Rolovich wants to restore what’s been lost: pride

The dream Nick Rolovich envisioned was lost in his players’ eyes.

It was his first meeting as University of Hawaii head coach, and Rolovich wanted to share his plans for the revival of the program he dubbed “Pride Rock,” when Aloha Stadium shook with energy and football was fun.

Instead he was greeted with the dead man’s stare of players who had not had a winning college season and were unsure whether Lucy would pull away their football hopes once again.

“The energy look in their eyes was so wrong in my mind,” Rolovich recalled. “They had been beaten up pretty good.”

Rolovich, who once worked in construction, had a structural plan. His lab would piece together an offense using parts from the run-and-shoot from his years as a UH quarterback and coach; the read option from his four years as Nevada’s offensive coordinator; and the run-pass option that his trusted friend and colleague, Brian Smith, used at Occidental. The Rainbow Warriors were migrating toward that hybrid offense before the staff was not retained following the 2011 season.

For his defense, Rolovich pondered several systems, such as retaining the 3-4 or using the flex defense that had roots at UH in the 1980s before morphing into Arizona’s Desert Swarm. In the end, Rolovich chose the man — Kevin Lempa — over the machine.

Lempa, who was the defensive coordinator when Rolovich was UH’s quarterback, is noted for custom-fitting 4-3 defenses that let loose defenders to play fast, aggressively and instinctively.

“It’s easy to play for him because of who he is in his heart and soul,” Rolovich said. “That’s the No. 1 characteristic we were looking for.”

Lempa is always in the mix during drills, wearing padded gloves to absorb jabs from players working on hand speed and holding up blocking bags.

Rolovich then worked on the foundation. He had three basic rules: 1) Be on time. 2) Be respectful. 3) Be good to each other.

“We’re trying to grow them into men of aloha,” Rolovich said. “That’s the plan.”

Rolovich would walk around campus picking up litter. He later learned that defensive end Meffy Koloamatangi would clean the locker rooms.

For the offseason conditioning program, he divided the team into groups. A point system rewarded academic performance, community service and supporting campus activities. Players and coaches were asked to pass out schedule cards outside Costco stores. The players, on their own, decided to also help patrons carry items to cars. When the program ended, players still attended other UH sporting events and community projects. About 25 players participated in a Pokémon Go hunt with UH fans.

Rolovich also has tried to reinforce ties to the Warriors’ past. On the eve of spring practice, a team meeting was held in the athletic complex auditorium. Then about 60 alumni, from Heisman Trophy finalist Colt Brennan to long-snapper Tyler Tanigawa, descended from the second-floor entry in a past-greets-present encounter. University alumni regularly attend practice, including Gov. David Ige.

Rolovich has kept the players entertained with water-balloon battles, a Running Man dance-off in the middle of practice, and a Big Man’s punt-return challenge that became an ESPN top-10 moment.

He allowed players to live in their off-campus residences during training camp.

“They appreciated that, and we had no issues,” Rolovich said.

How the bonding exercises equate to on-field performance is yet to be determined. Fun and games aren’t always compatible.

But a lesson can be found in Rolovich’s pig-hunting adventure on Kauai this summer.

“I’ve been trying to do that for 15 years,” said Rolovich, who was raised in the Bay Area. “I never had that desire until I got here and understood. It’s part of local culture. I wanted to experience that. I wanted to test myself.”

Rolovich said the most difficult part was carrying the 110-pound pig. But he said he enjoyed the “whole experience. Even if we didn’t come out with the pig, to explore the island on foot and to see the really untouched spots on Kauai … even the day of just walking around Kauai with a bunch of guys with a goal in mind, that was something fun to take in.”

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