At the end of Tuesday’s spring football practice, Hawaii head coach Norm Chow staged a contest in which linemen had to catch a football that was launched 40 feet into the air from a JUGS machine.
The defense sealed the victory when Beau Yap made a lunging catch. The offense immediately protested, arguing that Yap was a linebacker.
"In my defense," Yap said, "I was playing in the trenches today."
Defensive coordinator Kevin Clune said Yap will be used at different points. But it appears Yap is most comfortable at defensive end, a position he has played in three previous UH seasons.
"I don’t mind," Yap said. "I love the D-line. That’s where I started."
Clune was hired in January with the intent of shifting the defensive base from a 4-3 front to a 3-4 alignment. It then was decided Yap would be a suitable outside linebacker with the hybrid tasks as pass rusher, run stopper and pass defender.
"We can do a lot of different things with him," Clune said.
With only four spring practices at linebacker, Yap made an easy adjustment to defensive end. In the 3-4, he will usually align in the B gap between the tackle and guard.
"I felt I didn’t leave," Yap said. "I had to shake off the rust, but then I was good to go."
Except for a brief stint at fullback in Pop Warner, Yap has always played on the line.
"I was always one of the heavier kids in Pop Warner," said Yap, who struggled to meet the weight limit. "I was the Friday night starving kid."
Yap should have no problem competing as a 255-pound lineman. He squat-lifted 500 pounds recently.
Asked what that felt like, Yap deadpanned, "Heavy."
Movin’ on up
Trayvon Henderson appears to have ascended to No. 1 safety.
As a true freshman in 2013, Henderson played in 11 games, starting two, and led the Warriors with three interceptions.
"He’s been a leader in there," Clune said. "He’s learned the defense. There are a lot of checks back there. He has to be the quarterback of the system back there and make sure everything is squared away. He’s stepped up."
Henderson said: "There’s a lot more responsibility from last year’s defense. Last year, all we had to do was guard our man, basically. This year we have to direct people."
Henderson said his reading list has one title.
"Playbook, playbook, playbook," he said. "That’s the main thing the coaches emphasize to us. If we don’t know what to do on the field, (Clune is) not going to put us out there, no matter how good an athlete you are."
