For Hawaii slotback Justin Clapp, the most difficult crossing pattern was the road between his house and De La Salle High in Concord, Calif.
"I walked across Tree Boulevard," he recalled. "It’s an eight-lane, 40-mph road. I played Frogger across it every day. It helped me with pro-agility drills, I feel, dodging cars."
He faced a greater obstacle as a newcomer to the Warriors in 2009 — a little because his father, Carl Clapp, is a UH associate athletic director, but mostly because of his mouthpiece-loosening blocks in practices.
"He wasn’t a popular guy when he first came out here," UH coach Greg McMackin said. "He went full speed, and the defensive guys didn’t like that, and he didn’t care."
Quarterback Bryant Moniz remembered Clapp "used to get it from the defense. I talked to the (defensive) guys, and they really respected him."
Cornerback Tank Hopkins said: "He wanted to make his mark on the team, and he did. He earned his stripes."
Clapp admittedly plays at fast-forward speed. In UH’s offense, receivers need to run routes at top speed to break into the open or clear room for teammates. As for his blocks, Clapp said, "I’m a fan of contact. I’m not afraid to hit somebody. It makes the game more exciting."
Clapp’s grit earned him berths on three special-teams units: punt return, kickoff return and kickoffs. He is a No. 2 slotback and, because of injuries, has practiced often as a No. 1 receiver the past month.
"He’s very smart," Moniz said. "He knows the offense as well as anybody."
At the end of his freshman year at De La Salle, Clapp’s father was hired at UH. Clapp asked if he could remain in California.
He stayed with a family friend before he was invited to live in the guest room of his best friend’s house.
"I’m appreciative of everything the Wayne family did for me," Clapp said.
Living away from his family, Clapp said, helped him become "self-reliant. I could motivate myself to get work done."
After his graduation, he decided to enroll at UH.
"I wanted to be there for my brother," Clapp said, noting Christian Clapp is a receiver at Kaiser High. "He started high school when I came out here. … He must have grown 8 inches. I came up, and he was looking at me eye to eye."
In the summer of 2009, Clapp trained on the Manoa campus. The players spread the word that he was a physical receiver who could help on special teams. Clapp had played most of his senior year with a broken hand.
McMackin said it was an easy decision to invite Clapp to training camp.
"It didn’t have anything to do with his name," McMackin said. "I would never put a person on our team because of anything other than talent. That’s why I’ve been in the business as long as I have. I don’t play favorites. My rule is you play the best players. He’s worked hard. He’s one of our top receivers right now."
Rolo likes what he sees
After reviewing videos of Monday’s practice at Aloha Stadium, offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich declared the offense to be fit.
"It was one of the top two, if not the best, practice we had," Rolovich said. "They executed really well. They competed really well. It was a good time to start righting this thing."
Right wideout Royce Pollard has been resting a tight hamstring, but the ailment is not considered to be serious. With slotbacks Billy Ray Stutzmann and Miah Ostrowski overcoming hamstring ailments, Moniz said, "we’re getting into it. Everything is coming together."
