MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. » The question was first posed to the Hawaii football players during their stay on a military base two weeks ago.
After that, it was asked at the beginning and end of each practice of preseason training.
To this dare — are you ready? — the Warriors responded, "Always ready."
The phrase has become the Warriors’ battle cry and mantra. On Friday, it became a slogan. Each Warrior wore a black T-shirt with the words "Always ready."
They wore the shirts to roll call, to the late-morning walk around the hotel grounds, to the walk-through practice in the afternoon, and to meetings into the night.
Matt Barkley:
The USC quarterback
and Heisman Trophy
hopeful has a support-
ing cast that includes
two 1,000-yard rushers
and two 1,000-yard
receivers
Every so often someone would provoke the response by yelling the question, much like how a tap of a crystal glass can trigger newlyweds to kiss.
Ready?
Always.
But how will the Warriors respond in today’s season opener against top-ranked Southern California? The game will be shown on national television. The SRO crowd of more than 93,000 will be the largest for a game in school history.
USC quarterback Matt Barkley is a Heisman Trophy contender with a Noah’s Ark supporting cast: Two 1,000-yard rushers, two 1,000-yard receivers, two athletic tight ends.
The Warriors know their opponent. It’s not just the exposure the Trojans receive as the marquee football team in the nation’s No. 2 television market. Several Trojans have Twitter accounts, which are listed in the media guide, including Barkley and head coach Lane Kiffin.
"I just try to be real with the fans and the people on Twitter," Barkley said. "It’s a great platform to be direct. It’s your voice. I think it’s a cool platform for fans to stay engaged with what’s going on with USC football."
And so the Warriors know Barkley, who returned for his senior season, is as much of a leader on a football field as he is during a mission to Haiti. They know about USC’s offensive line, which allowed only eight sacks in 2011. They know about a USC defense whose co-leaders in tackles were freshmen last year.
"We’ve watched the tapes and we understand their schemes," UH head coach Norm Chow said. "But are we good enough to attack the schemes properly? We’ll have to wait and see. (The Trojans) are awfully good."
For the first time in several years, Chow will be calling the offensive plays from the field instead of the coaches’ booth. He also is facing his former employers. In four years as USC’s offensive coordinator, he developed two Heisman winners and tutored Kiffin.
Chow has put in extra work in preparing the Warriors. He often arrives at his office at 4:30 a.m. Every drill is precisely scheduled.
"If you’re not five minutes early," he told his players during the training on base, "you’re late."
He has promoted team unity. The players wore long pants to the airport on Thursday. When Chow realized they were uncomfortable because of the muggy conditions, all of the players had to change into shorts.
He made the players learn the words to "Co-Ed," the Warriors’ fight song. There was a written test and a vocal exam accompanied by the UH Marching Band.
He has consulted with colleagues and experts on travel, conditioning and even sleep habits.
He also has received tips from coaches Kyle Whittingham, LaVell Edwards, Rick Neuheisel, Andy Reid and Mike Holmgren.
"You get to this point in your career, you have to figure out things for yourself," Chow said.
Chow put his trust in quarterback Sean Schroeder, a Duke graduate who hasn’t started a game since 2008. He gave autonomy to defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer.
"We’ll see what’s going to happen," Chow said.
