Can Hawaii’s defense get a woo-woo?
That’s the sound defensive left end Luke Shawley hollers whenever he is chasing the quarterback, which is about every play in this spring’s team drills.
"I don’t even know what that sound means," defensive coordinator Tom Mason said, smiling. "Sometimes when you’re a coach, you don’t want to know what that means. If it works for him, keep doing it."
Shawley said he started yelling it "toward the end of last season. I think it just confuses (the quarterback). It’s a pretty ridiculous sound. It’s definitely not intimidating. It’s something that was a natural inspirational kind of thing that came out of nowhere. I just went with it."
Shawley is symbolic of the improvisational attacking styles that Mason encourages since being hired in February. Mason’s motto: Play fast, play free.
"The fun comes with the front we’re running," Shawley said. "It’s very explosive. We’re blitzing all the time. There are stunts going on all the time. That fosters the atmosphere of excitement all the time."
Last year, Shawley led the Rainbow Warriors in oh-so-close plays. He had nine quarterback hurries, but no sacks.
"With this new front, and being a little bit heavier and faster, I’ll definitely be able to finish up this year," said Shawley, who is 6 feet 3 and about 255 pounds.
During Saturday’s situational drills, Shawley had a sack, two hurries and a bruising stop on running back Diocemy Saint Juste.
Mason likens Shawley to former Fresno State defensive end Tyler Clutts.
"Those two guys could be brothers," Mason said. "Luke’s not quite big enough, not quite fast enough, but he has a motor. I’ll take a guy who has a motor any day. He’ll play hard every snap, and he does. He makes things happen. We can do some things to offset his size."
On the weak side, linebacker Jahlani Tavai is having a breakout spring. Tavai was a nose tackle at Mira Costa High who aspired to attend USC or UH. Cameron Chow, a Mira Costa teacher, recommended Tavai to his father, UH head coach Norm Chow.
"When Cameron came up to me and said his dad was interested in me, that was one of the greatest moments of my life," Tavai said.
Because of injuries at linebacker last year, Tavai made some of the road trips as a freshman. He did not play in any games, allowing him to count 2014 as a redshirt year.
Tavai said he struggled between being a pass-rusher and drop-back defender in practices last year. Tavai, who is 6-4, lost 20 pounds and now weighs 235. Under linebackers coach Kurt Gouveia’s tutoring, Tavai provides quickness off the perimeter.
"That’s the thing about this system," Mason said. "Once you understand just the base concepts, you can play really fast in it. Jahlani bought in. He knows it. Really, when a kid plays fast, it’s more, ‘I’m comfortable in the system, I don’t have to think anymore.’ When a kid starts to get it, he plays at an extra speed."
The secondary has benefited from the pass rush. Jamal Mayo, who is competing at both corner positions, scored on an interception return during team drills.
"We’re more comfortable," said Mayo, who redshirted last year after transferring from Laney Junior College.
