Hawaii defensive lineman
Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson
had surgery on Wednesday to repair a fractured middle finger on his left hand.
Pu‘u-Robinson was told he will miss between two and three weeks, which is a more favorable prognosis than the initial range of four to six weeks.
The Warriors play New Mexico on Saturday, and have a bye the following week. At the earliest, he will be available for the Oct. 27 road game against Colorado State.
"I’m going to take it week by week, and hopefully I’ll be ready soon," said Pu‘u-Robinson, whose left arm was in a sling on Wednesday. "I’ll try to get back some depth on D-line."
Pu‘u-Robinson relinquished a Washington State scholarship to transfer to UH this summer for family reasons. He was cleared to play two weeks ago, and he started at defensive tackle against San Diego State last Saturday. He is a natural defensive end who moved inside because of a shortage of defensive tackles.
He said he was injured on the first play against SDSU.
"I hit the lineman’s shoulder pads, I guess, and I broke (the middle finger)," he said. "I didn’t know it was broken until (Tuesday)."
X-rays showed the fracture.
New tight end starter
It appears 21-year-old freshman Harold Moleni or Duke graduate Ryan Hall will start at tight end on Saturday.
Craig Cofer started the first five games. Coach Norm Chow opened the competition this week.
Moleni is a 2008 graduate of Hunter High in West Valley City, Utah. He worked for a year, then went on a two-year church mission.
Hall was playing primarily the F position, which is an off-line tight end who often aligns as an H-back or fullback. Chow told Hall to focus more on the Y, which is the more traditional on-line-blocking role for a tight end.
Clark Evans, a junior college transfer who began his college career as a Colorado quarterback, will be used at the F.
Edwards honored
Mike Edwards was named to Phil Steele‘s Midseason All-America third team as a kickoff returner.
Edwards is 12th nationally, averaging 30.0 yards per return.
"That’s big," Edwards said. "I can tell all of my hard work and preparation is coming into effect. I give all of the credit to my coaches and my team. They push me every day, they believe in me, and we continue to work toward progress. It’s a blessing. I’m taking a lot of pride, but I’m not nearly satisfied. I want to continue to work hard."
