomplished and transfer it over to the game.” (PBP)

“I’m always prepared. Coach stresses every receiver has to be ready on every play, run the route like you’re the main receiver, so I’m expecting the ball.” (SFSS)

About how Camarillo encourages him every week, Bess said:
“He’s telling me to keep it up, good job. He was one of the first guys to help me when I first got here. He never showed any negativity toward me. He supported me.” (PBP)

Cayman Shutter commits to the Warriors!

About the weekend, where he passed for 400 yards to lead his team to the Hawaii state championship and accepted a scholarship from UH, Cayman Shutter said:
“It’s been unbelievable. It’s been like a dream come true.” (HA)

HA Note: “The past summer, Shutter had made a verbal commitment to attend New Mexico. After that, he received an offer from the Warriors. Although UH “was always my first choice,” Shutter felt obligated to honor his commitment to New Mexico. But last month, Rocky Long, one year removed from a bowl season, resigned as the Lobos’ head coach.”

About how he could withdraw from his New Mexico commitment after their coach resigned, Shutter said:
“I felt it wasn’t the same school I committed to. I felt that gave me an opportunity to play for my home. That’s what I decided to do.” (HA)

“UH was my first choice all along. I was going to honor my commitment to New Mexico, but the only other school I would go to was UH.” (HSB)

HA Note: “According to Shutter, McMackin said the Warriors had decided they were done recruiting quarterbacks for the 2009 class. Four UH quarterbacks were returning, including starter Greg Alexander, and the Warriors had received a verbal commitment from Corey Nielsen of Gahr High School in California.”

About how he waited for a scholarship from UH, Shutter said:
“I held on for a little bit.” (HA)

About the voicemail he got from Mac Saturday morning, Shutter said:
“He said he needed to talk to me before the game (against Cincinnati). I went in before the game. He said he really liked me, and he thought he’d open it up again and give me a scholarship. I committed on the spot.” (HA)

About his recruiting experience with UH, Shutter said:
“I was really impressed with how coach McMackin really did everything with me. I appreciate that he’s done a great job with recruiting, and I’m very excited about joining.” (HA)

About how he’s been at Punahou since 7th grade, Shutter said:
“I’ve been in the football program since then.” (HA)

About how he helped Punahou win their first state football championship, Shutter said:
“Punahou has a great athletic program, but that’s never been done before for the schoo. It’s a great way for the seniors to give back to the school. It’s been a great school for me. It’s been a long time coming for a state title.” (HA)

About his amazing weekend, Shutter said:
“It was a big weekend. I have to let it all sink in.” (HSB)

About how freshman WR Miah Ostrowski (a Punahou grad) was one of the first people he told about his UH commitment, Shutter said:
“He said, ‘That’s good. Let’s get to work.’ (HSB)

Other quotes from the local papers

About David Veikune winning the Alec Waterhouse MVP award at the Warriors’ banquet, Mac said:
“I felt game in and game out he was our best player. He was consistent. He plays full speed and he’s just been an outstanding player for us. He’s a humble person and he’s someone I really respect.” (HSB)

About being named to the All-WAC second team, Veikune said:
“I’m just honored to be on any (all-conference) team. It’s just been an honor to play at Hawaii. With the success our team has had over the few years I’ve been here, it’s been awesome.” (HSB)

About how Jake Ingram shared the Ben Yee Most Inspirational Award (with Mouton), Mac said:
“Jake has been Mr. Consistency since I’ve been here.” (HSB)

About Mouton, Mac said:
“He’s the best athlete on our team and the quickest, and he’s mentally tough. He’s a guy who puts the team first and just wants to help the team win.” (HSB)

About how the INT TD changed the momentum, Brandon Underwood said:
“It was all odds against us and after (the interception), I felt a whole shift in the momentum for the whole game.” (HSB)

About the winning TD pass, backup QB Dustin Grutza said:
“I tried to go to the boundary side, it wasn’t open, felt a little pressure and escaped out and saw Mardy wide open.” (HSB)

Notre Dame is in the Hawaii Bowl

Excited about the matchup with Notre Dame, JD said:
“We’re excited to be playing a program that has such a storied tradition in college football.” (HA)

“Notre Dame has a huge national following and the visibility will be good for our program, our school and our state.” (HA)

About facing Notre Dame, Mac said:
“They’re all about tradition. It’ll be exciting for everybody involved.” (HSB)

“I’m really excited. This is one of the big-time teams in college football. This is Knute Rockne, Touchdown Jesus and the Four Horsemen. It’s one of the top names in the game. They travel well, it’ll help the bowl and it’ll help the economy.” (HSB)

Looking forward to the Hawaii Bowl, Charlie Weis said:
“We’re very excited about heading out west to play in the (Hawai’i) Bowl. This is a great opportunity for our team to face a quality opponent in their backyard and we’ll need to be ready.” (HA)

“We’re very excited about heading out west to play in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. This is a great opportunity for our team to face a quality opponent in their backyard and we’ll need to be ready. I know the extra practices this month will really benefit our team and we look forward to ending this season on a good note.” (HSB)

HA Note: “The most-watched of the previous six Hawai’i Bowls was the 2006 UH-Arizona State game, which drew 2.3 million households. People in the television industry see the potential for nearly double that because of Notre Dame’s presence. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN, and will be the only college football game that day.”

About the big audience expected for the Hawaii Bowl, WAC Commisioner Karl Benson said:
“Notre Dame is a high-profile team that demands fan and media attention, and getting the Irish is a great coup for (bowl officials) Pete Derzis and David Matlin.” (HA)

About how they worked hard for a long time to try to get Notre Dame in the Hawaii Bowl, Matlin said:
“a lot had to happen” (HA)

Matlin said that the process of getting Notre Dame was similar to a:
“root canal.” (HA)

HA Note: “The Irish were stunned by 3-9 Syracuse, 24-23, removing them from consideration from the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla. Notre Dame’s 38-3 loss to Southern California coupled with Louisville’s 63-14 loss to Rutgers opened the way for Pittsburgh to represent the Big East in the Brut Sun Bowl instead of the Irish. Then, the Pac-10 was able to field only five bowl-eligible teams because Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State all suffered crucial late losses and were unable to get to 6-6.”

About the Hawaii Bowl, Derzis said:
“We believe our game offers a world-class destination and an experience that the schools and their players will value. We’ve gotten six years of wonderful feedback from teams that have been here.” (HA)

HA Note: “To get Notre Dame, the Hawai’i Bowl reportedly agreed to work around the school’s late final exam schedule, which runs to Dec. 19. Traditionally, the game has asked its teams to be in town nearly a week before the game. Indications are the Irish will be here Dec. 20.”

About letting Notre Dame get into town later because of their final exam schedule, Matlin said:
“We’re doing what we can to accommodate them any way we can.” (HA)

HA Note: “The financial investment for Notre Dame is “not inconsiderable,” Heisler said, and is expected to result in a net loss for the Fighting Irish to play in the Hawai’i Bowl. The Pac-10 and C-USA have said they have underwritten appearances by their teams in the past.”

About the chance to play Notre Dame, Adam Leonard said:
“With the tradition they have, everybody knows about Notre Dame. It’s just unbelievable and I’m thrilled for the opportunity.” (HSB)

About how the Notre Dame news got him over the Cincinnati loss, Mac said:
“I usually give 48 hours to get over a ballgame. That just put me right past the bad feelings about that game and on to the next.” (HSB)

About getting Notre Dame in the Hawaii Bowl, Matlin said:
“Notre Dame is a storied football tradition and getting them is a huge statement. We’re blessed in that a lot of things lined up for this to be possible. … It’s a thrilling day for me personally and I’m grateful to so many people who helped put us in this position from (former executive director and current UH athletic director) Jim Donovan to (ESPN’s) Pete Derzis to Hugh Yoshida.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “The Fighting Irish will be looking to win their first bowl game since 1993, having lost nine straight postseason games since beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.”