Defense clawing out an identity

The “Cat” is out of the bag.

Head coach Norm Chow said the Hawaii football team’s new defensive scheme is named after a phrase uttered by Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders.

“We call it the ‘Cat’ defense,” Chow said. “Deion Sanders used to say, ‘I’ve got this cat, you’ve got that cat.’ ”

UH defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said: “That’s the easiest way to describe it.”

Kaumeyer’s defense is a 5-2 arrangement, with the two perimeter linemen — a defensive end and strongside linebacker — in a two-point stance, the weakside and middle linebackers in an interior alignment, and the corners in single coverage.

“It’s man on man,” said John Hardy-Tuliau, who is back at cornerback after playing nickelback and safety in his first two UH seasons.

“The corners and even the safeties are matched up. I like it.”

The previous two years, the Warriors were mostly in a four-across zone, with the four defensive backs each assigned a quadrant. Now the Warriors employ football’s version of a box-and-one defense.

The scheme has been part of UH’s history. Bob Wagner used the double-eagle defense to win a Western Athletic Conference title in 1992. Dick Tomey brought the scheme to Arizona, where it was renamed “Desert Swarm.”

Kaumeyer ran this scheme at San Diego State, where he received frequent consultation from Wade Phillips. Phillips has been successful with the 5-2 — essentially an altered 3-4 — in the NFL.

The Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and New England Patriots run a variation of this defense.

“This is something I like,” said Kaumeyer, noting it will provide the Warriors with several lanes into the backfield.

Chow also favors the scheme. He was at Southern California when Pete Carroll ran a version of the defense.

On Saturday, the Warriors completed their second week of spring training. Kaumeyer said he has implemented a third of the plays.

“We’re going to take our time as we install it,” Kaumeyer said. “We want to make sure we’re doing it correctly. It we don’t put it all in, that’s fine. We want to make sure we do a good job with the core stuff.”

The Warriors have been rotating defensive players frequently during spring drills. One of the standouts is George Daily-Lyles, who has moved from middle linebacker to the weak side. Daily-Lyles, who will be a junior in the fall, has been given play-calling responsibility.

“Linebacker is a leadership spot,” Daily-Lyles said. “You’ve got to call plays, and make sure everybody is on the right page.”

Kaumeyer said he has simplified the schemes, and is seeking to build a rotation of about 18 players.

“Whatever they call this defense, I love it,” Daily-Lyles said. “It’s basic: See the man with the ball, tackle the man with the ball.”