To boost the aerial attack, the Hawaii football team decided to air on the right side.

Cedric Byrd, who aligned as the left slotback in 2018, has moved to the right side this spring to form a receiver tandem with right wideout JoJo Ward. In the read-and-attack scheme, in which receivers help each other get open, the strategy places two of the fastest Rainbow Warriors on the same side of the four-wide formation.

“They know each other,” receivers coach Andre Allen said. “They communicate in the huddle and the line of scrimmage, and when they come to the sideline. They work off each other a little better. Byrd’s knowledge of the offense can help Joe kind of excel because Byrd has one semester up on him when it comes to learning the system.”

Byrd transferred to UH in January 2018, when the Warriors began to implement more run-and-shoot concepts into the hybrid offense. Byrd picked up the offense’s nuances during last year’s spring training. Ward moved to Hawaii a couple weeks before the start of the 2018 training camp.

“When (Ward) got here, we already had a feel for (the offense),” Byrd said. “We tried to help anybody who didn’t know it.”

Ward recalled the hectic pace, noting, “we had the (players-run) workouts and then we got to fall camp. It was kind of close to the season, so I had to learn everything fast. I know everything now. It’s going to be easier for the season coming up.”

The past season, Ward led the Warriors in yards-per-catch at 16.96, with nine receptions of at least 25 yards. Ward also had a knack for tracking high-arcing passes. It was a skill he developed during workouts in his native Texas. “I had different passes thrown to me,” Ward said. “It could be bad balls thrown, and I’d track them down. Not all passes are good. I try to catch different balls.”

During pregame warmups, Allen would lob throws to Byrd to help adjust to the sky or bleachers in the background.

Byrd was told of the move to the right side in January. During player-run practices, he worked on his first step. “I had to get used to the release on (the right) side,” Byrd said.

“When spring ball started (last Friday), I had gotten into the groove of it.”

After three spring practices, the coaches have been proven correct that Byrd appears more at ease initiating routes from the right slot. Last year, Byrd caught 79 passes, with 44 resulting in first downs.

“He’s a lot more comfortable on that side of the ball in the way he sees the ball coming in and the way he adjusts his hands to catch the ball,” Allen said. “His hand positioning is a little better working to the right than the left.”

Ward and Byrd also have bonded with quarterbacks Cole McDonald and Chevan Cordeiro. McDonald appears to have more of a touch on his deep passes. Cordeiro’s passes have more zip. “They’re different, so I can adjust to them,” Ward said.

And Ward and Byrd have learned to work in tandem. Byrd said that just from a glance, he and Ward will know which routes to use.

“With this offense, the routes go off the defense,” Ward said. “If the defense does this, we do the opposite. … (Byrd) knows the offense better than anybody on this receiver corps. I feel he’s helping me a lot.”

Ward said they understand when to run “certain plays against certain defenses. We know how to run a certain route to get each other open. … We’re basically on the same page, on the same mission. We’re good together (on the right side), and it’s been working.”