KEN SAKAMOTO / mailto:KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM?subject=http://starbulletin.com/2001/09/28/
UH defensive lineman Travis Laboy, in green, has been happy to finally
get to practice in the past two weeks after spending the spring and much
of the fall riding an exercise bike because of a pair of injuries.
Warrior by blood
Though he's following dad
Cliff's lead, defensive end
Travis Laboy is trying to
make a name for
himself at UH
Warrior Notebook
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.com
A defensive end prefers to zip around an offensive tackle rather than go nowhere fast on a stationary bike.
A defensive end prefers to zip around an offensive tackle rather than go nowhere fast on a stationary bike.
But last spring and through fall camp, Hawaii's Travis Laboy seemed to be training for the Tour de France, not the upcoming football season.
A viral infection during spring drills and a torn right hamstring last month kept Laboy out of action. Two weeks ago he returned to practice then made an impressive debut Saturday in Hawaii's 28-20 loss at Nevada.
Laboy made four tackles, including one for a loss, in his Warriors debut.
He played well enough to earn a start tomorrow as Hawaii (1-1, 0-1 WAC) hosts Rice (2-1, 0-0) at Aloha Stadium.
TRAVIS LABOY
Born: Aug. 10, 1981, Honolulu
High school: 1999 graduate of Marin Catholic High School, San Rafael, Calif. Earned three letters in track and field, two in football and basketball.
Utah State: Redshirted, ran a 4.55 40-yard dash in practice.
Hidden talents: Flying trapeze, juggling.
Mentors: "(Teammate) Kevin Jackson helps me out a lot, teaching me. Anything I do good out there, he gets a lot of credit." ... Also, older brother, C.J. Laboy, a defensive end at St. Mary's College. "They talk about two hours a day about technique," said their mother, Angela Curley.
Workout partner: Trained several times with Bill Romanowski of the Denver Broncos over the summer.
"He showed some speed and he got things done well," coach June Jones said.
After watching his teammates play for 13 games and 13 months, Laboy was more than ready.
"It was so good to get off that bike. I'm a lot better on the field than on the bike," Laboy said. "You feel bad not going through camp when everyone else is busting it, working hard to get better but you're not helping out at all."
Laboy said doctors never quite figured out what made him sick last spring. He finally shook it in the summer, and participated in informal workouts with teammates. It was during one of these that he tore his right hamstring.
"It was about two days before camp. I was running routes with the receivers to keep my speed up," Laboy said. "I didn't stretch properly and I popped the hamstring coming off the line."
So Laboy, who sat out last season after transferring from Utah State (where he didn't play because of torn tendons in his left foot requiring surgery before the season started), hopped on the bike and got to pedaling again.
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
"I hear it a lot that
he was the man, just a great
player all-around."
--Travis Laboy on father Cliff,
pictured above, who played
football for UH
He said that all the down-time might help him tomorrow against Rice's option offense.
"I think the fact that I haven't played is helping me out in that I won't be distracted about how I would play against a more typical offense," Laboy said. "I'll just do whatever the coaches tell me. That's actually a plus for me that there will be less other stuff in my head to confuse me.
"We read the tackles. If the tackle blocks down, take the dive. If the tackle blocks out, go after the quarterback. It's just get off your block and be accountable. If there's a big play it's because someone missed their assignment."
Laboy's father, Cliff, didn't miss many assignments -- or tackles -- as a UH defensive lineman from 1973 to 1975. The elder Laboy was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in 1974. He is Hawaii's career leader in fumbles recovered (10) and he led the Rainbows in forced fumbles in 1974 (5) and 1975 (3).
The Farrington High School graduate was known for his ferocity.
"He tackled me a lot in practice," Jones said. "He was a tough, hard-nosed player. But Travis is faster."
Travis spent most of his childhood in San Rafael, Calif., with his mother, Angela, and stepfather, Art Curley. Angela works for Hawaiian Airlines and she and Curley get to as many of Laboy's games as possible.
Travis is too young to have seen his father play.
"I hear it a lot that he was the man, just a great player all-around. I just wish someone had a game tape of something to show me. Stories and seeing it are two different things. But I hear it from so many people it's got to be true."
The father and son are beginning to spend more time together, Travis said. Travis helped Cliff with his Christmas tree business last year.
"That was definitely a bonding thing, fun," Travis said. "With school and football, there's not much free time to spend together, but we're working on it."
And Travis is working on staying on the field and off the exercise bike.
"Oh, man, it felt unreal (to play). Last year I was just watching the games and the way we ended up was kind of bad, so I had that little itch in my back the whole summer to play," he said. "Everybody says I played good, but when you lose you can't really celebrate at all. You just got to forget about it and get ready for the next game."
