Beemer will handle special teams

It is fitting that the University of Hawaii football team’s Renaissance man has received another chore.

Strength coach Gary Beemer will handle the assignments for special teams when the Rainbow Warriors play Nevada on Sept. 21. (UH has a bye this weekend.)

"I’m happy to help any way I can," said Beemer, who will fill in for Chris Demarest, who is suspended for that game.

Of his duties, Beemer said, he is the "strength coach, nutritionist, team psychologist, babysitter sometimes, and now assistant special teams coordinator. It’s fun. It keeps me on my toes."

The Mountain West Conference suspended Demarest for UH’s league opener. A video review showed Demarest yelled at an Oregon State player following a late hit in last Saturday’s game.

Demarest will make the trip to Nevada, and participate in the Sept. 20 walk-through in which the Warriors will practice special teams, alignments and substitutions. He will not attend the game.

Chow said Demarest is a "very passionate, energetic guy. I love the way he coaches. He’s thorough. He studies tape. He knows exactly what he wants to get done, and his players know exactly what he wants to get done."

During UH’s first two games, Demarest would summon a special-team unit while Beemer gathered the backups.

"If he had fewer than 11 guys, if somebody went down and he didn’t know about it, I would just sub a guy in," Beemer said.

Despite the often-chaotic situations, Beemer said, "we’d get it done. For our next game, I guess it’s just going to be me."

Scott Harding, who is a punter/punt returner, said Beemer is the logical replacement for Demarest.

"Beemer has been taking care of the backups," Harding said. "He knows what to do. All of the coaches will have a responsibility. … That’s why ‘Demo’ is so good at what he does. He’s so clear in what he does, we can almost run it by ourselves. We all know what we need to do."

Kickoff returner Chris Gant praised Demarest and Beemer.

"They’re two good guys," Gant said. "The difference is coach Beemer comes up with these big words I don’t know. I’m like, ‘All right, whatever that means.’"

Beemer said he studied classical literature before switching his major to exercise physiology when he was a Florida undergraduate.

"Classical literature was my thing before I got into the weight room," Beemer said. "Back in the day before I walked on at (Florida), I was thinking about becoming a classics professor."