Friday, August 7, 1998
‘Welcome wagon’
circles UH
football camp
Of the 24 newcomers
By Paul Arnett
who arrive today, several
might have a chance to
compete right away
Star-BulletinThe 24 newcomers to the University of Hawaii football team are expected to arrive today for this weekend's orientation.
"At this point, we believe everyone will be here and on time," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said. "We want to get them drug tested, have them review NCAA rules and be squared away in time for our first practice on Monday."
The freshmen and junior college transfers will practice Monday and Tuesday before joining the veterans Wednesday for the first day of full workouts at Cooke Field. Monday's opening session is set for 8:30 a.m.
"It gives us a chance to show the new guys what we expect from them," UH defensive coordinator Tom Williams said. "There could be several of them who'll have a chance to compete right away.
"We want them to go through each period, just as the veterans would, and prepare themselves for fall camp," Williams added. "They don't have a lot of time to catch up with the veterans. Everything will be accelerated.''
Hawaii lost several potential newcomers due to academics. The top two were quarterback Fred Salanoa and running back Eric Shine. Defensive back Jujuan Huddleston from College of the Redwoods also fell short in the classroom.
"We kind of knew last spring he wasn't going to make it, that's why we didn't talk about him much," UH recruiting coordinator Don Dillon said. "Hopefully, those guys can join us next year."
The Rainbows also lost offensive lineman Gary Krug. The transfer from San Diego State won't play his senior season because of bad knees. He had eight knee operations during his career, including one this past spring.
"People don't know that Gary pretty much played on one leg all last year," Dillon said of the gutsy offensive guard. "We'll miss his leadership, but I think everyone knew it would be tough for Gary to make it all the way back."
Despite starting 11 games at right guard in 1997, Krug was not listed on the depth chart coming out of spring. The top three players at that position entering fall camp are Jose Martinez, J.R. Directo and junior college transfer Douglas Gosling.
