Warrior Quotes

I've been thinking about this for quite some time and have finally come to a decision on this issue. I am not going to archive anymore quotes about the Warriors on this blog. I am still a Warriors fan and will read everything I can on the team, so it bothers me that Warriors fans will not have an archive anymore for quotes on the team.  Tombo does an amazing job in covering the news about the Warriors with awesome video support from Chawan_Cut and you can get to his blog at: https://uhfootball.blogspot.com/

The reason I'm stopping this blog is simple. National coverage of the Warriors has decreased by 90% or so from the 2006-2007 years, so the bulk of the quotes are coming from Hawaii newspapers.  Hawaii used to have 2 Honolulu newspapers that provided free content, but now there is just 1 newspaper that has recently put up a paywall.  I could archive the quotes from their articles, and just getting quotes seems to be fine with "fair use" copyright laws, but that would hurt the newspaper since people could get the content of the articles without paying.  Since the Star-Advertiser is the source of almost all of the quotes for the Warriors, leaving them out would neuter this quote archive to the point that it would just be pointless to continue.

Online-only subscriptions to the Star-Advertiser are very reasonably priced, especially when compared to other paywalls set up by mainland newspapers.  Subscribers to the print newspaper get a code for free online access to the online newspaper...but not everyone has parents like I do who subscribe to the Star-Advertiser (and the Advertiser and Star-Bulletin before the Star-Advertise existed) and never read the online newspaper so they can give their code to a grateful son.

I am sad to see this blog end and hope that this blog has been useful to anyone interested in the Warriors.

HSA Note: "Terms of the multi-year deal were not announced but are expected to be in the range of five years for $2.5 million, people familiar with past discussions have said."

HSA Note: "In addition, Hawaiian said it will help fund University of Hawaii travel costs."


About their sponsorship of UH sports, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Mark Dunkerley said:
"We are pleased to use funds from our marketing budget to contribute to these much-needed improvements and increasing our support of the home team at UH." (HSA)


Praising Hawaii Airlines for their sponsorship, Aloha Stadium manager Scott Chan said:
"We appreciate Hawaiian Airlines coming forward with its sponsorship of this outstanding new field." (HSA)


https://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/126799833.html

About how Moniz (who owns a DVD projector that allows him to watch videos at home or on hotel-room walls) understands their offense, Rolo said:
"You don't need to draw things up for him. You can talk to him, and he understands." (HSA)


About how Moniz does not have the freedom to call plays, but he has designed a few that were used in games, Rolo said:
"They all worked." (HSA)


About how David Graves is the early favorite to start at QB next season but needs to work on going through his read progressions before scrambling out of the pocket, Rolo said:
"This will be a big year for him." (HSA)


About Sterling Jackson's running style, Rolo said:
"He can get us tough yards if we need it." (HSA)


Pointing out how in 2008 Greg Salas was a wideout and Kealoha Pilares was a RB, but both were highly productive at slot for UH in 2010, Mack said:
"It's about finding the right place for each player." (HSA)


About how Miah Ostrowski's basketball background helps him in football, Rolo said:
"He understands spacing." (HSA)


About how Terence Bell adjusted well to being shifted from slot to wideout, Rolo said:
"He's an underestimated playmaker." (HSA)


About how UH changed its recruiting strategy a few years ago to look for tall OL with a frame that could fill out to 300 pounds, such as Sean Shigematsu, OL coach Gordy Shaw said:
"(Shigematsu) was probably outside most people's box. He was a good volleyball player and a good basketball player. He's not where he needed to be strength wise, but he's smart, has long arms, and has very good footwork." (HSA)


About how Andrew Faaumu was cut before the 2008 training camp but lost weight and gained strength to be added to their 2009 roster, playing 9 games last year, Shaw said:
"He's a self-made millionaire in football. He didn't have 2 cents together when he first came to the University of Hawaii in his ability and physical size. He had the door slammed in his face. We gave him simple goals, and he attained them. Then we gave him tougher goals, and he made those." (HSA)


» Right end: Siaki Cravens, Paipai Falemalu, Alasi Toilolo, Tavita Woodard, Beau Yap.
About DTs Kaniela Tuipulotu and Vaughn Meatoga, DL coach Tony Tuioti said:
"They do a great job of knocking back offensive linemen." (HSA)


About how their DL are taught to get to the "heel" line, where the blockers' heels are at the snap, to best be able to cut off quicker RBs, Tuioti said:
"Those two guys are great at getting to the heel line. They're not sitting back and catching the offensive linemen. They're attacking. That's what you can get from them." (HSA)


About how Corey Paredes is listed at MLB but will move around on defense, Mack said:
"He's going to move around." (HSA)


About how Paredes started at the middle of the field and caught Nevada's Colin Kaepernick last season near the sideline, Mack said:
"There's not many guys who can make that play. I don't need to time him. I know he's as fast as he needs to be. He has the Warrior's heart." (HSA)


About how Tank Hopkins is an aggressive open-field tackler, Mack said:
"Why do you think they call him Tank?" (HSA)


About how they only returned 19 of 70 punts last season for a 3.8 return average, Mack said:
"The problem is we weren't executing." (HSA)


About how they are going to attack on special teams under special teams coordinator Dick Tomey, Mack said:
"We attack on offense, we attack on defense, and now we're going to go after punters and kickers." (HSA)


https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110803_2011_Warriors_football_position_breakdown.html

About how he had a thick playbook when he became UH's defensive coordinator in 1999, had the playbook on a flash drive when he became UH's defensive coordinator in 2007, and now uses an iPhone to hold everything, Mack held up his iPhone and said:
"This is my office." (HSA)


HSA Note: "Last year's 450-plus defensive playbook and the offseason condition program have been transformed into applications that can be accessed on smart phones, iPads and laptops. That enabled recruits, using a code, to access plays and workout schedules while still residing on the mainland. This past Monday, computer techs installed Smart Boards in the football meeting rooms. Think of them as large mounted touch screens."


About how today's players need to see things on video and on their phone instead of on paper, Rich Miano said:
"These young people have embraced technology. Give them a playbook with formations, it doesn't mean anything to them. They have to see it on video. They have to see it on the big screen. They have to see it on their phones." (HSA)


About how he is an "old-school guy" that can discuss plays on a chalkboard, Mack said:
"I could do that, but they won't listen." (HSA)


About how their coaches need to use the tools that best teach their players, Mack said:
"I believe coaches have to be teachers. To teach, you've got to say it however they understand it. If you draw something, and they don't understand it, you have to say it another way. The way these guys learn is on video games. That's this generation. Our generation wasn't like that. What we want to do is keep up with the newest technology." (HSA)


About how most of their offense is taught via video sessions or in practice, Miano said:
"This is a video generation." (HSA)


About how he uses a smartphone for his work, Mack said:
"My grandkids set it up for me. This is easy for young people." (HSA)

https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20040101_uh_coaches_have_upgraded_their_teaching_methods.html

Asked what he'd say if someone told him that he'd be the offensive coordinator at UH just 10 years after playing for UH, Rolo said:
"I'd have been very happy. And I would've believed it. I knew I couldn't leave football and I had developed a love for Hawaii." (HSA)


About how he's like a father to the 50+ Warriors on offense that he's in charge of, Rolo said:
"Yeah, it's getting closer to them being sons (in age). It started out like younger brothers. I think we're at a nice range now." (HSA)


About watching MTV recently to get an idea of what young people are into these days, Rolo said:
"I turned it right off." (HSA)


About how things seemed to come easy to him until he was benched at UH when he was a junior, Rolo said:
"it was a huge wakeup call. My actions and decisions helped lead to nine losses." (HSA)


About how UH's starters this year learned a lot from Salas and Pilares last season, Rolo said:
"(This year's starters) were in the room, very close to it. They soaked up a lot, it was valuable for them to see that. Greg and Kealoha took it up a notch every snap in practice, every snap in film." (HSA)


About how the Warriors saw how Alex Green's hard work resulted in his being drafted by the NFL, Rolo said:
"Now everyone sees hard-work equal-sign draft-pick." (HSA)


About how their offense has to learn to play with each other, having just 2 returning starters, Rolo said:
"It's so much about knowing the people you're doing it with. There's so much non-verbal communication. It's a trust thing." (HSA)


https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/furtherreview/20110803_Football_and_Hawaii_are_all_Rolovich_needs.html

Bryant Moniz said that one of the things he needs to pack for UH's football training camp is a:
"… Hard hat … " (HSA)


When asked why he needed a hard hat, Moniz said:
"I'm coming to work." (HSA)


About how their first practice is on Thursday, Moniz said:
"I'm ready. You get to concentrate on football all day. And you get three meals a day." (HSA)


About how he will start training camp with LT Clayton Laurel (being pushed by Jordan Loeffler), LG Brett Leonard, C Matagisila Lefiti, RG Chauncy Winchester-Makainai and RT Sean Shigematsu (slightly ahead of Levi Legay) as their starters, OL coach Gordy Shaw said:
"We have a lot of players who can get it done, but some have never done it in (an NCAA) game." (HSA)


https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110801_Warriors_ready__to_get__to_work_.html

About not getting a scholarship offer from UH in 2007, Corey Paredes said:
"They ran out of scholarships. They said they would call me, and I never got the call the day before signing day. It was a hard time for me." (HSA)


About being a "preferred" walk-on at UH, Paredes said:
"It means you get zero aid. It's a nice way of saying you'll be on the scout team." (HSA)


About how he was determined to play for UH, even as a walk-on, Paredes said:
"I wasn't going to change. I really wanted to play for Hawaii." (HSA)


About growing up a baseball fan but choosing to play football instead, Pardes (who is of Filipino, Hawaiian, Chinese, German, Scottish, and Irish ancestry) said:
"Football is really not a sport Filipinos play." (HSA)


About the comings and goings in the WAC, Fresno State coach Pat Hill said:
"The WAC has been a petri dish ... and we've grown tremendously as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The new schools coming in will grow tremendously. Boise State, when they first came into the WAC, everyone was going: 'Who's Boise State?' It was quite a platform for Boise State, quite a platform for Fresno State, quite a platform for Hawaii, what a platform for Nevada. It'll be a platform for growth. That's what it's all about." (HSA)


Hill said that the changing WAC membership is:
"just a part of evolution. Everyone changes. Everyone moves. To me, the WAC represents a conference that will fight, and it's a survivor." (HSA)


https://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/sportsnews/20110731_Changes_are_afoot.html

MN = Maui News


About UH being picked to win the WAC, Cal Lee said:
"Well, it is really exciting being picked to win the conference and it is a credit to what the kids did last year. I think it takes about a couple of days until you realize you are not going to win any games on somebody picking you to win it." (MN)

"If you are picked to win it, you have got to work extra, extra hard and I think that is what the kids are going to do." (MN)


Praising DT Kaniela Tuipulotu (an academic all-WAC selection last year who is from Lahaina), Lee said:
"Kani has really taken that leadership role that you need. He is like another coach out there because of his leadership. People kind of gravitate to him. They know he is a player, they know what he can do. That leadership out there on the field is invaluable. He makes the other kids play better because of his actions." (MN)


About how he thinks that Tuipulotu will make it to the NFL, Lee said:
"I really think he does.Again, it just  depends on what happens this year. If he has a good year, which we expect, I think the future is bright for him." (MN)


About how UH's other player from Maui, walk-on OG Andrew Faaumu, is a candidate to start, Lee said:
"Andrew is going to be good. He is going to have a great year because he is big, he is strong, he is physical. I mean, he wants to knock people down. Sometimes I think he should have been a defensive player because he just wants to mix it up." (MN)


About how Bryant Moniz shows that walk-ons can accomplish great things, Lee said:
"Him being a walk-on shows that you can do anything you want. I mean maybe he wasn't highly recruited out of high school. I will just mention Moniz, nobody recruited him and now everybody knows who he is. Andrew is the same way, he worked hard. Not only is he a good athlete, he is a good person, good grades, graduating, works hard at it and that is all you can ask from somebody." (MN)


About being part of the fundraiser by the Wailuku Hongwanji at an Obon dance selling T-shirts to raise funds for the Soma City victims (50 children were orphaned in the city of 17,000 that is located in the Fukushima Prefecture), Cal Lee said:
"Eric Texidor, who was living in Fukushima, he gave me a call when the nuclear plant opened up. He was actually checking out, he was telling me that he wasn't going to make it. You try to motivate somebody to hang in there - this wasn't a football game - this was about life. . . . I felt the horror in his voice and until today I can still remember how he sounded. Thank goodness he survived." (MN)

https://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/551924/Lee-sees-bright-futures-for-Maui-s-Warriors.html?nav=11

RGJ = Reno Gazette Journal

About how he's never been on a team picked to win its conference before, Bryant Moniz said:
"I think my junior year at Leilehua (High) we were up there, but not at the top." (HSA)


About the coaches and media picking them to win the WAC, Corey Paredes said:
"It's an honor to get that recognition early in the season. We have a target on our backs now." (HSA)


About being picked to win the WAC, Mack said:
"Quite honestly, preseason polls don't mean anything. You have to play your season. That's why they keep score. If you start thinking too much of yourself, you have to look back at teams that have won a championship and then did not play well the next year. They were resting on their laurels. We're not going to do that." (HSA)


About how they met on the football field in high school, Paredes (who went to Castle) said:
"I sacked him." (HSA)

"I was small then. But I did sack him." (HSA)


About Paredes saying that he sacked him in high school, Moniz said:
"I don't remember. I had a lot of concussions." (HSA)

"It was muddy. I couldn't move." (HSA)


HSA Note: "WAC coaches were in uniform agreement that the Warriors' black jerseys create problems in video scouting. The topic came to light when it was revealed that as a condition for joining the Mountain West Conference, former WAC member Boise State agreed to not wear all-blue uniforms when playing on Bronco Stadium's blue turf. Fresno State coach Pat Hill said it made it difficult to identify Bronco players on videos. But Hill also said that UH's black jerseys (with green numbers) also created problems in scouting. The Warriors wore black jerseys for home games last year. Last week, they unveiled new green jerseys for home games."


About picking Moniz to be the WAC's preseason top offensive player, La Tech coach Sonny Dykes said:
"Easy choice." (HSA)


About how Moniz walked on to UH, Dykes said:
"The thing I like best about him is his story. When a quarterback does what he does — walking onto a program, delivering pizzas to pay for school — that's a guy I want to play with. And he's a heck of a player. He's a good player in the  pocket. He's a good player out of the pocket. He has an incredibly quick release. He's accurate. He does a great job of boosting his team. He has tremendous confidence, and that carries over to those other guys." (HSA)


About how he was surprised to get the preseason honor, Moniz said:
"I didn't even know they had this (media event) until a month ago. I asked Derek (Inouchi, UH's media relations director): 'When are we going to Vegas?' I was referring to our game against UNLV. He said, 'Oh, we have to go to Vegas for media day.' I was like, 'What's that? I never heard of that.' This is awesome." (HSA)


About how his uncle, Rick White, was the pilot on his flight from Honolulu to Las Vegas, Moniz said:
"It was cool. I wish I could have gone into the cockpit, but he said they don't allow (passengers to do) that anymore. I had some other relatives on the flight." (HSA)


Praising Moniz, Fresno State coach Pat Hill said:
"I like him. I think he's a heck of a player. I thought we went hard after him last year, and he kept getting away and making plays. He's very talented." (HSA)


About how no D-I school offered him a scholarship out of high school, Moniz said:
"My mom still loved me." (HSA)


Remembering how he doubted himself backthen, Moniz said:
"Maybe I'm not that good. Maybe I'm just a high school player." (HSA)


About how his mother encouraged him to play at Fresno City College, working extra jobs to pay for his school and living expenses, Moniz said:
"She found a way to get it done. She did a lot for me. I didn't want to let her down." (HSA)


About his goals when he walked on to UH, Moniz said:
"When I first came in, I just wanted to play in a game. I didn't think about awards or any of that stuff. I just wanted to play."


About how UH is the only WAC school with a returning starter at QB, Mack said:
"I think it's a big advantage. I've never seen a guy more calm than him in a game situation." (RGJ)


About how teams cannot win in the WAC without a good starting QB, NMSU coach DeWayne Walker said:
"We played Boise a couple of years ago and the first thing Coach (Chris) Petersen told me was, 'Coach, you have to have a quarterback to win in this league.'" (RGJ)


About how there will be a lot of scoring in the WAC this season, Hill said:
"There will be a lot of scoring in this league. We play against a lot of teams in a lot of conferences and I'll tell you the Western Athletic Conference has some of the best offenses in the nation. The schemes that you see week-in, week-out in this league are very, very good. The coaching in this league is very good." (RGJ)


About how the use of spread offenses makes the QB position more important than ever, Dykes said:
"The quarterback position is going to be the X factor because the quarterback is expected to do so much nowadays." (RGJ)


About how you never know how a QB will react to actual game time instead of practice, Hill said:
"There's a big difference between sparring and actually getting in the ring." (RGJ)

https://www.rgj.com/article/20110729/SPORTS01/107290398/WAC-football-Experienced-Warriors-take-top-spot-both-league-polls-Pack-No-3?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Sports|p