Iosefa primed to keep carrying on

On a humid Wednesday morning, running back Joey Iosefa was sprinting.

The University of Hawaii football team’s practice had ended 20 minutes earlier, and the practice field was clear of all players except for Iosefa and tight end David Manoa.

"It’s a mind-set I have," Iosefa said of his extra work. "I’m ready to get another 100 yards this week."

In the 17-16 loss to Washington this past Saturday, Iosefa carried 30 times for 143 yards. By the Warriors’ count, Iosefa hit or was hit 52 times in the 69 offensive plays in which he participated. None of his rushes went for negative yards.

"That’s why I’ve been working so hard," Iosefa said. "I believed, one time, I would have 30 carries. When the time came, I knew I would be ready. The time was against Washington."

In the first half, the Warriors averaged an offensive play every 20.9 seconds. Of the Warriors’ 54 first-half plays, 14 were Iosefa rushes.

"The first half, we went so fast and it was hot," Iosefa said. "The tempo was unbelievable. We went so fast, I was sweating it out."

At halftime, Iosefa suffered leg cramps. While his teammates re-entered the Aloha Stadium field for warm-ups, Iosefa was receiving a saline IV in the training room.

After that, Iosefa said, "I was fresh again. I was back to normal."

Head coach Norm Chow tried to spread Iosefa’s workload to Steven Lakalaka and Diocemy Saint Juste. But Chow said Iosefa is "always yelping" for the ball.

Quarterback Ikaika Woolsey noted Iosefa wants carries not sympathy.

"I know he’s not sorry," Woolsey said of Iosefa’s numerous carries. "He’s over there laughing. He wants the ball. We obviously know it’s going to be a long season. We might have to cut back on his carries. Steven and D are good backs. But (Iosefa) always wants the ball."

Iosefa has inspired what is loosely defined as the "Joey Rule." Special teams coordinator Chris Demarest has his pick of any player on the roster, but a starter cannot be on more than two units. Iosefa is a blocker on kickoff returns and the upback on punts.

"I knock on Demo’s door every time, (and say), ‘I want to be on this team,’ ‘I want to be on that team,’" Iosefa said. "I’ll wait for the opportunity to get on (more) special teams."

Iosefa said he lost between five and seven pounds in the Washington game.

But he said he had no problems recovering from the contact.

"The offseason got me right, got me ready for everything," Iosefa said. "I was a little bit banged up. It was the first time I had live football contact in a game in a long time. It was exciting. I’m good again."