Steady Jede A Quiet Leader For Bruins

When you ask Jede Fue how his season has gone, the softspoken senior linebacker for Wilson smiles and says, “Pretty good. I’ve got to try harder.” He speaks so quietly you have to lean in to hear him, which is surprising—if any Long Beach linebacker is entitled to a chest-thump or two, it’s Fue.

At the end of the regular season, the captain had recorded 118 total tackles—only 33 more than the second-closest defender in the Moore League. He’s a tireless player who’s been praised by coaches across the city for his effort and activity on the field.

“He’s a joy,” says Wilson defensive coordinator Scott Meyer. “He’s a great kid and a hard worker…he’s our starting middle linebacker and he’s on the practice team getting every rep in against our first-team offense. You won’t see that very often.”

Nor will you see Fue raise his voice to the volume it reaches on the football field. He admits he tries to be a vocal leader, contrary to his nature away from the game. It’s an instinct that comes to him through his bloodline.

His father, Keli Pula, is an assistant coach for the Poly girls’ varsity volleyball team, and his mother and sister both played the sport (his older sister Deveney is currently playing for Cornell). Bruins coach Mario Morales says that growing up around coaches and athletes has been an asset. “Well it’s made him very coachable,” he says, “which obviously is great for us.”

Between the statistics and his football acumen (he calls the checks for Wilson’s defense), it would probably be a safe assumption that Fue will be spending the next few months wading through scholarship offers, trying to find the exact best situation for him. But shockingly, Morales says he has yet to receive a single offer.

“Well the way it is now, everyone recruits off of the junior season, and last year he was good, but not great. This year he’s been so steady for us.”

Fue’s father has credited his work ethic in the offseason with the improvement, as he worked fastidiously to put on the weight needed to bang inside against the Moore League’s bruising rushing attacks. That effort was most obvious in Wilson’s biggest losses of the season, to Poly and Lakewood. Despite being the focus of a lot of blocking schemes, Fue still led his team with 12 and 13 tackles in those games.

“He’s very active,” said Lakewood coach Thadd MacNeal before their game against Wilson, identifying Fue as his biggest concern on the defense.

Every year you find a player or two on each team that’s loved by his coaching staff, but overlooked by coaches at the higher level—and every now and then, a solid offer comes through and turns the situation around. It’s obvious talking to Morales and Meyer that they’re hoping something good comes for Fue.

“We’d like that to happen,” says Morales. “He just loves football, and he wants to continue playing—I don’t think it matters to him if it’s D1 or NAIA. Wherever he ends up, he’ll be an asset.”

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Manti Te'o Is Becoming the Face of the Irish

Over the years, when someone mentioned the face of Notre Dame football, offensive players usually came to mind.

In the late 80's into the 90's, names like Tony Rice, Rocket Ismail and Ricky Watters, more recently Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate.

As the 2010 season is winding down, the new face of the Irish appears to be sophomore inside linebacker Manti Te'o.

The 6'2, 245-pound former USA Today Prep Defensive Player of The Year has been the one constant over the past two seasons. Te'o is the first Defensive Player of The Year to sign with Notre Dame since Kory Minor in 1995, and has lived up to his top billing from Day 1.

Te'o started 10 games as a freshman and finished with 63 tackles, third most ever by a Notre Dame freshman, he was named a Freshman All-American by College Football News.

Although there were some concerns even during the recruiting process that Te'o would leave school after his freshman year to pursue a two-year Mormon mission, he announced that he would complete his education and deal with his religious obligations later in life.

Although Te'o was still learning a new defensive coming into the 2010 season, his natural ability carried him to the rapidly improved workhorse that we see today.

It had been duly noted that Te'o was basically playing on instinct as a freshman and with more knowledge of the defense, he could become the force that we see today.

Those predictions were correct. Te'o has 100 total tackles after 10 games this season, including a season-high 21 vs. Stanford.

With Te'o as the face of the organization, the shift to a defensive-minded team will help in the recruiting of better players on the defensive side of the ball.

Getting to line up with Te'o, Carlo Calabrese, and Prince Shembo has to sound extremely inviting to commitments such as Stephon Tuitt (6'5 260-pound defensive end), Tony Springmann (6'6, 257-pound defensive end) and four-star defensive back Eilar Hardy (6'1, 175 pounds).

Coaches Kelly and Molnar will see to it that the offense is that explosive point-scoring machine that we were looking forward to.

In a short time, the offense will take care of itself, but the long-lasting effects of Manti Te'o will live on long after he is playing on Sundays.

The scary thing is is Te'o is still a sophomore, and he is still learning. His second and third effort to finish a play is starting to become "buzz worthy." The sky is the limit for Te'o during the second half of his collegiate career.

Te'o, who hails from Laie, Hawaii, surprised many people when he chose Notre Dame over warm weather schools USC and UCLA, but his style of play has come as no surprise.

This highly decorated linebacker is exactly the type of player that the Irish need to base their future on. 

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Stephen Paea Is Bednarik Semifinalist

Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea hasn't put up big numbers this year, but his unsung efforts against constant double-teams are still earning him recognition.

Paea has been named one of 16 semifinalists for the 16th annual Bednarik Award, presented to the nation’s top defensive player by the Maxwell Football Club. He is the only player from the Pac-10 on the list.

Paea was the 2009 co-recipient of the Pac-10 Conference’s Morris Trophy for the league’s top defensive lineman. The native of Tonga was a 2009 All-Pac-10 First Team selection and earned honorable mention in 2008. He currently has career totals of 105 total tackles, 25 tackles-for-loss and 12 quarterback sacks.

You can see the entire list of semifinalists here.

The winners of the 74th Maxwell Award and the 16th Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 9. Three finalists for each award will be announced on Nov. 22, and a second round of voting will take place at that time.

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Nebraska Beats Missouri 31-17 Behind Roy Helu’s Record Day

Things looked pretty scary there for a second when the Cornhuskers' lead was cut to ten, but Roy Helu Jr. has come to the rescue once again.

Missouri took their second possession of the half all the way to the house to temporarily cut Nebraska's lead to 24-10. For the record, the drive ended with a 23-yard pass from Blaine Gabbert to T.J. Moe (great name), Gabbert's first of the day.

With Taylor Martinez out, the Cornhuskers went to Roy Helu Jr. on the next drive. Needless to say, he delivered.

Already with touchdown runs of 66 and 73 yards, Helu Jr. it the hole and went 53 yards for yet another touchdown. That gives him a career-high 228 yards on 10 carries (that's a 22.8 yard average, folks), the majority of which has come on those three runs. He ended up finishing the day with 307 yards rushing against the #6 ranked Missouri team.

Missouri came into the game allowing only 114.6 yards on the ground every game, and shut down DeMarco Murray last week. So much for that.

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PFP College Football Highlights 2010

Here are some highlights of some of the many Polynesian College Football players doing it big this 2010 football season! Enjoy!

Idaho Linebacker JoJo Dickson’s College Career Is Over

Idaho linebacker JoJo Dickson underwent successful surgery Saturday, just hours after he broke his leg during the second half of the Vandals’ homecoming win over New Mexico State.

Dickson suffered a dislocated ankle and a broken leg after he was hit from behind by New Mexico State running back Kenny Turner, who was flagged for a personal foul on the play.

“You hate to see anybody get hurt, but I don’t think it was a vicious deal,” said Akey, who received an on-the-field apology from Turner after the game.

Akey said the injury looked worse than it actually was.

“I  thought both bones were broken because everything was turned in the other direction,” Akey said. “The ankle was dislocated, which was why things were pointing the wrong way. The doctor was able to fix that right out on the field.”

Akey went to the Gritman Medical Center in Moscow and helped wheel Dickson into the operating room.

The senior was out of surgery by 8:30 p.m. that night, and was discharged Monday morning.

“I went and saw him (Monday morning) and the surgery went great,” Akey said.

The injury ends Dickson’s college career, but Akey is hoping the captain can make the trip to Hawaii this week. Dickson is one of four Idaho players from Hawaii.

The Vandals leave for Honolulu on Friday.

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Bingham RB Langi To Play In Army All-American Bowl

Bingham High School running back Harvey Langi was selected to play in the 2011 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which features the nation's top 90 high school football players.

"Harvey is a talented athlete whose exemplary leadership and teamwork qualities have made him a standout at Bingham High School," said Col. Derik Crotts, Director of Strategic Communications, Marketing and Outreach, U.S. Army Accessions Command. "The strength, dedication, leadership and teamwork skills necessary to succeed on the football field are the same qualities mirrored in Army Strong Soldiers. We are proud to honor all of our U.S. Army All-American Bowl players and congratulate them on their selection."

Langi was selected by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee, which consists of All American Games' network of regional directors, Rivals.com and Tom Lemming. U.S. Army All-American players are eligible for the U.S. Army Player of the Year Award, the Anthony Muñoz Lineman of the Year Award, the Pete Dawkins Game MVP Award, and the Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard U.S. Army Awards.

As a result of Harvey Langi being selected to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, his head coach David Peck is invited to travel to San Antonio and attend the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, an elite three-day learning experience featuring NFL and NCAA coaches, as well as participate in game-week activities.

The game will be played on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The annual East vs. West match-up will be televised live on NBC at 11:00 a.m.

The game also crowns the U.S. Army Player of the Year during Bowl Week in San Antonio.

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'The Samoan Bulldozer' Garnering National Attention

Greer (SC) Greer inside linebacker Adam Ah Ching is earning a lot of attention on the recruiting trail, and with a nickname like "The Samoan Bulldozer", it would seem hard not to. The 6-1, 210-pound Ah Ching has picked up early offers from BYU, Colorado and Oregon State while schools like Notre Dame, Alabama, Cal, Clemson, LSU, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington are showing serious interest.

One of the main things Ah Ching is letting college coaches know is his intent to serve his Mormon mission and how important that is to him, so that could play a factor in his recruitment.

"Any school that will let me serve my church mission, it's always been my dream to serve my mission," Ah Ching said. "It's always been my goal to let the coaches know that if they let me serve my mission I'll be interested in them.

"Some schools shy away from that because you leave for two years and some kids are out of shape. BYU is really not a favorite right now, it's just a matter of whatever school makes me a better person and is a great atmosphere for me."

Ah Ching, who has about 62 tackles (15 for loss) two sacks and a forced fumble this season, said that BYU "has always been like my dream school," and he camped with the Cougars this summer where he earned the defensive MVP award.

But he's keeping all of his options open and there are plenty of schools coming after the standout junior linebacker.

"LSU, Stanford, Notre Dame," said Ah Ching, who visited Clemson for a recent game. "I could go down the list."

Ah Ching also went to Oregon's camp this past summer and then made the short trip to Corvallis to check out Oregon State.

He already has the three early offers and also lists interest from Alabama, Cal, Penn State, South Carolina, South Florida, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington. Many other schools should get involved as well.

"I'm having a great season," Ah Ching said. "Hopefully I get more offers and schools looking out for me after I send my highlight tape out."

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Ohio's Boo Jackson Named MAC Player of the Week

Ohio senior quarterback Boo Jackson (Gardena, Ca.) was selected as Rivals.com's Mid-American Conference Player of the Week Monday on the heels of his performance in Ohio's 34-13 win at Miami.

                                                                             

Jackson completed 10 of 19 passes for 149 yards and an interception, while rushing for 31 yards and two touchdowns in the key MAC East game.

Jackson, already the program's all-time leader in completion percentage (.603), pass efficiency (134.9), total offense per play (6.17) and passing yards per attempt (7.5), now has 29 career touchdown passes, just one shy of breaking Cleve Bryant's (1967-69) record. He also stands fourth in passing yards (3,611), sixth in touchdown responsibility (36), seventh with 290 completions and eighth with 481 pass attempts.

Ohio will face Louisiana Saturday at Peden Stadium at 2 p.m. ET.

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Valiant Masoli: 425 Yards, 3 Touchdowns, 1 Defeat

Thursday night, Ole Miss quarterback Jeremiah Masoli watched as his former team, the No. 1-ranked Oregon Ducks, smoked UCLA 60-13 to move to 7-0.

Masoli watched a talented, veteran team, filled with his friends and filled with speedy playmakers, make play after dazzling play.

Here Saturday afternoon, Masoli endured a physical beating, two long lightning delays and a 38-24 defeat to Arkansas. Playing on a team that dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the SEC, Masoli operated behind a leaky, inexperienced line, often threw to freshman and sophomore receivers or handed off to young running backs. Yes, and Masoli probably played as well as he ever played in leading Oregon to the Rose Bowl and certainly as well as any Ole Miss quarterback has played since Eli Manning played out his eligibility.

Masoli ran for 98 yards on 15 carries. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns. His 425 yards of total offense was the second highest single-game total in Ole Miss history behind only Archie Manning's magnificent 540-yard effort against Alabama 41 years ago.

Archie Manning lost that game, too, but everyone who saw it remembers his superb effort. Masoli lost this game, but we should all remember his heroic play. Even his gaudy numbers don't tell the entire story, because he often scrambled away from the fierce Razorbacks pass rush and threw while on the run. And when there was no running room, Masoli would just lower his head and push Arkansas tacklers backward.

Coming off two straight nine-victory, Cotton Bowl seasons, Ole Miss is off to a 3-4 start and Rebels fans are understandably disappointed. But any who still blame Masoli - or Houston Nutt for giving Masoli a second chance - just aren't paying attention. Presently, Jeremiah Masoli is an outstanding, experienced player on a mediocre, inexperienced team. Said Nutt, succinctly, "Jeremiah gives us a chance."Saturday afternoon, after all the weather delays and all the heckling from Arkansas fans, only one question left Nutt momentarily speechless: Where would you be without Masoli?

Nutt paused, whistled softly and shook his head. "Don't ask me that," he finally said.

Paying the price

We all know Masoli has made mistakes in his past. He is paying for those now. He should be the quarterback of those high-flying Ducks. He should be a Heisman Trophy candidate. It's his fault he is not. But say this for the guy: He is making the best he can of the situation. And he is making Ole Miss a competitive team, one that trailed 21-0 early, but fired back behind Masoli's remarkable play.

Through seven games, five starts, Masoli has thrown for 1,258 yards and run for 400 more. He has thrown 10 touchdowns, run for three. More than that, Nutt says, "He has been a great teammate and he has gone about everything the right way. Sometimes I want to pull him aside and ask him, 'Are you the same guy who got in trouble out there?' He's a winner. We couldn't ask any more of him."

Both Nutt and co-offensive coordinator Mike Markuson talked about how Masoli has become a team leader, trying to encourage his younger teammates. Said Markuson, "He's been there. He's won big games. He knows what it takes and he's trying to show the rest of them."

And what does he tell them?

"Just keep fighting," Masoli said. "That's all you can really tell them. There's only one way to get better and that's keep fighting. I thought we did keep fighting today, but to lose when you have so many opportunities, it's just frustrating."

He plays behind a line that included two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior. He throws to mostly freshmen and sophomores.

"We don't have a lot of experience," he said. "That's not an excuse."

It's just a fact. So is this: Oregon starts mostly seniors.

"They look really, really good," Masoli said of his former team. "They are really clicking on offense. I wish them well. I hope they go all the way."

Meanwhile, Masoli intends to continue to make good on his second chance."Every new SEC stadium I play in, I soak it in," Masoli said. "I feel blessed."



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