Ready to lead

After two seasons of watching and listening, Leroy Lutu hopes to take a turn providing direction.

Lutu’s time as a backup behind Richard Torres offered him an education in the duties required in playing safety. With Torres completing his University of Hawaii football career last December, Lutu is putting those lessons into practice this spring in his effort to fill that spot in the fall.

"One of my mentors last year was Richard Torres. He was a great role model because he was a leader of the defense just because he knew everything," Lutu said. "He knew what everyone was doing. That’s my ambition.

"Just being a safety, you’re the coach of the secondary and you have to know not only what the secondary is doing, but what the linebackers are doing and it’s really a mental game at this point."

“Just being a safety, you’re
the coach of the secondary
and you have to know not only
what the secondary is doing,
but what the linebackers are
doing and it’s really a mental
game at this point.”

— Leroy Lutu
Warriors safety

Lutu, a junior, has spent the early portion of spring practice working with the first unit at safety with sophomore Bubba Poueu-Luna. The Warriors return to the field for their fifth practice of the spring this afternoon.

Torres started all 13 games last season at strong safety alongside John Hardy-Tuliau at free safety. Hardy-Tuliau is now working at cornerback, creating vacancies at both safety spots and turning the spring into job-hunting season for those in contention for a starting spot.

"It’s an awesome opportunity," Lutu said.

"Every day is an interview with the coaches. You have to show them what you’re capable of and how serious you are about becoming a starter and how serious you are about this program and this team. It means a whole lot to me."

A two-sport standout at Mercer Island (Wash.) High School, Lutu made his lone collegiate start to date with the Rainbow Warriors basketball team. He closed the 2009-10 season by scoring 12 points in each of UH’s final two games, earning a start at Idaho, while shooting 11-for-18 from the field.

But after the basketball program’s coaching change, Lutu decided to give football a shot that fall and redshirted with the Warriors in the 2010 season. He got his first taste of Division I game speed on special teams last season and finished the year with eight tackles.

"I was a special teams player getting my feet wet. It was the first season I played in a few years and I was grateful to not only play behind Richard but to get out there and play," he said.

While working to impress a new set of coaches this spring, Lutu is studying a playbook that places greater emphasis on man-to-man coverage than in previous seasons.

"It’s a whole different scheme," he said. "It’s a lot more man concepts with the safeties coming down on the tight ends. There’s a whole lot of different things, the safeties are a lot more in the run than they were last year … You have to be able to get in with the big boys and I’m looking forward to that."

With those responsibilities in mind, Lutu — the tallest of UH’s defensive backs at 6 feet 2 — has put on about 20 pounds since making the transition from basketball to football and said he’s up to 212 pounds.

"I’m still not quite where I want to be," he said. "Just have to continue to eat and stay in the weight room."