52017 Hawai'i Football Fall Camp Coverage | For more, visit @HawaiiFootball on Twitter
Day 1:
Rainbow Warriors Open Fall Camp Hungry to Prove Themselves
Day 4:
Brown Provides Stability at Quarterback in 2017 Offense
Day 7:
Linebackers Unified Around Experienced Core
Day 8:
Warriors Gunning for Greater Offensive Improvement in 2017
Day 9:
Versatile Tight Ends and Receivers Look to Push Passing Attack to Next Level
Day 11:
Warrior Secondary Uses Veterans to Balance Talented but Inexperienced Depth
Day 15:
Warrior Special Teams Solidifying Components in Fall Camp
Day 16:
Saint Juste Headlines Multi-Talented Running Back Corps
Day 17:
Defensive Line a Seasoned Group After Trial by Fire Last Season
Day 18:
Allen, Wa'a and Eli Lead Versatile Offensive Line Unit
Day 19 (Aug. 18): Suiaunoa's Darkside Unit Focused on Playing Team Defense in 2017
Aug. 19: Hawai'i Football Concludes Final Practices Before Game Week
HONOLULU – Only one week remains for University of Hawai'i football until the season opener at Massachusetts in Amherst, Mass. The Rainbow Warriors conducted another well-regulated practice session to open their Statehood day on Friday at Cooke Practice Field.
Last season under the lead of then-coordinator Kevin Lempa, the Rainbow Warriors boosted their pass rush, rating among the heaviest-blitzing teams in the nation, using a mix of seasoned and green players to make up a new more-aggressive UH defense. The Experience of the 2016 defense was in the secondary, which returned four starters to the mix. Although the statistical dial didn't sway dramatically in 2016, the defensive unit came away with multiple key stops, including at San Jose State, Air Force, Massachusetts and in the Hawai'i Bowl against Middle Tennesse, contributing to the best finish since 2010.
This season, under the guidance of first-year defensive coordinator
Legi Suiaunoa, the defense returns six starters and 30 lettermen, replacing their most experienced personnel from the defensive line and secondary.
"We've got some good returners coming back from last year's team," Suiaunoa said. "Since the season ended, I think the kids enjoyed tasting a little bit of wins last year. I think they've done a nice job of knowing what they can do more of and they're excited to hopefully get a little bit more off this season.
Throughout fall camp, the defense has played together well as a unit, with no specific unit or player dominating in playmaking responsibilities, but rather a multi-unit effort – exactly what Suiaunoa hopes to see this campaign.
"I think we've gotten enough players that have gotten better and guys working together, that not one name stands out more than another," Suiaunoa said. "We're trying to strive for team defense, and we've got to try and get 11 guys on the field that give us the best chance to win football games."
With cornerback
Jalen Rogers, cornerback
Jamal Mayo, safety
Damien Packer and
Dejaun Butler departing via graduation, the Rainbow Warriors return a highly-experienced pair of safeties in senior
Trayvon Henderson (6-0, Sacramento, Calif.) and junior Daniel Lewis, Jr. (5-11, New Iberia, La.). A captain and preseason all-Mountain West honoree, Henderson brings 38 games experience with 26 starts. He ranked second with 90 tackles, including 10.5 for loss, as well as three interceptions, earning the Coach Bob Wagner Defensive MVP Award. Also earning a captain role after returning from injury, Lewis made 47 tackles in 10 starts as a sophomore.
The Rainbow Warriors made huge strides in pass coverage, rising from 125th nationally with just three interceptions in 2015, all the way to 58th with 11 picks on the year. UH also broke up 27 passes on the year.
After registering plenty of game action a year ago, sophomore
Rojesterman Farris II (6-1, Coral Springs, Fla.) tabbed 29 tackles, breaking up three passes with one pick in 14 games, while sophomore
Zach Wilson (5-11, Upland, Calif.) played in nine games and sophomore
Cameron Hayes (5-11, Los Angeles, Calif.) appeared in eight contests.
The line enters 2017 without the services of tackle
Kory Rasmussen and end
Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea, but seniors
Meffy Koloamatangi (6-5, East Palo Alto, Calif.) and
Penitito Faalologo (5-11, Pago Pago, American Samoa) return to the trenches. An all-Mountain West honorable mention last year, Koloamatangi chipped in 38 tackles with three sacks, while Faalologo collected 19 stops with two for loss. Senior
David Manoa (6-3, Hayward, Calif.) added 22 tackles in four starts (14 games) at end, while
Zeno Choi (6-3, Honolulu, O'ahu) had 18 tackles in 13 games. Four additional returning linemen appeared in a significant amount of games.
The most experienced group returning to the field in 2017 is the linebacker corps, anchored by preseason all-Mountain West junior
Jahlani Tavai (6-4, Inglewood, Calif.) in the middle. Selected as a first team all-MW pick last year, Tavai topped the MW with 19.5 tackles-for-loss, while his 129 total tackles tied for eighth most in UH program history – also recording seven sacks, a pick and two forced fumbles.
Flanking Tavai at the SAM spot, junior
Malachi Mageo (6-2, Carson, Calif.) collected 78 total tackles, posting 7.5 tackles-for-loss and two sacks, as well as four hurries. On the opposite side at WILL, senior
Russell Williams, Jr. (6-1, Elk Grove, Calif.) registered 46 total tackles, with 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. The 2016 season also doled out significant reps to young players, including sophomore
Jeremiah Pritchard (11 Gm, 31 Tk, 3.5 TFL, Leone, American Samoa), sophomore
Solomon Matautia (13 Gm, 22 Tk, 3.5 TFL, 'Ewa Beach, O'ahu) and sophomore
Ikem Okeke (11 Gm, 9 Tk, 1.0 TFL, Las Vegas, Nev.).
In total, the Hawai'i defense returns 633 defensive tackles (62 percent) from last year's squad, also accounting for 69.5 tackles for loss (76 percent), 19.5 sacks (81 percent) and five interceptions.
The Rainbow Warriors close out fall camp practices early Saturday afternoon, returning Monday for game week practices beginning on Monday. Hawai'i departs early in the week, bound for the eastern seaboard in advance of the matchup with the Minutemen.
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