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HONOLULU - Hawaii coach June Jones knew something special was in store four years ago when a lanky, baby-faced teenager stepped onto the practice field and completed eight straight passes.
Quarterback Timmy Chang has since thrown for 12,814 yards and 79 touchdowns and is closing in on becoming the most prolific passer in college history. The senior needs 2,218 yards to break the 13-year-old NCAA career passing mark of 15,031 set by BYU's Ty Detmer, the 1990 Heisman winner.
"I've learned over the years, so many things can happen and nothing's a guarantee," Chang said. "What I've done is focused on the little things. The records and the success will come if you concentrate on the small things."
Chang, who is 1,030-of-1,834, is also on pace to break the NCAA marks in career completions (1,231) and pass attempts (1,883), held by Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury. And with 67 interceptions, Chang is on the verge of breaking Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann's record of 73.
Chang - who averages 320.4 passing yards a game - could surpass Detmer's record by midseason. Hawaii opens Sept. 4 at home against Florida-Atlantic.
VOLS SUSPEND TIGHT END: Victor McClure has been suspended indefinitely after a domestic dispute, coach Phillip Fulmer said.
It's the second time in the past two months that McClure, a senior starter from Hixson, has run into trouble. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound McClure was not arrested or charged in this incident because his girlfriend refused to press charges, police said.
The girlfriend told Knoxville police that she and McClure had been drinking when the argument began. McClure broke out her apartment windows and pushed her into a wall before taking a piece of glass and cutting his wrist, she said.
Police said the woman refused to press charges out of fear it would lead to problems for McClure with the team.
The incident comes two months after McClure was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after a bizarre confrontation at the student recreation building.
UT police said a religious studies instructor told them McClure shoved him and said, "Hey Pop, want to find Jesus?" UT officers reported McClure ran around the building's lobby, taking his shorts off and throwing them in the air.
McClure allegedly grabbed a female student and tried to pull her down the stairs, according to the police report. UT police handcuffed McClure and took him to the Knox County jail, where McClure freed himself from two more officers and "ran full speed into a door," the report said.
At the time, Fulmer blamed a "medical condition" for McClure's outburst, and said he would remain on the team.
But Friday, Fulmer released a statement saying McClure was on "non-participation status due to medical issues and disciplinary action for a violation of team rules."