YOU can talk all you want about quarterback Tim Carey's throwing arm or the defensive skills of free safety Eddie Klaneski when discussing the prospects of the coming University of Hawaii football season. Tackles who can block
are keys to successThey definitely will need to play significant roles if coach Fred vonAppen's Rainbows hope to bounce back from last year's dismal 2-10 season. But, for me, it's what's up front that counts. That's why I'm not just watching the ball at the UH football practices at Barbers Point.
I have my eyes on two red-shirt sophomores whose performances will go a long way in determining how the Rainbows will fare this season.
You can't miss them. They're starting tackles Kaulana Noa,
6-foot-4, 292 pounds, and Adrian Klemm, 6-foot-4, 282 pounds. They're counted on to bulwark the offensive line along with center Shane Oliveira, if he can get healthy.
Noa and Klemm are certainly looking forward to this season after paying their dues by taking their lumps as freshman starters last fall. Noa started all 12 games last year at left tackle. Klemm started four games at right tackle after injuries sidelined seniors Mark Hernandez and Michael Petersen.
TO say that both Noa and Klemm took their knocks while going through hell and back would be putting it mildly.
"There's no way we're going through another season like that," said Klemm, who's from Santa Monica, Calif.
"It was a good learning experience. I think I accomplished a lot for being a freshman," added Noa, a home-grown product from Honokaa on the Big Island. "But we can't go through another 2-10 season."
"I feel good about this offensive line, especially them," Oliveira said about his two young teammates. "They have a good attitude and have come back bigger and stronger. They're pretty big and athletic."
Olivera, a fifth-year senior, is disappointed that he can't join them on the O-Line right now. "It's so frustrating. I've been training so hard and rehabbing since my surgery," said Oliveira, who has bulked up to 295 pounds.
Noa and Klemm again are projected as the starting tackles this season, but with a different wrinkle under the Rainbows' new offensive scheme. They're reversing places on the line, Noa moving to right tackle and Klemm to left.
Any problem with that?
None, they said.
Actually, the tackle tandem believes it's for the better. At left tackle, Klemm will be responsible for Carey's blind side when he's dropping back to pass. Noa will be better suited for run blocking at right tackle.
"He's a better pass blocker," Noa says.
"He's a lot stronger than me and that's better for a run blocker," says Klemm.
They're optimistic about the coming year. They've already felt the change and the camp just began.
"We got more seniors and they're making more noise," Noa said. "The attitude's better."
EVERYBODY came to camp with renewed enthusiasm, according to Klemm. "A lot of guys came back early like I did," he said.
"We know we've got to work harder. Last year was a learning process. This year everything is coming together. I think it's going to be a lot different this time."
Ah, the exuberance of youth.
The Rainbows also will have more seniors -- 34 of them -- on this year's football team than in any year that I can remember.
If enthusiasm and senior leadership count for something, the prospects look a lot brighter for the football 'Bows this season. But, then, after being down in the dumps for so long, anything looks like up for the Rainbows.