In football currency, the nickel’s value has appreciated.

What was once a sub-package, a scheme with a fifth defensive back — the nickel — has become Hawaii’s primary defense.

Corey Batoon, who is in his second year as the Rainbow Warriors’ defensive coordinator, said his preference for a 4-2-5 base began when he was an assistant coach at Arkansas State.

“The way the game has changed, it’s lighter personnel groups,” Batoon said. “It’s spread (offenses). It’s RPO (run-pass option). We made the decision eight, nine years ago to go to a nickel-based defense, where you get more speed on the field.”

Batoon said the experiment at Arkansas State then became a fixture at his stops at Mississippi, Florida Atlantic and now UH. Prior to Batoon’s arrival, the Warriors aligned in a 4-3. In that scheme, the strong-side linebacker often was asked to drop into coverage. Last year, Batoon replaced the strong-side linebacker with a nickelback.

Two of those linebackers — Ikem Okeke and Kalen Hicks — were moved to safety, where both earned starting jobs. The nickelback was used as a hybrid to cover inside receivers, blitz or fill run gaps.

Batoon acknowledged the defensive switch involved a trade-off. “The deficit you’re going to have in terms of bulk and push, you’re going to make up for it with athleticism and speed and, hopefully, movement,” Batoon said.

Batoon said he expects UH’s top two nickels — Eugene Ford and Kai Kaneshiro — to help the Warriors counter wide-open offenses.

“What (the nickel) does is allow you to get more speed and athleticism on the field,” Batoon said. “You can play with smaller guys. I think it’s made for the style of football now where (offenses) use every bit of the field. And the game is played with so much bigger spaces than it had been in the past. You need guys to match athleticism and be able to play in big fields.”

Ford and Kaneshiro are relatively new to the nickel position. Ford played corner before moving to nickel with two regular-season games remaining in 2018. Kaneshiro made the switch from strong safety to corner late last season, and then to nickel this spring. Batoon believed Ford and Kaneshiro possess the size (each is 6 feet 2), speed, coverage skills and in-the-box toughness to play nickel.

“The move is kind of challenging because you’re facing more of the inside receivers who are quicker and smaller guys,” Ford said. “It teaches me certain things I didn’t know before, and that I can fix now.”

Ford said he has benefited from watching videos of NFL teams that employ the same nickel concepts.

Kaneshiro also acknowledged the discipline needed to track slot receivers.

“They’re a lot shiftier than outside receivers,” Kaneshiro said. “But it gets my footwork and technique really sound. Going against players like Melquise (Stovall) really helps.”

Batoon said Ford and Kaneshiro have played well in recent practices. There was a stretch where Ford was averaging an interception each practice.

“Gene and Kai have been really productive,” Batoon said. “I think (nickel) is more of a natural fit for them. Both of them are former corners who understand run fits, that play with some physicality. They’re really good blitzers. … They continue to improve. That’s what you want to see. You want to see the curve ramping up instead of plateauing.”