Strong Relationships Remind Quarterback Of Home

The distance between Gardena, Calif., and Athens is 2,334 miles. For Boo Jackson, a few old friends and some new teammates made the gap much more manageable.

Ohio's redshirt-senior quarterback came to the Bobcats after two years at El Camino College with his teammate and fellow redshirt-senior, Hilton Dawson III.

When preparing to move to Ohio, Jackson heard that Patrick Tafua, a junior-college player at Golden West College in California, also planned to join the Bobcats.

"We played against each other," Jackson joked. "I threw a couple touchdown passes on him."

Jackson sent Tafua a message on Facebook, and the trio planned to fly to Ohio together.

"Ever since we got here, we've been close," Jackson said of recently graduated Tafua and Dawson. "All of us are family-oriented. We love our family. We want to be as close to our family as possible."

But going to school on the opposite side of the country made that unfeasible. The trio stuck together for the most part, which helped ease the transition to the Midwest.

Tafua and Jackson hit it off almost immediately because of their similar heritage.

"Boo is half-Hawaiian, and me being Samoan and just having the Polynesian kind of mentality. All of the Polynesians, whether you're from Hawaii or Samoa or wherever, you're family," Tafua said. "Family is the biggest thing, in that sense in that common respect we have for each other."

But Jackson and Tafua both said it didn't take long to make friends in Athens.

"The people here are so friendly," Jackson said. "They just came up to me and went, 'Oh! You're the new quarterback.'"

Jackson said he missed his family, but making new friends and getting close to his teammates helped him cope with his relatives not being able to watch him play every weekend.

"We get four tickets a game, and I have to give them away," Jackson said. "It's kind of difficult at times, but we know we made the right decision."

Jackson's mother, brother, sister, brother-in-law and niece all attended the Marshall and Ohio State games this season, the first time they saw Jackson play since 2008.

"It was tremendous for me," Jackson said. "It's not a five-hour drive (for them to get to games), it's a five-hour plane ride, so it's kind of difficult."

Despite the close family relationship, Jackson defied his mother's wishes when it came to something that had been a signature of his for a long time: his hair.

Since he arrived in Athens, Jackson gained notice off the field for two reasons: his easy-going attitude and long, frizzy locks. In 2008, he decided to cut it off while his mother was in town.

"I've had long hair since before I came here," Jackson said. "It's kind of like a Polynesian thing."

Jackson's mother was cooking dinner when Tafua reached for the hair clippers. By the time the quarterback's hair was gone, his mother had angrily walked away.

"She stopped making dinner and went to sleep. I was like, 'Okay, I'll finish,'" Jackson joked. "She loves my long hair. It was difficult for her to watch."

The quarterback said he cut it because he didn't enjoy the recognition he received when walking around campus.

In his first game after the trim, Jackson threw for five touchdowns against Akron, making him think short hair was a good omen. But a season-ending shoulder injury at the beginning of 2009 made the quarterback jokingly rethink it.

Now in his final year of eligibility, Jackson has started Ohio's last two games, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns.

He said that, no matter where he ends up, Athens will always remind him of home.

"Where I grew up is exactly like this," he said. "It's a small town surrounded by a high school, college town. All we had was a Walmart and a movie theater.

"It actually makes me appreciate this place more."

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Beaver From Tonga Learning On The Fly

As a boy in Tonga, Stephen Paea figured he had two choices.

"Everybody's got to play rugby," he said. "Either that, or you cook for the rugby team."

More comfortable on the pitch than in a kitchen, Paea took up the sport. He hoped it would make him famous in the rugby-crazy country.

His mother was traveling in New Zealand when he was born, but Paea (pronounced PIE-yuh) was raised on Vava'u, a chain of 41 islands in the 169-island Tongan archipelago.

That's a long way from Corvallis, Ore., where Oregon State's senior defensive tackle is competing for All-America honors after deciding not to leave early for the NFL draft.

The Beavers play at Arizona Stadium on Saturday.

As a boy, Paea knew of American football only from the "Madden" video games - and even then, he joked, the graphics were fuzzy.

He moved to Los Altos, Calif., with his family at 16. He learned English, and didn't play a down of football until his senior year of high school.

He lined up at offensive guard and defensive tackle, but didn't know what he was doing.

"My job was easy," he said. "To protect the quarterback, and to get after the quarterback."

He was promising enough to play at powerful Snow College, redshirting in 2006 and playing for an 11-1 team in 2007.

When he set foot at Oregon State, lured by other Polynesian players, Paea had played three years of football - and only two years' worth of game experience.

Even now, he is in the midst of his fifth-ever season of games.

"That's why he's so intriguing as a player," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "To see his physical talent and watch him grow as a player has been a lot of fun."

The 6-foot-1-inch, 311-pounder became a YouTube sensation when video showed him bench-pressing 225 pounds 44 times - and that was when he was tired after a workout.

The NFL combine record is 45 (since 2000).

Paea might be the strongest player, at any position, in the sport. He can squat 600 pounds, bench-press 500 and run a 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds.

"His strength and quickness are outstanding," Riley said. "He is learning, I think, probably every time he plays."

Paea, who still plays rugby for fun in the off-season, had 11 tackles-for-loss and five sacks as a sophomore in 2008, and 8.5 tackles-for-loss and three sacks last season. He received the Morris Trophy, a Pac-10 defensive award voted on by offensive linemen.

His NFL draft flirtation yielded assurances of a late second- or early third-round selection, but he decided to return for his senior season.

The sociology major can become the first person in his family - he has four siblings, including a twin brother, Will, who played junior college football - to graduate from a four-year college.

"I feel comfortable here," he said, "and had that gut feeling that I'm not ready."

He's become the Pac-10's problem.

UA co-offensive coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh said few opponents dare block Paea with only one player. Paea had his best game Saturday against Arizona State, Bedenbaugh said, when the Beavers sacked Steven Threet six times.

"Even when he wasn't sacking the quarterback, most of those sacks came with him disrupting the pocket," Bedenbaugh said.

Paea can only wonder how good he'd be if football, not rugby, was the sport he had played as a child.

"Oh man," he said. "It would be a different story."

Certainly no different than the story he dreamt as a boy. The goal is still the same, even if the sport is different.

"I had a dream - I thought rugby was going to get me to that," he said. "It's the same thing with football now. It all of a sudden changed. I've been blessed."

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Martinez Making Huskers See, Believe

So, everyone saw that, right?

We saw that blink-of-a first step that started a straight line to the end zone, capped by his appreciative, celebratory point at the band and surrounding fans who made the trip from Lincoln to Manhattan for the last time?

We saw that sprint around the defense, certain that any defender intent on closing off the sideline would get there a few crucial seconds too late?

We saw Taylor Martinez channel T-Magic and silence a sea of purple on the road for the second time in his brief five-start career, beating Kansas State 48-13 in his first conference game, weeks after leading a five-touchdown stomping of Washington in Seattle.
We saw a redshirt freshman tempt us to throw his name in the same sentence with Heisman Trophy.

We ain't seen nothin' yet.

"He made some mistakes, but he did a lot of good things, obviously. He ran for a lot of yards," said coach Bo Pelini.

More yards, in fact, than any quarterback in the long history of Nebraska football. This isn't the old-school option attack the corn-fed Nebraskans grew up watching, but they'll gladly take it.

Martinez's 241 rushing yards stated loudly, to everyone watching inside the stadium and on the national telecast, that any team who beats Nebraska will have to beat him first. And if they do, they'll have to deal with his two friends, running backs Rex Burkhead and Roy Helu, who combined to run for 167 more yards on 19 carries, an average of almost 9 yards a carry. With apologies to Oregon, there might not be a rushing attack in college football more difficult to defend.

The defenses will get better than Kansas State, who entered Thursday night's game as the Big 12's worst run defense and outside the top 100 nationally. But Nebraska's got a pretty good one, and they held Daniel Thomas, the Big 12's leading rusher, to just 63 yards on 22 carries, almost 100 yards below his average of 157 a game.

But those same Blackshirts hate seeing Martinez every day as much as Kansas State did on Thursday, and the Wildcats only had to fail at catching him for a little more than three quarters.

"It's frustrating," said Nebraska linebacker Alonzo Whaley. "You never know what to expect from him. What you saw out here today, we've seen all camp. It's good to see him execute, and it's really confusing. It bothers us a lot. It bothers the defense when there's somebody so explosive."

The toughest part of defending Martinez is what Kansas State learned very quickly on Thursday night, and what every defense the rest of the year will have to compensate for better than the Wildcats.

"The hardest part is knowing he can outrun you," Whaley said.

Get used to it. And that goes for almost everyone. Martinez says he ran a "low 4.4" 40-time as a junior in high school and hasn't been clocked since. True or not, you won't hear any arguments from Manhattan for awhile.

And that blur we saw cross the goal line four times will get better fast, making more opponents resort to Kansas State's most-often used defensive strategy in the lopsided loss: the cuss and chase. (Not allowed at Kansas.)

"He's not a done project. Everybody's got to remember, he's a redshirt freshman. He's got a lot of work to do, but the thing about this kid is he's a fierce competitor. He doesn't say a lot because he strives for perfection in everything he does," said offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. "He's really easy to motivate in that aspect because he wants to be a great player. He wants to be the best."
Pretty soon, he might be.

We saw that half step Kansas State got on Martinez's 79-yard touchdown pass to Kyler Reed in the third quarter. It stretched the lead to a comical 38-6 after a hard-earned field goal from the Wildcats.

Martinez might not be handing out those half steps to defenses for much longer.

"Honestly, because of the way these games have evolved, you haven't seen him as a passer. He's a really good passer," Watson said. "He's got passing talent. We haven't thrown it that much."

Just seven times on Thursday and 64 times in five games. And why would they? Kansas State would have liked nothing more.

When the season began, Nebraska had a quarterback controversy. Or at least claimed to have one, with Pelini insisting Martinez and his backups were "close" before fall camp began. Here's guessing it wasn't much of a controversy very long in the coaches' meetings. After Martinez's debut in the season opener, Watson admitted that his status as the team's starting quarterback was "clear" by the end of fall camp.

Ya don't say.

He looks ready to hit that lengthy stride plenty more times and take Nebraska on a ride in its final season in the Big 12. After Thursday night, the path looks clear: a date with the Sooners for a storybook Big 12 title game between the Big 12's only two teams currently in the top 10.

Getting there will be fun. It might come with a few bumps in the road, like the mistake-filled performance against South Dakota State a week ago that Watson said left Martinez feeling "insulted," both by his own performance and the coaches' decision to pull him late in the game.

But performances like those fuel performances like this, when his fifth touchdown of the night sent fans to the exits with just over 12 minutes left to play.

Martinez won't talk about it now, but plenty of schools in the Pac-10 saw the Corona, Calif., native long before Thursday night, when the rest of America caught up. They didn't see their future starting quarterback.

Understatement perhaps, but...bad move.

After Thursday's win, all Nebraska is left looking for is Martinez's ceiling.

"We'll see," Watson said. "The kid's been amazing."


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The "Taua of Powa" Runs Over UNLV

It was a big night for Nevada's Vai Taua as the Wolf Pack (5-0) beat UNLV 44-28 and remained undefeated and in the Top 25. The "Taua of Powa" rushed for three touchdowns and caught a pass for a fourth as the Wolf Pack rolled up 516 total yards, 374 on the ground. QB Colin Kaepernick had 97 yards rushing and 124 yards passing with one touchdown in the air and another on the ground.

Most importantly, Kaepernick now has 48 rushing touchdowns and, with eight remaining regular season games, needs only 11 more touchdowns to tie the all-time NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. He has already surpassed Tim Tebow's career rushing yardage mark.

UNLV managed only 80 yards on the ground but had nearly 300 yards of total offense as their quarterback Omar Clayton proved to be elusive, accurate, and very fast.

Nevada retained possession of the precious Fremont Canon, the heaviest and most expensive "trophy" in college football.

In a moment of some concern, UNLV player Michael Johnson appeared to have been knocked out briefly after a massive hit by Nevada linebacker James Michael Johnson that forced a fumble. In a remarkable display of courtesy and good sportsmanship, the Nevada player took a knee just yards from the injured UNLV player and just feet from the Rebel bench. Given the intense rivalry between the teams, this display of good sportsmanship was praiseworthy. Fortunately, the UNLV player was not seriously injured and able to return to play.

The Nevada Wolf Pack, keeping pace with the undefeated Boise State Broncos, now moves on to conference play and will face San Jose State in Reno next week. If both Nevada and Boise State remain undefeated, this will set up what would surely be one of the best games of the entire college football season in Reno on November 26.

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Any Samoans In The House?

If so, please make Natanu Mageo your Facebook friend.

Mageo is on N.C. State's football team. It is particularly rare to have a Samoan football player on the East Coast. Most of 'em, and there's a bunch, play for West Coast schools. Hailing from Pago Pago in American Samoa (hope you caught the 60 Minutes piece on Samoan players defying the odds and making it to the NFL), Mageo was told by his father that maybe he should pick a West Coast school when he was ready to transfer from a New Mexico junior college.

But Natanu chose N.C. State.

"The biggest adjustment, I think, is talking so much English," Mageo said. "I never spoke English so much until I got here to Raleigh."

The Wolfpack player said he searches relentlessly for Samoans in the Raleigh area in order to talk about home but hasn't found a single one.

"I haven't seen one Samoan in Raleigh," Natanu  said. "I even tried to look them up on Facebook."

Any Samoans out there?

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Ngata, Defense Stepped Up Big In Ravens vs Pittsburgh

After the Ravens defense allowed rookie Peyton Hillis to rush for 144 yards and surrendered their first touchdown of the season against the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore defense, led by a great performance from Haloti Ngata, dominated up front against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field.  Though the boxscore will tell you that Reshard Mendenhall rushed for 79 yards and accounted for both of the Steelers’ touchdowns, the Ravens d-line was in their face all day long.

Haloti Ngata, looking for a new contract after this season, was the Ravens leader up front yesterday with eight tackles and the team’s only sack.  Ngata’s speed went unmatched as he was able to catch up with receivers across the middle and make his way through the offensive line.  Paul Kruger also got in on the action up front as a pass rusher and appeared to fit right into the Baltimore de.

The defense limited Pittsbugh to just four third down conversions on 11 attempts and pressured Charlie Batch to just 12 completions and an interception.  Though I should give credit to Batch for quickly releasing the ball when the Ravens threw everything they had at him on third downs.

While the Ravens were able to control the run game, they were tested in the secondary.  Though they’ve played the offenses of New York and Cincinnati, prior to this match up only Seneca Wallace and the Browns have truly tested the Ravens secondary down field.  Lardarius Webb proved once again that he has what it takes to be a great defender in the secondary yesterday.  His reactions to the quarterback Charlie Batch secured the Ravens from a few big plays down field.

And in the victory the Ravens finally ended their interception drought. They did wait until there was just 28 seconds left in the fourth game in the season, but they got it done.  Hopefully it’s the first of many and how fitting it was that number 52 came up with the ball that secured the win in Pittsburgh.

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Pilares Adds Power

Hawaii football player Kealoha Pilares' father knew best.

And this was before Pilares knew of Blaze Soares.

During the 2007 spring training, his first as a Warrior, Pilares, then playing running back, had to go up against heat-seeking linebacker Blaze Soares in several drills.

"He's a big bully," Pilares said, smiling. "Blaze is Blaze. That's how he is. He'll run you over if you're not ready for it. The same thing with the other guys. Over here, the defense is known for hitting. You'd better be ready to hit, or you won't play. I wanted to play."

That is when the off-to-college advice of his father began to crystallize.

"My dad told me: 'You'd better get your butt into the weight room,'" Pilares recalled.

After four years of intensive training, Pilares has gained 30 pounds of muscle and now is a 205-pound slotback.

Pilares is the current NCAA leader in receiver yards (682). After a school-record 18 catches for 217 yards in a 41-21 victory over Louisiana Tech, Pilares was named yesterday the Western Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week.

"It's not anything special," Pilares said of receiving his first individual WAC award. "I didn't win the Heisman or anything."

Because of the intensity of the game, Pilares said, "You kind of forget about everything. I didn't know I was getting the ball that much, and I don't think (quarterback Bryant Moniz) knew he was throwing me the ball that much. He was throwing it to the open guy. We had a lot of open guys."

Pilares credited the other receivers, particularly left slotback Greg Salas, for drawing away defenders. He also praised Moniz, marveling at the quarterback's stiff-armed move on a scramble.

"I think that was his boxing skills, that jab," Pilares said. "You like to see your quarterback playing like that. It gives you goose bumps. Just watching Mo play is so exciting."

Pilares also has been entertaining, although he has been quick to embrace assistant coach Mouse Davis' advice.

"Coach Mouse said two things can happen to you right now: 'You can either get better or get worse,'" Pilares recalled. "We can't think about anything except working hard."

Such distractions include pondering a football future beyond the Manoa campus. During the Colorado game, four NFL scouts praised Pilares' post-catch abilities. Two weeks ago, a scout for the New England Patriots also gave a good review.

"If the opportunity comes, it comes," Pilares said. "I'm not going to worry about it now."

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Buffalo Bills Release Kawika Mitchell

Trent Edwards isn't the only veteran who was sent packing by the Buffalo Bills this week.

The Bills reached an injury settlement Friday with linebacker Kawika Mitchell, and he is no longer a member of the team.

Mitchell was on the injured reserve list because of a foot injury and could not play this season for the Bills. However, now that he has been released, as soon as he's healthy, he could play for another team.

Mitchell joined the Bills in 2008 as a free agent, one year after winning a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants. He played all of 2008, then saw action in only five games in 2009 because of a quadriceps injury. In 21 games with Buffalo, he had 117 tackles with four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

Once the Bills switched to a 3-4 defense, it seemed as if he was no longer a proper fit. He was an outside 4-3 linebacker, and the team asked him to move inside. He could not beat out Paul Posluszny or Andra Davis for a starting spot in training camp, and then suffered his injury before the start of the regular season. It is believed that he asked the team to release him.

"Going into this year looking at our linebacker corps we looked deep," Posluszny told buffalobills.com. "We had a lot of guys and unfortunately he gets banged up early and now he's not with us anymore. So it's a tough situation any time it happens, but especially with a guy like him that we all respected."

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Oregon State's Stephen Paea: 'Enough talking, just do it, is all I'm trying to say''

We were face to face with DT Stephen Paea after Tuesday’s practice, demanding answers, demanding to know why a highly-regarded future NFL draft pick isn’t just tossing aside linemen and swallowing up quarterbacks. Why isn’t Paea dominating games like Ndamukong Suh did last year for Nebraska?

Well, I’m not sure Paea – one of our favorite all-time players by the way – is in Suh’s class for starters. And he’s getting doubled and tripled at times – although defensive coordinator Mark Banker disagreed with me on this after the TCU game. … and the defensive front in general has not played particularly well except for stretches in the Louisville game.

  The Banker defense isn’t designed for a single DT – even a Stephen Paea – to make ESPN highlight plays on every down, I get that. But I also know that fans are disappointed that this OSU defense isn't kicking butt and taking names like some previous versions did, especially in Reser. And judging from the talk I had with Paea, the players are also aware that there is much work to be done if they want to contend for the conference championship again.

 Paea sounded confident that OSU will play better. It’s that or face the consequences of being an afterthought in the Pac-10 race. Paea said Pac-10 games are going to be a war. “I mean, look at Oregon,’’ he said. “They were kicking butt and they showed up and they struggled vs. ASU. It’s a very competitive conference.’’

  Paea said some frustration spilled over on the plane ride home from Boise and players spoke openly about what needs to be done. He called it an informal team meeting. “Enough talking,’’ said Paea. “Just do it, is all I’m trying to say. We’ve got to fix some stuff. … we’re still trying to find that lost piece of the puzzle. We’ve got to put it back together.’’

  Paea praised the play of fellow DTs Kevin Frahm and Brennan Olander in the Boise State game, and said he certainly isn’t blameless when it comes to pointing fingers and trying to determine why this OSU defense is statistically getting killed (it ranks 108th in total defense among 120 FBS teams)

 “I’ve had problems, too, like some stunt problems,’’ said Paea.

 Are the double teams frustrating?

  “It’s a compliment pretty much, a sign of respect,’’ he said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to step my game up. Double teams shouldn’t be an issue for me. I should go through those double-teams because I go through them every day here (in practice).’’

  Why just two sacks in three games? Paea can partially answer this. And he said it doesn’t necessarily mean the defensive front is terrible.

   For starters, he said, “we’ve played two of the top teams in the nation. … and that three-step drop and all that, it’s just the nature of (spread offenses). That ball is going to come out fast, like it did at Boise State (with QB Kellen Moore). You can line up and go untouched to the quarterback and the ball’s coming out. You can’t do anything about it. And Kellen Moore, talk about a (Heisman-type) quarterback. Dalton, too.

  “We stopped ‘em (BSU) a few times, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. That’s why they’re No. 3 in the nation. And we’re not at that level yet.’’

   The OSU offense ran fewer plays after three games than any FBS team in the country, which meant the defense was on the field for LONG stretches.

   “We get tired, but we’ve got to find a way,’’ said Paea, who said being on the field for extra snaps isn’t a huge issue for the Beavers because the team rotates so many players.

    Paea said the beleaguered cornerbacks, “have to help us,’’ by covering better.

    He said the defensive line must help out the cornerbacks, “by pressuring the passer and getting some sacks.’’

     None of it is rocket science. And one bang-up afternoon against Arizona State will take some heat off the defense, said Paea.

     “We talked (on the plane home) about not letting Boise State get us down,’’ said No. 54.

    “One of the guys made a good point, that a lot of people thought we were going to get blown out by Boise State. But we hung in there, and we even had a chance to win at the end. … we made some simple mistakes that we’ve got to fix.

    “Less talk, more action,’’ said Paea.

    “It starts with Arizona State, and carries all the way to the Oregon game.

    “It starts with ASU, then it’s one game at a time.’’

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Next Man Up

A bye week is just what the Southwestern College football team needed. It was a rough month.

The schedule maker threw the Jaguars a one-two punch by opening the season with Palomar College, the nation's #8-ranked community college team, followed two weeks later by perennial powerhouse Grossmont. At least that's over with.

SWC played well but not well enough in a 23-13 loss to the Comets and a 45-31 defeat in the hands of the Griffins. Sandwiched in between was a 26-0 win over San Diego Mesa College.

Jag players and coaches said they are hoping the Mesa game will be typical of the rest of the season.

While the Jags have lost key players like wide receiver George Bell, now at Arizona State, the team remains confident with its newcomers and returnees.

Freshman Thomas Tutogi has proven he is ready to play at the collegiate level. SWC head coach Ed Carberry referred to the young linebacker as a "true Division-I talent."

Despite being offered a scholarship to play at San Jose State, a Division-I school, fellow linebacker Ramsey Iapala convinced him to stay at SWC for at least one year to find a school that would be better suited for his talents.

Throughout training camp Tutogi and Iapala learned to count on each other.

"If I mess up, I trust Iapala enough to know that he is going to make up for my messing up," said Tutogi.
Sophomore defensive back Ivan Sillas-Navarro said he is excited to play behind the talented linebackers.

"I can look my linebackers right in the eye and I know that I got their back and they got mine," he said.
Sillas-Navarro said he has seen the chemistry build over the past year.

"We had a lot of individuality last year," he said. "People did not look out for each other but just for themselves. I feel a big change."

After completing its first shutout in seven years against Mesa, the stingy Jaguar defense has earned a reputation.

"If we go out and punch them in the mouth first before they punch us in the mouth, the game is over," said Iapala, who sacked Mesa's quarterback in the end zone for a safety in the Week Two victory.

Unlike the rock-solid defense, there remains uncertainty at the offensive skilled positions, which has remained the team's biggest concern throughout the offseason.

Victor Perez and Ryan Van Nostrand, both true freshmen, are competing for the open position at quarterback.

"Because we rotate quarterbacks during the game, that position will continue to battle throughout the season," said Carberry. "If one falters, the other one goes in."

Perez, who started in Week Two after splitting time with Van Nostrand in Week One, said having the competition pushes him to perform at a higher level. He threw for 169 yards with one touchdown in the 26-0 victory over Mesa.

The running back position was blown wide-open with an injury to preseason All-American Aaron Harris, sidelined with a shoulder injury. There is no timetable for his return.

Carberry said the injury is unfortunate, but the team must move on with or without their record-setting running back.
"There is a book on our shelf at home that says ‘next man up,'" said Carberry. "That's football."

Arona Tuiafono, a freshman running back from American Samoa, has been forced to fill the large shoes of Harris. Early in his first college game Tuiafono played admirably, rushing for 80 yards on 17 carries with a crucial fourth quarter touchdown against Palomar.

Linebacker Tutogi also saw time at running back. In the second quarter against Mesa, Carberry called for the Rambo formation. Tutogi, who lined up behind fellow linebacker Iapala, got the ball in a critical fourth down situation. The all-purpose talent burst through the Mesa defense, scoring from 42-yards out.

Tutogi and Iapala said the formation was in their playbook, but did not expect to see it this early in the season.

"We take the 11 biggest, meanest guys we can find and put them all on the same team," said Carberry. "We teach them one or two simple plays and try to get a yard."

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