June Jones has to have the best job in the world, coaching football in Hawaii. He has quite the gig going; he hired his former NFL buddies Jerry Glanville (defensive coordinator) and Mouse Davis (Special Teams). Jones’ record at Hawaii is 64-40 and his 64 wins have established him as the winningest coach in Hawaii football history. His success and his NFL pedigree have given him free reign to run the football program as he wants. Yes June Jones seems blessed, his gamble on bringing a convicted criminal in to play quarterback worked, Colt Brennan has been on good behavior and he (Jones) now has a legitimate Heisman candidate behind center. June Jones is The king of Honolulu and his infamous “run and shoot” offense is still alive and well. I still think his offense would have been a perfect fit for Michael Vick down in Atlanta, but that topic is for a different day.
The only complaint I have against Jones is the strength of schedule that he signs up for year after year. For whatever reason, he never seems to play anyone tough. Maybe the big boys don’t want to play them, or maybe traveling to the mainland is too much of a challenge, but their patsy schedule kills any hopes of a lofty ranking and quite frankly all but assures Quarterback Colt Brennan of not winning the Heisman Trophy. They can’t do anything about their WAC schedule, but their non conference schedule is a joke, they play UNLV, Charleston Southern and Washington at home. Where is the Big 10, Big 12, ACC or SEC?
The Rainbows faired very well in the 2007 NFL Draft, they had five players drafted and five signed as free agents. I wonder if the Miami Dolphins have a former rainbow as a scout, because of those ten prospects that have a chance in the NFL; the Dolphins grabbed three of them. The Fins drafted massive fullback Mauia Reagan, and I do mean massive at 6’ 0” 296 pounds, they also drafted center Samson Satele, who actually has a good chance of starting for the Dolphins. They (Dolphins) also picked up/signed guard Tala Esra as a free agent. RB Nate Ilaoa was drafted by the Eagles and OG Dane Uperesa was signed as a free agent by the Bengals. On defense, defensive ends Alama-Francis and Melila Purcell were drafted by the Lions and Browns respectively. Other free agents that made it to an NFL camp were safety Leonard Peters (Jets), CB Kenny Patton (Raiders) and DT Lawrence Wilson (Raiders). In eight seasons at Hawaii June Jones has had 16 players drafted by NFL teams, and in the 2007 NFL Draft, only six NCAA schools had more players selected than Hawaii: Texas, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Notre Dame and Florida.
Yes they lost a lot of players last year, but the cupboard is not bare. They have record setting quarterback Colt Brennan, and a very talented trio of wide receivers to throw the ball to. Junior Davone Bess (5’ 10 189 lbs) is the headliner, he finished the 2006 season with 96 receptions for 1,220 yards and 15 touchdowns. Senior Jason Rivers is a big target at 6’ 2” 187 pounds and he finished 2006 with 72 catches for 1,178 yards and 10 touchdowns. Last but not least in this talented receiver trio is junior Ryan Grice-Mullen (5’ 10” 174 lbs), he caught 46 balls for 770 yards and 11 touchdowns. That’s 36 touchdowns folks. On a negative note, Colt Brennan will really miss the losses at running back, full back and along the offensive line. The loss of running back Nate Ilaoa will be devastating, he was a do everything, run and catch type of player.
Due to a weak schedule the Rainbows will have a very good over-all record, and with Brennan and those talented receivers should put up some great passing statistics, but they will have trouble running the ball and might not be that great of a team overall. Probably not a top 20 team in the NCAA Rankings at this point.
But June Jones knows what he is doing, he declines NFL offers every year, most teams want him as an offensive coordinator and he says no. Do you blame him? With the way he is recruiting, coaching and scheduling at Hawaii, he is assured of a bowl game every year, a fat salary, complete control of the program, and his toes in the sand six months out of the year. What more could a coach ask for?
3 comments:
The only part of that I would disagree with is that they purposefully schedule patsys. Herm Frazier is the guy that has to get tougher opponents and has failed miserably at that. A few years ago Hawaii pasted BYU, ranked no.6 at the time, and then has beaten other quality opponents like Mich State - who has paid big money to get out of their commitment to play UH. The tougher teams were all for playing UH when it was an easy win (under Von Appen and others) but since they have become a serious threat to not just beat you but embarrass you, better opponents have shown a reluctance to want to play Hawaii. UH's best bet is to get into a better conference (Pac 10 would be great!).
Nice article on June Jones and the Warrior football team. All I have to say about the schedule is that no one want's to play Hawaii. Michigan St. paid Hawaii $250,000 to get out of this years game. I know hawaii will travel anywhere to play an of the top schools but they don't want to play the warriors. You can't blame Hawaii for that.
yeah, Hawaii does play too easy a schedule but it is looking more and more like the big boys aren't willing to play Hawaii. Witness Michigan. They were to open their season with Hawaii, at Michigan, but decided they wanted an easier team for their opening game. Some Appalachian team I think? Good plan!
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