Healthy Fuimaono back to cutting down both opponents, hair

By Ryan Greene

Friday, Sept. 18, 2009 | 2:30 a.m.

Last fall, while on the mend from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the season's second game at Utah, there was only so much UNLV junior linebacker Starr Fuimaono could do to help his teammates.

Haircuts, to be exact. That was the Chula Vista, Calif., native's main contribution.

"I'm gonna say right now, best 'cuts on the team," said senior linebacker/defensive end Jason Beauchamp, who is a regular Fuimaono client. "A lot of guys cut. But he's the best."

A year later, Fuimaono is still regularly touching up Beauchamp's stylish throwback hi-top fade. But he's also back to his old ways as one of the most reliable pieces on the UNLV defensive unit.

Through two games, Fuimaono leads the Rebels in tackles (23), and is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (2) and sacks (1).

But maybe more important than anything is that, if you take away the sight of a bulky black and red brace encasing his left knee, it's hard to tell he ever suffered a major injury of any kind.

"I was more surprised how he looked the first two weeks of camp," defensive coordinator Dennis Therrell said of Fuimaono, who also missed all of spring ball while still recovering. "After seeing that, my confidence level went up tremendously with him.

"Look at the last two years. It's no secret. When we lost him, we went down defensively. That's the best way I can tell you that. That's just the facts of the way it was."

As a sophomore, Fuimaono's season ended nine games in, suffering a shoulder injury at Wyoming. He totaled 68 stops for the 2-10 Rebels that fall.

Last year, though, he was left with a little more time to himself on the shelf, watching almost the entire time as an observer as UNLV's 3-1 start fizzled into a 5-7 finish with no postseason berth. One positive of suffering the injury early was that it allowed Fuimaono to take a medical redshirt, leaving him with two full years of eligibility remaining.

Instead of attending a one-man pity party, Fuimaono soaked in as much as he could, essentially playing the role of resident fly on the wall.

He did so in the same way he took in as much information as possible from his prep pal who went to school to learn the techniques of becoming a certified hair stylist. Starr then would pick his brain, to and in turn can now cut and style his own hair and even has a specialty 'do — the taper.

"I think these injuries helped, maybe," he said. "Even though I wasn't on the field, I had two years to basically learn the game. I sat in on film. Pretty much learned most positions and what everyone does. Not just mine. I think I became a better player."

Truth is, it only improved a player who already is one of the Rebels' top instinctual defenders and most sure tacklers. He's also a true heavy hitter, despite checking in at just 6-feet tall and 210 pounds.

Head coach Mike Sanford earlier this week tapped both Fuimaono and Beauchamp as his team's two best natural stoppers.

So far this season, two of Fuimaono's best hits have come against the opposing team's leading rushers, chopping them down on the perimeter on sweep plays with his incredible closing speed before they had a chance to turn the corner upfield.

Should Fuimaono be able to stay healthy all season, the coaching staff expects that same speed to be there by the end of the 2009 campaign, as they buy him a handful of snaps to rest on the sidelines each week. In his absence a year ago, several others, such as Nate Carter and Beau Orth, stepped up in his place and are now more prepared to help spell him at times.

"He has great instincts, and he's a very explosive player," Therrell added. "Once he sees where the ball is going and he knows where it is, the time it takes him from that thought process to get there is very quick.

"He's like a heat-seeking missile now. He goes. That's what makes him different than other linebackers."

Therrell also raves about Fuimaono's versatility and ability to drop back and provide effective pass coverage.

That will be needed more than usual this week against Hawaii, who makes no bones about favoring its high-powered passing attack. On 52 run plays through two games, the Warriors have totaled 252 yards, while stretching out 793 yards on 69 pass attempts.

Fuimaono will indeed be busy, and he feels more than ready.

"I can't really think of my injuries. The more I think about them, the slower I play. I just kind of throw them out the window and think like I never had them.

"With me coming back, I think it's added a lot of confidence to the defense."