Warriors expect to give Hall more touches

When it comes to creativity, give the Hawaii football team an "F."

In the Warriors’ pro-set offense, the F is a spinoff of the tight end that has expanded into a multi-purpose position. In 20 plays against Southern California this past Saturday, Ryan Hall was used as an on-line blocker, a slotback, a wideout, an H-back and a fullback.

His first catch came when he was aligned as a backfield blocker.

"I was protecting (quarterback) Sean (Schroeder)," Hall said. "Nobody came, so I went into the flat. It was cool."

It was a full-circle moment. Hall grew up wanting to emulate former Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Mike Alstott.

"I always wanted to be a fullback," Hall said. "It was a neat experience to be back there."

Head coach Norm Chow’s pro-set offense includes a tight end and fullback — positions that were not part of the Warriors’ four-wide attack the previous 13 seasons."

"Coach Chow is bringing a lot of new stuff, things we haven’t seen in a while," Hall said.

Hall earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke in three years. If he remained there, he would have been third on the depth chart at tight end and B (Duke’s version of the F). "I could have played either, but I wouldn’t have played much," Hall said.

He transferred to UH this summer. As a college graduate, he does not have to redshirt this season. In UH’s offense, the tight end plays more snaps, but the F gets more touches.

"That’s the tradeoff," said Hall, who caught three passes.

Chow said: "He’s doing a good job. We need to get him more reps. He didn’t play as much as we hoped he would (against USC). He needs to play more."

Hall is kept busy attending meetings with offensive linemen, receivers and quarterbacks. "We have to know everything about the offense," Hall said.