During an 11-year NFL career, Chris Naeole was a guard who pulled.

Now Naeole is a University of Hawaii football assistant coach with pull.

It was Naeole who reconfigured an offensive line that did not allow a sack in 34 pass plays and paved the way for the Rainbow Warriors’ 248 rushing yards in the season-opening 51-31 loss to California. Naeole moved Dejon Allen from right guard to left tackle, Asotui Eli from center to right guard, and Leo Koloamatangi from utility role to starting center.

“I think they should be proud of themselves,” head coach Nick Rolovich said of the offensive linemen. “Nothing is easy in football. I think that (productivity) comes from Chris’ NFL experience.”

A football meeting room is a lab of hypotheticals and theories. “I wish I had done this before,” Rolovich said of the line shifts. “I always worried, ‘Oh, do you move them?’ (Naeole) did not hesitate. He made guys learn different positions, and it gave us a lot of movement options if we needed it. I noticed what he was doing during camp, and I thought, ‘It’s going to pay dividends down the road.’”

Allen was a ferocious blocker who had been boxed in at guard. “You’ve got to know your guys,” Naeole said of Allen’s move to the quarterback’s blind side. “He’s athletic. He’s got a lot of talent.”

In spring training, the Rainbow Warriors turned the center into a play-caller who barks the blocking assignments and the cadences. Eli, a third-year sophomore, played well enough to make the Rimington Trophy watch list as the nation’s best center. But Koloamatangi, who had never played a game at center, fit the position’s leadership requirements.

“He’s always leading the group,” Naeole said. “It’s perfect for him to be the center.”

At 6 feet 5, Koloamatangi would be considered tall for the position. But he is able to drive out of a low stance, much like a boxer’s uppercut. “Being around Naeole’s concepts, everything sinks in,” Koloamatangi said.

Naeole said: “Leo has been cross-training his whole career here. He can play whatever position. The more you can do, the better for you, the better for everybody.”