Corey Paredes attributes his penchant for punching the ball free to the emphasis Hawaii’s coaches place on turnover drills in practice.

But UH defensive coordinator Dave Aranda isn’t about to take credit for that particular skill.

"That’s instinctive," Aranda said.

"We do drill it, we do make an emphasis on it, but to be honest, that’s Corey and he does it better than anybody."

The senior linebacker has forced a fumble in three of UH’s past four games, and leads the Western Athletic Conference in that category heading into Saturday’s game at Idaho.

Paredes’ contributions to UH’s 16 total takeaways, including seven fumbles, is a testament to his ability to multitask once he latches on to the ballcarrier and, lately, to simply stay on the field.

Paredes has been playing through a sore knee in recent weeks and watched Wednesday’s practice from the sideline. But he said he’ll be ready when the Warriors (4-3, 2-1 WAC) face the Vandals (1-6, 0-3) in their last league visit to the Kibbie Dome.

"I’ve been kind of bus’ up lately, but I’m trying to recover," Paredes said. "But I’ll be good on Saturday."

Aranda said sophomore George Daily-Lyles will get more work at middle linebacker to help ease the wear on Paredes.

"Corey’s a gamer, he’s the ultimate gamer," Aranda said. "So we need him to be healthy and need him to be doing what he does on the field."

The knee forced him to the sideline on New Mexico State’s first play of last Saturday’s 45-34 home win. But he returned two plays later and forced his third fumble of the season late in the second quarter.

He also had one the previous week at San Jose State and on the opening drive of UH’s win over UC Davis on Sept. 24.

Paredes’ knack for knocking the ball loose emerged almost as soon as he began seeing regular playing time as a sophomore.

His forced fumble on a sack late in the fourth quarter sealed a season-opening win over Central Arkansas in 2009. The following week in Seattle, a Washington State receiver appeared headed for the end zone when Paredes caught him at the 6-yard line and jarred the ball free.

Paredes again forced a game-turning fumble in last year’s win over Nevada, when he punched the ball out of Wolf Pack quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s hand inside the UH 1, turning a potential Nevada score into a touchback for the Warriors.

"When you get in those big games and those guys are close to the end zone, you want to get the ball out," Paredes said. "They’re already in scoring position so the biggest thing you can do for your team is getting that ball out and you have to be thinking about that when you’re making the tackle."

The Warriors regularly devote a period in practice to causing turnovers with the defensive position groups rotating through stations concentrating on various techniques.

"A lot of it is the work we put in in the turnover drills," Paredes said. "When you do it in practice a lot, it comes second nature."

Paredes’ method of choice lately has been a punch on the ball while securing the tackle with the other arm.

"Lately it seems like it’s worked" he said. "Throw the arm over the shoulder then start punching (the ball)."