Maggitt sets sights on QB

Two days after his high school graduation, Dee Maggitt’s parents flew with him to Hawaii and dropped him off on campus.

"I kind of felt lost," he said. "I was the last one (on the team) to get here and I really didn’t want to come. I wasn’t ready."

Being lost is one of the worst things for a cornerback to be on a football field. But after working his way into the starting lineup as a junior, Maggitt, with good buddy Ne’Quan Phillips on the other side, gives defensive coordinator Kevin Clune an experienced pair at cornerback, allowing him to get the other guys comfortable in a new 3-4 scheme.

"If those two can handle their business, then it really allows me to concentrate on the other nine guys in the box," Clune said. "It is a luxury to have those guys."

Expect Hawaii’s defense to look vastly different at all three levels. Maggitt, who had 48 tackles and defended seven passes as a junior, played man-to-man defense at almost every position.

Now, in addition to his coverage duties, he’ll finally get to do something he has yet to do in a UH uniform.

He’s guaranteed at least one shot at blitzing the opposing quarterback.

"This defense you have to know what everyone is doing because at any time I could be playing nickel or dime or safety," Maggitt said. "It’s real cool because there are a lot more blitzes and a lot more zone concepts and it won’t allow offenses to know what we’re doing.

"You’re definitely going to see me coming after the quarterback, but you just won’t know when."

Getting that first sack is just another competition for Maggitt and Phillips.

Despite having polar-opposite personalities, the two have come together as the premier cornerbacks on the team.

Phillips was named honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference last season and isn’t afraid to let himself be heard on the field.

Maggitt prefers not to say much but is every bit as competitive as his louder teammate.

 "I’m not much into talking, but I like showing people what I can do," Maggitt said. "Me and Ne’Quan are the complete opposite, but we agree on the right football mentality and aggression and on everything you have to put into being a football player."

Maggitt, who graduated from Lakes High in Washington, has had a special eye on this week’s season opener for close to three years.

Hawaii traveled to Seattle to play the Huskies in 2011, but Maggitt never got to play inside Husky Stadium, which is about an hour north of where he grew up.

None of his high school teammates still play for UW, but that doesn’t take away from the excitement he has to play against his hometown team.

 "Being from Washington I wanted to go there because I had friends there and teammates there, but it didn’t happen like that," Maggitt said. "My sophomore year we went down there, but I didn’t have a chance to play in that game, so for years I’ve been waiting for that opportunity and now here it is."

He’ll start against the Huskies with his parents in the crowd for the first time at Aloha Stadium. FuDarrell and Sherell Maggitt haven’t been back to Hawaii since dropping their only son off in the islands more than four years ago.

"This is a big one for me," Maggitt said.