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This football season, the University of Hawaii’s blockers are no longer their own obstacle.
In the first two games, the Rainbow Warriors’ offensive line has been penalized three times — none a substantial infraction — and was credited with allowing one sack in 87 pass plays.
It is a remarkable improvement for a unit that starts two true freshmen and a junior college transfer. In last season’s first two games, the offensive line accrued 10 penalties for 85 yards, including five 15-yard infractions.
“I think the only people who are surprised are the fans,” said left guard J.R. Hensley, one of four co-captains. “If you ask the team, if you ask the coaches, we knew we were capable of this. We expected this out of ourselves.”
Soon after being hired as offensive line coach in January, Mark Weber was repeatedly asked about his corrective plans. Weber recalled: “That’s all I heard about was the penalties. ‘Holding. Coach, what are you going to do about the holding?’ ”
The answer, Weber insisted, was to emphasize the proper blocking technique and footwork.
“We just teach basic fundamentals,” Weber said. “We drill those things. We drill getting hands inside, drill blocking with your feet — moving your feet — and you’ll eliminate penalties.”
The UH linemen have not been penalized for holding this season.
“Play hard, finish blocks,” Weber said of the Warriors’ mantra.
Quarterback Cole McDonald has been sacked three times, but only one involved a defender maneuvering past a blocker. The other two were coverage sacks at the end of McDonald scrambles.
Of the reduction in sacks, Weber said, “the offense is set up that way. We should not give up a lot of sacks. The receivers are doing a great job of getting open, and Cole is doing a great job getting the ball out fast. And the linemen are really starting to understand the techniques and fundamentals of protection in this offense.”
Weber has worked in several schemes during his 36-year coaching career. This is the first time he has been involved in a pure run-and-shoot offense. While being interviewed for the job, Weber asked head coach Nick Rolovich and offensive coordinator Brian Smith: Is this a system or just plays?
“It’s a system,” he said he was told, “and that’s what excited me. … I love being in a system. Rolo and Smitty and (quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann), they have the answers to the defensive-generated problems.”
The run-and-shoot offers limited plays with seemingly unlimited options. “We’re able to execute at a high level,” Weber said. “If it isn’t there, something else will be there because it’s a great system. There’s a total belief in the system, and there’s total understanding of the system. That was one of the lines of questioning.”
Weber also has adapted, incorporating concepts he learned at previous coaching stops.
“They carry over,” Weber said. “You tweak it. There are certain nuances to this offense that are great, that you tweak from a conventional spread offense. That’s what’s been fun for me, learning from Brian and Coach Rolo those nuances, and being able to tweak those things I might have taught in a conventional offense to this offense, and mold them.”
Weber had to rebuild an offensive line that lost five rotation players to graduation and one to medical retirement. In 2017, Hensley started six games at guard, and center Taaga Tuulima opened against UNLV.
Weber said right tackle Kohl Levao, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, is “a football junkie, and he gets it. He understands football, and he loves the game. He’s highly competitive.” Weber also praised two true freshmen — right guard Solo Vaipulu and left tackle Ilm Manning. Three months ago, Weber said, “they were in high school. They’re unique. Solo is a really good player, and so is Ilm. I mean, he’s out there on the edge by himself playing left tackle.”
Weber said working with a youthful line is “probably the most fun. The biggest challenge is molding this group together and getting them to improve every week.”
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