Colorado University Athletics
Buffs Get Taste Of Hawai'i Weather
September 01, 2015 | Football, Neill Woelk
HONOLULU — Approximately 10 hours after the Colorado Buffaloes boarded a plane for Hawai'i on Tuesday, they were back on a football field, practicing in preparation for Thursday night's season opener at Aloha Stadium.
Head coach Mike MacIntyre put his team through about 90 minutes of drills at St. Louis High School, with players in shorts, T-shirts and no helmets.
“We wanted to get them off the plane and get them moving,” MacIntyre said. “We put them through a little stretch and then did a good practice walk-through at a slower pace.”
The Buffs continued to fine-tune their game plan for Thursday's contest, giving their No. 1 offense and defense a look at what the CU coaches believe they could see from Norm Chow's team on Thursday.
CU officials have been keeping a close eye on the weather for the last week, as at least one hurricane had a chance of hitting the islands at the same time the Buffs arrived. But Tuesday, Hurricane Ignacio was tracking well north of Hawai'i, and the Buffs were greeted with mostly sunny skies, with temperatures in the high 80s and about 70 percent humidity.
“This was a good way to get them acclimated,” MacIntyre said. “There's a great breeze and I thought they did well.”
Buff wide receiver Nelson Spruce said the humidity was noticeable, but nothing that will affect the team.
“Once you get off the plane, it hits you,” Spruce said. “It's nothing you can really prepare for, but with a couple days preparation, we'll be fine. I think everybody felt good once we got out there and started moving around.”
Wednesday's weather calls for temperatures in the 80s again, with an increasing chance of rain as the day progresses. The forecast for Thursday at game time calls for temperatures in the low 80s, about 70 percent humidity and a 40 percent chance of rain.
SCHEDULE: MacIntyre gave the team a chance to explore their surroundings — including the beach — late Tuesday afternoon before dinner and team meetings.
The Buff will practice early Wednesday, then take a tour of Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial before returning to their hotel for afternoon meetings.
ST. LOUIS ALUMS: The Buffs have one player on their roster, redshirt freshman defensive back Jaisen Sanchez, who was quite familiar with Tuesday's surroundings, as he played high school ball at Honolulu's St. Louis. The Buffs also have another player from Hawai'i, freshman defensive lineman Lyle Tuiloma, who played at Nanakuli in Waianae.
All told, St. Louis has provided eight Buff letterman over the years, including former standouts Brian Cabral, Gary Campbell and Vili Maumau. Former defensive lineman Sam Taulealea, another St. Louis alum who now teaches at St. Louis, attended Tuesday's practice.
And, yes, if you think you've heard about a St. Louis product very recently, you're not mistaken: former Oregon quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota played at St. Louis.
THURSDAY ON THE AIR: Thursday night's game, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. local time (11 p.m. MDT, 1 a.m. on the East Coast), will be televised by CBS Sports Network, with Carter Blackburn handling the play-by-play, Aaron Taylor providing color commentary and Jenny Dell on the sidelines. Handling the call on 850 KOA will be Mark Johnson, with former Buff quarterback Charles Johnson providing analysis and Justin Adams reporting from the sidelines.
