Kaumeyer will simplify the defense

At the front of the Hawaii football conference room is the Smart Board, a technological marriage of videos, photographic stills and handwritten notes.

This week, the UH coaches returned to the digital drawing board in search of answers to a growing concern: stopping the rush.

The Warriors allowed an average of 62.5 yards rushing — 2.45 yards per carry — in their first two games against Southern California and Lamar. Those averages swelled to 375.5 yards and 6.83 yards in the past two one-sided losses to Nevada and Brigham Young.

"Giving up 750 (rushing) yards in two games, obviously something is broken," UH defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said.

Part of the problem is physical (numerous injuries on the defensive line), part is mental (cramming for expanded game plans).

"The last two games," Kaumeyer said, "that’s not the team we are. But that’s what showed up. I think everybody is understanding we have to go back to what we do best."

What worked in the first two games were a stout defensive line and attacking linebackers. Against Lamar, the Warriors’ best interior lineman on defense, nose tackle Moses Samia, suffered a season-ending ACL injury.

The next two opponents had offenses with elusive quarterbacks and quick-cutting running backs. To counter, the Warriors expanded their menu of plays to account for quarterbacks who are threats as runners. The problem was there was not enough time to practice the additional schemes.

"Because of the weapons and the types of things they did," Kaumeyer said of Nevada and BYU, "we tried to branch out where we could cover and, maybe, too much of ‘putting this play versus that’ and ‘if they ran this, we could do this.’ We tried to cheat the system a little bit and buy an extra guy here and an extra guy there."

In theory, the strategy was solid. In the game, it appeared there was some hesitation in applying the schemes.

"Even though we were fitting, we were still waiting to see (a play develop) before we fit it," Kaumeyer said. "And, obviously, on defense, you’ve got to try and attack and fit things up in a way you’re coming down fast. I think we were a little soft (in run coverage), and some of that had to do with not knowing exactly where they fit when you expand your (defensive) package."

Kaumeyer said the plan is to "scale it down" defensively.

"We want to get back to where we were against SC and Lamar," Kaumeyer said. "We had three or four things in one package, and three or four things in the other package, and that was it. And that’s what we have to get back to so our players know how it fit. They understand it it’s an un-scouted look, the rules (for defending) still stay the same, and they can play fast."

The coaches also evaluated the defensive roster and decided to place players in their positions of strength. Linebacker Art Laurel moved from the strong side to the weak side. TJ Taimatuia moved from the middle to the strong side. Freshman linebackers Benny Fonua and Jerrol Garcia-Williams practiced with the first team.

"We’re trying to put everyone in positions where we’re comfortable as a defense," Kaumeyer said.

He added: "We have to regress a little bit and say, ‘Hey, let’s do what we do, and do it correctly, instead of trying to expand (the game plan) and try to have a perfect defense for everybody."