Pairing summer school with fall camp doesn’t leave much down time in Ben Clarke’s daily schedule.
A sweltering opening practice on Monday capped an already long day for the Hawaii offensive tackle, who began the morning with a physics class and lab running from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Practices and meetings now block off most of his afternoons, and Clarke welcomed the chance to get back to work at his new position.
"I couldn’t wait for today," Clarke said after the offensive line completed a final set of drills before heading to the cool of the locker room. "I feel like it’s been a long summer waiting for this camp to start."
After two years entrenched as the Rainbow Warriors’ starting center — where he earned honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference accolades as a freshman and sophomore — Clarke moved to left tackle late in spring practice and tailored his summer workouts to the demands of playing on the edge.
"I tried to gain some weight, get a little bigger for the big (defensive) ends," Clarke said, "and quickness, I had to work a lot on that."
Clarke accomplished both tasks, putting on about 10 pounds to report to camp at 295 and dropping his times in agility drills while participating in 6 a.m. workouts with the linemen over the summer.
UH offensive line coach Chris Naeole is confident Clarke’s mental approach to the game will accentuate the physical gains.
"Ben does a good job with his technique; he’s probably the smartest guy on the team," Naeole said of the biology major and two-time academic All-MWC honoree. "It makes it easy. The guy does everything right.
"Ben’s going to do whatever is best for the team, and I think he understands the best move for the team is him playing tackle."
The move is actually a transition back to Clarke’s natural position. He played tackle at Chatfield High School and learned the intricacies of playing center when he arrived in Hawaii.
When the prospect of a position change was raised in the spring, Clarke initially thought Naeole was joking around with him. But he found himself at tackle for the final phase of spring ball and is eager to contribute at a different spot on the line midway through his college career.
"I have to re-learn it, but I like it, it’s a lot of fun," Clarke said.
"I already knew all the left tackle stuff because I had to tell them what to do at center. The mental part is the same, it’s just the switch to my playing style. I have to be quicker off the ball and I don’t have to worry about snapping anymore."
That responsibility now belongs to senior Kody Afusia, who started at guard last season. Clarke and Afusia also have leadership duties for a line that included three redshirt freshmen — guards Elijah Tupai and Dejon Allen and tackle John Wa’a — working with the first unit on Monday.
"In individual drills, in meetings, they kind of round each other up and get them going," Naeole said. "So they’ve taken leadership of bringing the younger guys with them."
