Give the Hawaii football team’s defense some padded room, and it goes crazy.

That was apparent in Saturday’s statement-making scrimmage at Aloha Stadium, the Rainbow Warriors’ first appearance there this training camp.

With directions from the man upstairs — defensive coordinator Corey Batoon called plays from the coaches’ booth on the loge level — the defenders made use of the camp’s second fully padded practice.

“The energy level was high knowing we would be in full pads once again,” nickelback Eugene Ford said. “No more tagging off. We actually got to tackle. And being in the stadium, getting used to it, some of the young guys were excited. They were looking around, noticing, ‘This is our house now.’ ”

The defense produced two interceptions, including Ford’s pick-6 on the 62nd — and final — play of the scrimmage, four sacks, three red-zone denials and two forced fumbles.

The Warriors’ first six practices were on their grass field. But with the threat of inclement weather and the unavailability of UH’s Ching Athletic Complex’s turf because of a construction project, the Warriors were forced to relocate workouts to Saint Louis School on Friday and Aloha Stadium on Saturday morning.

UH’s defensive players appeared to be ready as they got off the chartered bus in the North end zone tunnel.

“If they come out with the right energy, they’re playing well,” Rolovich said of the defensive units. “We’ve had days when they’re coming out dragging, and they get their ass. For the most part, if they come out with the right mind-set, at least we know they’re going to play hard, and they’re going to play together, and they’re going to have energy. And that gives you a chance.”

The offense opened averaging 7.0 yards in their first three first-down plays. After that, the defense fulfilled a pledge to shut down the interior lanes and pressure the pocket.

Nose tackle Blessman Taala followed his sack with a surprising roar. Taala lost weight (from 305 pounds as a freshman last year to 294 now) and gained a new perspective. “I’m trying to be a vocal leader,” Taala said.

Defensive tackle Djuan Matthews completed a summer session at Blinn College in Texas, then arrived in Hawaii a day before the start of training camp. Matthews made a sack, and then stopped running back Hekili Keli‘iliki for a 5-yard loss.

“I’m just doing my job,” Matthews said. “I’m doing what they teach me to do. Right now, I’m playing with 100% effort. That’s what I came here to do.”

Rush end Kaimana Padello has evolved from a quarterback hunter — 44.1 percent of his career stops have been in the backfield — to a more well-rounded defender. On a third-down play, Padello resisted going for the big hit and instead soared to knock down Chevan Cordeiro’s pass into the flat. “You don’t want to be one-dimensional,” Padello said. “You want to learn all aspects of the trade.”

Ford, who shifted from cornerback to nickel late last season, has played well as a box defender. Ford, who is 200 pounds, tackled 250-pound Dayton Furuta on a run around right end.

The offense did have some big plays. The second-team bonding between Cordeiro and right slotback James Phillips paid off with touchdowns of 53 and 34 yards. Phillips said they have a tacit understanding, especially when Cordeiro is flushed from the pocket.

“In practice, we have a period called scramble drill,” Phillips said. “If I see him scrambling, I’m finding any hole to pick. He’s a great athlete. He scrambles out, and he finds me, and I just finish it.”

Quarterback Cole McDonald also has been resilient. On one series, Noa Kamana emerged from a disguised coverage to intercept McDonald’s pass in the end zone. McDonald said he tries to learn from each mistake.

“It sucks,” McDonald said of interceptions, “and I don’t want to disappoint the guys. But, ultimately, it’s going to get me better for when that situation happens in a game. I can adjust, and not throw a pick.”

Payback came on his next series. McDonald identified a corner blitz and a safety over-playing right wideout JoJo Ward. McDonald lofted a pass to Ward, who used a juke to break into the open. The catch-and-run play resulted in a 62-yard touchdown.

“He put it in a spot where he knew I would be able to get the ball and make a play on it,” Ward said.

McDonald said UH’s defense presents a challenge every practice.

“That’s probably the toughest defense we face in terms of knowing our schemes and assignments and stuff,” McDonald said. “Having a good defense is really good. It gets us better as an offense. We can take the practices, and look at what we did wrong, and learn from it.”