LIHU‘E — As the University of Hawai‘i football team gets off the plane Saturday morning and heads over to Vidinha Stadium for its intra-squad scrimmage and practice, it will be doing more than just evaluating on-the-field execution, it will be
LIHU‘E — As the University of Hawai‘i football team gets off the plane Saturday morning and heads over to Vidinha Stadium for its intra-squad scrimmage and practice, it will be doing more than just evaluating on-the-field execution, it will be looking to further the connection it has with its fans.
“We’re coming over because we play for Hawai‘i and we wear Hawai‘i on our jerseys,” said head coach Greg McMackin, Thursday. “It allows our players to see the neighboring islands and our fans to see the players, it allows our fans to come meet the team and it allows our program to know who we’re playing for.”
The Warriors will hold their scrimmage at 11 a.m., a free event open to the public, which will then conclude with an autograph session with the players and coaching staff, expected to begin at around 1 p.m.
McMackin said he is always a little surprised to realize how few members of the team have been to the various outer islands, though there are four who have definitely gotten to experience Kaua‘i — Kenny Estes, Jett Jasper, Vaughn Meatoga and Kamalu Umu — who all hail from the island.
“When I found out, I was really excited,” said Meatoga, a defensive lineman from Kalaheo. “I haven’t played in that stadium since Pop Warner, so it’s going to be really fun playing there, having that grass under my feet.”
“I’m definitely excited, it’s great to come back to where I was born and raised,” said wide receiver Jasper, a 2006 Kaua‘i High School graduate and a redshirt junior at UH. “That’s my home stadium. That’s where I played Pop Warner, JV and varsity.”
McMackin said Estes will be unable to play because of a shoulder injury, but had plenty of praise for the hometown boys.
“Vaughn’s been one of the leaders of our football team,” he said. “He’s been the best tackle we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
He added that Umu, originally from Kapa‘a and a Charleston Southern transfer, will be fighting for a starting position.
“He’ll get a lot of playing time at defensive end,” he said. “He’s got great speed.”
Having only just begun practice, McMackin said the team is doing “a lot of teaching and a lot of learning.”
The main theme among the players and coaches is excitement, not only regarding this weekend, but about the 2010 season as a whole.
UH finished last season with a 6-7 record, having a chance to reach the Aloha Bowl with a victory in its final game against Wisconsin, but was beaten soundly by the physical Badgers squad that had plenty of fan support in Aloha Stadium.
“There were several games where if a few plays went the other way, we would have been in a bowl game already,” McMackin said.
He said that last year’s team was young and inexperienced even before the eventual injuries began to pile up. This year’s team returns eight defensive starters, which should improve their efficiency from the get-go.
“Last year they were inexperienced and didn’t communicate,” McMackin said. “But you’re going to see so much more communication because they’ve got confidence.”
Looking ahead, the team already has high expectations after last season’s four-game win streak to keep its bowl hopes alive. The momentum and positivity those wins created are setting the bar high for 2010.
Meatoga said the defensive unit is feeling good and taking a business-like approach.
“We’re out to work,” he said. “Everybody is shutting their mouth and doing what the coaches say. We should be ready to go once the season starts.”
“Expectations are higher than ever,” Jasper said. “We want to win a bowl game, but like Coach Mac says, we have to take it one game at a time.”
Jasper will be making his stay on Kaua‘i a short one, as he will be heading back to campus in the afternoon to hit the campaign trail in his bid to become president of the Associated Students of the University of Hawai‘i (ASUH).
His running mate is a familiar face — sister Jori, a freshman at Manoa.
Meatoga is anticipating a more relaxed stay and is happy that his whole family will be able to see him on the field.
“It gives my family who can’t come over to O‘ahu for games a chance to see me at practice,” he said.
He expects to spend his afternoon flipping the script and watching his sister’s team, as well as hopefully hitting the beach.
McMackin repeated his love for Kaua‘i, noting that he has marched in the parade and participated in the 3-mile walk, as well as running the summer youth clinic at Vidinha.
“We have so many fans over there who might not get to come over to the games,” he said. “They show me their garages with their big TVs. They will get to meet the players and get to shake their hands.
“It’s just a good ohana.”
Though the overall mentality and schemes won’t be changing, the Warriors shook up the coaching staff a bit this offseason, moving some assistants around to different positions, though keeping mostly everyone in-house.
“I felt like I had good coaches or I would have let guys go,” McMackin said. “But I want to get guys in the best position to succeed.”
McMackin noted his happiness with how strength coordinator Thomas Heffernan has the team working in the weight room, as well as praising offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich and defensive coordinator Dave Aranda.
“Rolovich really has the offense moving,” he said. “Aranda has been with me since Texas Tech and knows the package.”
