Carey gets nod as
top ’Bow quarterback
But head football coach
By Paul Arnett
Fred vonAppen says the job
is still up for grabs
Star-BulletinDALLAS -- Tim Carey has emerged as the No. 1 quarterback for the University of Hawaii football team entering fall camp. Rainbows head coach Fred vonAppen announced the development at today's opening round of Western Athletic Conference media day.
''Tim is ahead of Dan (Robinson) at this point, but it's still unresolved,'' vonAppen told a large group of reporters. ''We want it to be unresolved because it needs to be competitive in two-a-days.''
Just how competitive that will be remains to be seen. Robinson, the Ricks Junior College transfer, has an injured left leg and will be sidelined as much as three weeks. VonAppen is hopeful he will return to the lineup before the Rainbows go to full pads.
Even so, the 6-foot-3, 203-pounder from American Fork , Utah, will miss valuable practice time, obviously helping Carey to gain the early edge to be the starter next month against Minnesota.
When asked what Carey's status was two weeks before veterans are due to report, vonAppen said the transfer from Stanford University will remain at Hawaii for two semesters.
There had been some talk that Carey would return to Stanford to finish his degree next spring, but that's not the case. The decision means that Carey stands to lose $15,000 for having his scholarship revoked by UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida.
Carey was arrested last spring and pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor gambling charges. VonAppen said he was at peace with that decision by Yoshida.
''It was a misdemeanor violation, but certainly it was a huge judgmental glitch,'' vonAppen said. ''I don't think anybody is happy with the exercise of his judgment. But we have to move on.
''I'm not at peace at what happened, but I'm at peace with the disciplinary action.''
It has not exactly been a peaceful first 19 months for vonAppen. While he spent 30 minutes going over the depth chart, most of the questions vonAppen fielded centered on his first year problems off and on the field.
The drowning of Shannon Smith dominated his tumultuous opening season. He said that the Rainbows will leave his locker the same as it was the last time Smith was alive.
There will also be a locker-room dedication to him that will be attended by his parents. VonAppen said the players would remember Smith, who drowned last spring while saving vonAppen's youngest son, before and after each game.
''We also will wear his initials on our jerseys and helmets,'' vonAppen said. ''I could never have imagined what this first year would have been like, both professionally and personally.
''We've had so many sideshows around here that have hurt the progress of this program. We've addressed some areas of concern, but there are others out there that must be dealt with in order for our team to be more competitive.''
While Carey moved a step closer to being the starter, vonAppen said preseason all-conference selection Eddie Klaneski was the only Rainbow with a guaranteed job.
''That could be corner or free safety, it just depends,'' vonAppen said. ''Eddie is our best player and he was a walk-on, which says a lot about where this program is at.
''We'll be better. We'll be more competitive. But I'm not a prognosticator. I don't know how many wins and losses we'll have this year. It depends on many variables.''
VonAppen and his staff are counting on several of the 20 players joining the team next week to have an immediate impact. How quickly they fit into the systems designed by offensive coordinator Wally English and defensive coordinator Don Lindsey is the key.
