Rolo takes timeout to remember the past

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. >> Before Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich could move forward on this road trip, he needed to pay tribute to the past.

The Rainbow Warriors arrived in New York City on Wednesday morning ahead of Saturday’s game against UMass in Amherst, Mass. They visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, where Rolovich placed a lei on the portion of an angled wall where Paul Sloan’s name is inscribed.

Sloan died in the 9/11 terrorist attack. Sloan, a football player at Marin High and Brown University, worked in the financial-service firm, Keefe, Bruyette &Woods, which had an office on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower.

“He was like the neighborhood role model,” Rolovich said of his friend from Novato, Calif. “He was older than us. But I was in his brother’s class. He was kind of a neighborhood legend just for doing things the right way. He was the kind of guy who did everything right. He was just a great guy to have around. Great family. His dad was one of my first football coaches.”

When the UH players learned the itinerary for the first day of the trip, the mother of tight end Dakota Torres made sure to pack him a lei to place at the memorial.

“She wanted to leave a little bit of Hawaii there,” Rolovich said.

Torres then helped his coach find Sloan’s name.

“They have a directory,” Rolovich said. “I found (Sloan’s) name. Dakota came with me. (We)left a lei on his name. I took a picture. I sent it to my mom and sent it to (Sloan’s) family.”

Rolovich said he wanted to share a history lesson with his players during the trip. “It was good for me, I know that,” Rolovich said.

Defensive tackle Cole Carter, who was raised in a military family and lived for a few years on the East Coast, said the stopover was “deep for me. Always sad stuff. … It was important for me to see it. I haven’t seen it since I was a little kid.”

Special teams coordinator Mayur Chaudhari used to be an assistant at Army in upstate New York. He and his wife tried to visit the memorial a few years ago but there was a three-hour wait to enter because of the security checks.

“It was sobering to go today,” Chaudhari said. “A lot of guys I coached (at Army) retired and are firefighters and police officers.”

The Warriors then made the three-hour-plus drive to Springfield. That afternoon, they had a walk-through practice at a football field on a nearby college campus.

Privacy was an issue. An admitted UMass alumnus was asked to leave the area when he began asking questions about the Warriors’ personnel. Players reported a drone buzzing the field. Rolovich encouraged the players to exchange jerseys. Rolovich acknowledged there were no secrets to be uncovered. The 90-minute, no-pads session was meant to provide exercise for players who were cooped up on a long direct flight from Honolulu and the ensuing bus ride from New York to Springfield. Defensive end Max Hendrie was allowed to wear sunglasses during the walk-through.

“I have some real sensitive eyes,” said Hendrie, who would not wear shades in a real practice. “And the paparazzi, obviously. They try to get me every chance they get. It disguises me a little bit.”

Rolovich said the players have “handled the trip well. We got a mental day (on Wednesday), and we’ll get a good practice (on Thursday), and go after it on Saturday. … We know it’s going to be challenging. We know it’s not going to be easy.”

Rolovich then said: “Somebody sent me a text. We’re an underdog now.”