Trouble in Paradise : Jamal Farmer Finds His Future Clouded After Strong Season as Hawaii Freshman

HONOLULU —  Jamal Farmer is somewhat like a Hawaiian gecko, the enigmatic lizard whose likeness is emblazoned on the T-shirts of countless tourists.

Like a gecko, Farmer is quick and elusive, having rushed for 986 yards and an NCAA freshman-record 18 touchdowns at the University of Hawaii last season.

Like a gecko, Farmer is a transplant who has flourished. The lizards landed in Hawaii a century ago aboard Australian ships; Farmer earned a Rainbow football scholarship in 1988 after a standout career at Granada Hills High.

And, alas, like a gecko, Farmer can annoy and irritate; he is given to perplexing his coaches and teammates with tiresome histrionics, on and off the field. A gecko is able to grow its tail back. Farmer is a tailback who needs growing up.

He was suspended the past three weeks for his most recent antics--missing two practices and blasting teammates for their play in Hawaii’s back-to-back losses to open the season.

Coach Bob Wagner said Friday that Farmer’s status for today’s game against Maine will be evaluated after warmups. Officially, he is “probable.”

That’s an odd way to describe a suspended player, but Farmer is a player with odd ways. His moods are as numerous as the rainbow hues on his jersey sleeve. He’s playful, diligent, determined . . . yet he’s mischievous, egocentric, inconsistent.

All of which tests the patience of Wagner. The sophomore running back, the coach well knows, is vital to the team’s fortunes. With Farmer, the lone setback in Hawaii’s double-slot offense, averaging a Western Athletic Conference-leading 10.55 points a game, Hawaii was 9-3-1 last season. With Farmer held to 65 yards, Hawaii was 0-2 this season before defeating a weak Utah team, 19-7, on Sept. 22.

“Jamal is real important to the ‘Bows,” Wagner said. “He’s a strong, durable runner and he has excellent hands.”

Although he has been suspended for three weeks, Farmer missed only the Utah game. Hawaii had byes Sept. 29 and Sept. 15. And it appears that he will be back in time to be the Rainbows’ Maine man.

Perhaps Wagner planned it that way--make an impact on Farmer without adversely impacting the team. “Farmer is key to making our offense go,” the coach said.

When he’s not engaged in off-the-field escapades or missing practice with freak ailments, that is. In August alone, Farmer missed a week of practice because of an ant bite, another few days because of a groin pull, and he made a local news broadcast after being arrested for riding a stolen moped. No charges were filed: The person who stole the moped apparently was trying to sell it to Farmer, who was merely giving it a test ride.

Still, this ‘Bow knows better.

“I shouldn’t have put myself in that position,” Farmer said. “I need to be more aware of my actions. Everybody made a big deal out of it, and that surprised me.”

Farmer, who one day showed up to practice with an enormous sailor-style tattoo on his shoulder, is full of surprises.

Some are pleasant.

Farmer (5-foot-10, 220 pounds) reported to training camp this summer stronger and faster after an off-season of strenuous weight work and running at his parents’ home in Lake View Terrace. His regimen included competition in the weekly all-comers track meets at Birmingham High.

“Jamal is working real hard, he’s grown a lot,” said Akili Calhoun, a Rainbow defensive tackle and Farmer’s cousin. “My man would stay in the weight room all day. He wants himself to be a success.”

Other surprises are irksome.

Farmer, 20, reported to training camp bigger all around--including from ear to ear. Wagner dubbed him “Superstar” after a particularly uninspired practice performance of Farmer’s. “Coach was mad at practice because I was dogging around,” Farmer said. “ ‘Superstar.’ Everybody makes jokes about it now.”

Less humorous to Wagner are comments that Farmer receives special treatment. Interviews in the training room are forbidden, yet when he was discovered talking to a reporter recently while sitting in the whirlpool, an assistant coach gave him an affectionate slap on the back, shrugged and said, “It’s OK, because you’re Jamal Farmer and Jamal Farmer is special.”

Farmer and the coach laughed--uneasily.

“He’s a young kid with a lot of talent and, yes, he’s gotten some special treatment, he expects that sort of thing,” Wagner said. “His attitude is better now than a year ago. Historically speaking, he’s getting better, not worse.”

The glare of the spotlight might have caused Farmer to take an inflated view of himself. Until last season, he had never been the star.

At Granada Hills, quarterback Jeremy Leach (now at New Mexico) and tight end Sean Brown (Colorado) were the more-touted players on a talent-filled team that defeated Carson, 27-14, in the 1987 City Section 4-A Division final.

Farmer was recruited by Wagner as a slotback and was not moved to running back until halfway through the 1988 season, his redshirt year.

“I watched Jamal at running back on the scout team his redshirt year,” Wagner said. “He was obviously a real fluid athlete, making good cuts. I made sure we moved him to running back.”

Farmer began the 1989 season as a backup to Richard Stevenson, a sophomore. Stevenson broke his elbow on the first series of the first game, however, and Farmer never relinquished the position, finishing with 199 carries and a 5.0 average.

Hawaii flourished as well, enjoying a six-week stay in the national rankings and landing a berth in the Aloha Bowl after finishing third in the WAC. The Rainbows ranked fifth in the nation in scoring offense and 13th in total offense.

The outlook has been less rosy this season. Despite seven returning offensive starters, Hawaii scored one touchdown in opening with losses to Texas A & M (28-13) and Air Force (27-3). Stevenson rushed for 84 yards in 21 carries against Utah in Farmer’s absence.

Farmer, who rushed for a freshman school-record 242 yards against Air Force last season, was held to 44 by the Falcons on Sept. 8. However, the offensive line and quarterback Garrett Gabriel, not Farmer, have been the primary focus of criticism.

Farmer’s numbers should improve as Hawaii’s schedule eases. The October schedule includes less-than-fearsome Maine, Texas El Paso, Cal State Fullerton and Pacific.

If he stays out of trouble, Farmer figures to get a lot of mileage out of a place he visited on a lark.

“When I visited here, I came just for the trip,” he said. “You know, go to Hawaii and have some fun for a weekend, like anybody would.

“Then I saw everybody in shorts, it was sunny, I went jet-skiing, I said, ‘This is for me.’ ”

Will Hawaii continue to be for Farmer? He is fortunate his coach is patient. “He’s young. It’s basically up to him,” Wagner said.