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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 2, 2006

Eaton, Manners get NFL tryouts

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Brandon Eaton

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Lono Manners

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Former University of Hawai'i football players Brandon Eaton and Lono Manners will receive tryouts with National Football League teams.

Eaton, who played guard and tackle, will attend the Washington Redskins' four-day rookie camp this week. He is projected to compete at guard or center.

Manners, a safety, has a similar arrangement with the San Diego Chargers.

Both are hopeful that the tryouts will lead to invitations to those teams' mini-camps.

"We'll see how it goes this weekend," said Eaton, who is 6 feet 2 and 312 pounds. "I'll go to camp, and do my thing."

The San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots also are interested in Eaton.

But Eaton's best shot appears to be with the Redskins. Their assistant head coach for offense, Joe Bugel, has long ties to UH coach June Jones. In 1998, Jones was head coach of the San Diego Chargers, and Bugel served as offensive line coach. Also, Bugel's assistant at San Diego, Mike Cavanaugh, served as UH's offensive line coach for six years through the 2004 season. Cavanaugh recruited Eaton to UH.

Jones said the Redskins and Warriors use similar blocking schemes.

"Brandon will get a fair shot," Jones said.

Manners, who is 5 feet 10 and 215 pounds, said his four-day audition with the Chargers is "not guaranteed" to lead to a free-agent contract.

"I'm going to work out for (the Chargers) and see what happens," he said.

Manners said he also might receive tryouts with the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons.

Jones said Manners is suited for the Chargers' defensive schemes.

"Lono is an in-the-box strong stafety," Jones said. "He'll fit in (with the Chargers) because they play a lot of zone. They want their safeties involved in run support. I think he has a shot to do that."

Manners can run 40 yards in under 4.6 seconds. He also has bench pressed 500 pounds. During a combine in March, Manners benched 225 pounds 30 times.

"He's got to be one of the strongest safeties in the nation," said Rich Miano, who coaches the UH defensive backs. "He's got the strength and the speed and the quickness."

Miano said Manners is a quick study. Manners joined UH as a walk-on running back. He moved to safety in 2002. In 2004, his first year as a starter, he played in seven games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Last season, he made 71 tackles, including two sacks, and a team-high six pass deflections.

"I talked to the Chargers' GM (A.J. Smith) about Lono, and he liked what he saw on film," Jones said.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.