At the first Coaches Lunch of the season, head coach Nick Rolovich said the goal is “to inspire the community by the way they play”. Rolovich said the players need to play with togetherness and belief they can be great. They need the mindset that little things matter and not wait for things to go wrong.
One of the reasons he took the job was to help give players similar experiences he had with the 2001 team on and off the field. It was a close team in the locker room that was determined and believed in themselves.
Rolovich discussed the types of offensive sets they will be using and what type of offense plays and concepts they will be using.
A decision has not been made on the starting quarterback. We have three quarterbacks ready to go. Ikaika Woolsey has had a good camp and is a leader. Aaron Zwahlen and Dru Brown have made good progress and did well in Saturday’s scrimmage.
The running back position is very deep with Diocemy St. Juste, Paul Harris, Steven Lakalaka, Melvin Davis, Ryan Tuiasoa, Freddie Holly and Genta Ito.
Rolovich brought Kevin Lempa back as the defensive coordinator because his defenses were good and the defensive players from the 2001 and 2002 teams loved playing for him.
Rolovich said the team is quite young and a number freshmen will be in the rotations and play early. He then mentioned several of the freshmen he expected to be playing as well as others that might play depending on injuries.
Traveling to Australia is much more challenging than regular road games. All the players needed to get work visas. They also needed to get power adapters for their electronic devices. There are even agricultural issues since no grass or dirt can be brought into Australia on equipment, uniforms and shoes.
When asked about how to bring students back into the stadium, Rolovich said the team will start building relationships with the student body much like they did with the general community at Costco. To start, the team will help the freshmen move into the dorms on Tuesday.
Submitted by: Mike Lum
Photo: Head Coach Nick Rolovich with grand prize winner of an autographed football