‘Our guy’ Paredes plays every snap on defense — all 210
Corey Paredes has played every defensive snap in UH's three games this season. Against USC, he had seven solo tackles and two assists.
Linebacker Corey Paredes has played every defensive down this season.
Because of good behavior, Hawaii linebacker Corey Paredes does not get any time off.
In three football games this season, the Warriors have been on defense for 210 plays.
Paredes, a junior from Castle High, has played every defensive down, a total of 1 hour, 51 minutes, 41 seconds.
"Rest is all fine and dandy, but I’m trying to help my team," Paredes said. "The best thing I can do is stay on the field and make plays."
Paredes averages 13.0 tackles per game.
He also plays on the punt team, as the right guard.
Despite the workload, according to defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, "We haven’t had a play where he’s been cruising or anything. He plays hard all of the time."
Paredes conceded he experienced spells of fatigue, especially during the 31-13 loss to Colorado, which was played a mile above sea level in Boulder, Colo.
"When you come to situations like that, you have to say, ‘This is football. You cannot give up,’" Paredes said. "That’s the mentality you have to have. That’s how I am. You train year-round just to play these 13 games. To sell yourself short in a game, to say you’re tired, to say you want a break, you can’t think like that on defense. We have to get 11 guys on defense wanting to play all game, not backing out, just wanting to win and kill guys."
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Aranda said he has tried to find opportunities to rest Paredes.
"There hasn’t been a situation where I thought we could be without him," Aranda said. "We’d like to get him some breathers coming up. He’s been a guy we’ve been leaning on."
The past two weeks, Paredes’ role has expanded. He now makes the defensive calls, a job usually handled by the middle linebacker. Paredes plays middle in UH’s nickel defenses, but right-side linebacker in the Warriors’ 4-3 base scheme. The coaches felt Paredes had more experience in recognizing offenses than George Daily-Lyles, a freshman middle linebacker.
But Paredes said all of the linebackers contribute to play-calling.
"We all have different angles, so we see different things," Paredes said. "We work together."
Paredes initially joined the Warriors as a walk-on. Last year, he was awarded a scholarship. This summer, he was named one of the three team captains.
"He’s been starting to speak his mind and take on a bigger leadership role, which we need him to do," Aranda said. "He’s been our guy so far."
