Is SMU In UH’s Future?
Friday - October 12, 2011
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Del.icio.usThis past bye week came at a good time for the UH Warrior football team, fresh off a huge road win at Louisiana Tech. There are some bodies that need a chance to heal, and there’s ample time to assess the rest of the season.
A couple of areas have improved dramatically. The passing game has benefited from the involvement of the wideouts. Royce Pollard has returned to form and Allen Sampson is showing signs of becoming a playmaker. And that couldn’t happen without an improved offensive line. Despite a rash of injuries, that group is getting better game by game.
And at slot, Justin Clapp has filled in beautifully for the injured Miah Ostrowski. When Ostrowski returns, there will be quality depth at the position. It’s almost hard to believe that Bryant Moniz is not getting more national attention considering he’s thrown 15 touchdowns and only one interception. If he keeps this up, that will change.
On defense, the secondary stepped up in a big way to challenge opposing receivers in the last two games, and had many truly impressive moments against the quality athletes of Louisiana Tech. UH continues to be tough to run against on the inside. Improving the perimeter run defense has got to be a priority.
Special teams have had their moments, but need consistency in blocking for kicks, both place-kicks and punts. You’d like kickoffs to be deeper, and punts steadier.
Hawaii is likely to be favored in every remaining game except Nevada. Getting just a little better each week could lead to a memorable season.
* Just a quick look ahead: UH would more than likely draw either Houston or SMU for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Either would be highly entertaining with Houston (the other UH) featuring Heisman trophy candidate Case Keenum.
But an SMU-UH matchup would be a sellout. When asked if QB J.J. McDermott reminded June Jones of any other UH QB, June did not hesitate: “He’s a lot like Rolo. The way he interacts with the guys, says funny things during games, and the way he stands in and delivers the ball.”
By the way, the former UH head coach admitted that after an opening loss to Texas A&M, the team set its goal on spending Christmas in Hawaii.
* This week UH heads to San Jose State for a Friday night game, and the Spartans have exceeded expectations thus far.
* A random thought: If video review took even a quarter of the 22 minutes spent on analyzing a play as it did at La Tech, there would be no use of replay. The time spent was way too disruptive to the flow of the game, and WAC commissioner Karl Benson issued an apology after the game.
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