HAWAII OFFENSE
LWO—23 Jared Smart 6-0 190 Jr.
LSB—3 Jason-Matthew Sharsh 6-0 190 Sr.
LT—75 Ilm Manning 6-4 280 So.
LG—57 J.R. Hensley 6-5 320 Sr.
C—63 Taaga Tuulima 6-2 310 Jr.
RG—72 Kohl Levao 6-6 340 Sr.
RT—74 Gene Pryor 6-3 305 Jr.
RSB—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 175 Sr.
RWO—9 JoJo Ward 5-9 175 Sr.
QB—13 Cole McDonald 6-4 220 Jr.
RB—21 Fred Holly III 6-0 200 Jr.
After each offensive play, quarterback Cole McDonald will run to the sideline to meet with head coach Nick Rolovich, who calls the plays. What started as a counter tactic — it prevents opponents from pilfering the Warriors’ signals — has become quality time sharing intel. In the two games of the new play-calling system, McDonald has been at his best, completing 80.6 percent of his throws and being intercepted once. In the first three games, McDonald completed 63.3% while 6% of his throws were intercepted. Rolovich has praised McDonald’s in-season growth of coverage recognition, rapid-fire release and accuracy. McDonald’s pass efficiency has improved from 140.73 in the first three games to 202.92 the past two games. It is another step for McDonald, whose Sonora High team ran the triple-option veer and then the spread. At UH, the offense has evolved from a hybrid spread to the run-and-shoot. “Now I’m more versatile, where I can go under center, go in the shotgun, run, pass, hand off,” McDonald said. He also has learned to manipulate the pocket. He has been hit only four times in the past 64 pass plays. The line receives a boost with the activation of Kohl Levao and Michael Eletise. Neither has played a down this season — Levao while recovering from a training camp injury, Eletise while awaiting a waiver after transferring from Arizona. Levao, who had been widely regarded as the Warriors’ best pro prospect, is expected to open at right guard. Solo Vaipulu was unavailable the previous two games. Eletise, a 4-start prospect as a Kaiser senior in 2015, can play both guard spots.
HAWAII DEFENSE
DE—49 Pumba Williams 6-2 260 Sr.
NT—55 Blessman Ta‘ala 6-1 300 So.
DT—95 Kendall Hune 6-3 285 Sr.
DE—96 Kaimana Padello 6-0 225 Sr.
LB—27 Solomon Matautia 6-1 230 Sr.
LB—2 Jeremiah Pritchard 6-0 225 Jr.
NB—8 Eugene Ford 6-2 200 Jr.
CB—4 Rojesterman Farris II 6-1 185 Sr.
S—3 Kalen Hicks 6-3 215 Sr.
S—5 Khoury Bethley 5-10 200 So.
CB—18 Cortez Davis 5-11 180 Jr.
After cycling through different offenses in the first five games, the Warriors face a repeat, with Boise State sharing many shift-motion traits with Washington. The Warriors, meanwhile, have honed their multiple-look defense, which can employ three or four down linemen, or as many as six defensive backs. The secondary has moved to the forefront, with DBs accounting for four of the five top tacklers. A chunk of each practice is spent on tackling and leveraging ballcarriers into traffic. The corners, safeties and nickels embrace Shakira’s “hips don’t lie” mantra. They target an opponent’s hips, which tip off direction. “Tracking the hip is a big part (of tackling),” said safety Kalen Hicks, who leads with 36 stops. Cortez Davis has amassed 24 tackles on corner blitzes and open-field stops. Davis said his physical style came from playing safety in junior college. In trickle-forward scenarios, corners who can tackle free the safeties to move into the box and linebackers to advance to the edges. “We have to be physical,” nickelback Eugene Ford said. “We have to make sure we’re not just throwing our shoulder in there. We have to wrap up and take down. We can’t have any missed tackles. They lead to big plays or first downs.” Against Nevada, the Warriors missed three tackles in 67 plays.
HAWAII SPECIALISTS
PK/KO—17 Ryan Meskell 6-0 185 Sr.
P/H—9 Stan Gaudion 6-3 210 Jr.
LS—44 Wyatt Tucker 5-10 205 Jr.
KR/PR—10 Melquise Stovall 5-9 190 Jr.
KR—85 Lincoln Victor 5-10 165 Fr.
PR—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 175 Sr.
The Warriors are hopeful Melquise Stovall, who has missed the past two games because of ailments, is able to resume returning kickoffs and punts. In his absence, the Warriors’ average starting point following a kickoff is the 29. Of Ryan Meskell’s 33 kickoffs, only 15 have been returned. Jeffrey Keene, a defensive end who has found a place on special teams, leads with three tackles on kickoffs.
BOISE STATE OFFENSE
X—16 John Hightower 6-2 172 Sr.
SB—6 CT Thomas 5-8 182 Sr.
LT—76 Ezra Cleveland 6-6 310 Jr.
LG—77 John Molchon 6-5 318 Sr.
C—67 Garrettt Larson 6-4 303 Sr.
RG—79 Eric Quevedo 6-4 302 Sr.
RT—70 John Ojukwu 6-6 300 So.
TE—85 John Bates 6-6 255 Jr.
Z—7 Akilian Butler 5-10 182 Sr.
QB—19 Hank Bachmeier 6-1 202 Fr.
RB—34 Robert Mahone 5-10 218 Jr.
The competition among five scholarship quarterbacks was whittled to one when true freshman Hank Bachmeier was awarded the staring job. Bachmeier, who was home-schooled through middle school, was a four-year starter at Murrieta Valley High. He graduated in December and joined the Broncos in January. “He was consistent through spring, summer and fall camp,” head coach Bryan Harsin said of the successor to Brett Rypien, now with the Denver Broncos’ practice squad. While second-year freshman Chase Cord was recovering from last year’s ACL injury, Harsin said, “Hank got more reps. And the more reps he got, the one thing he did do, he took advantage of it. I think that’s what good players do. They take advantage of those reps and opportunities.” Bachmeier is accurate (63.5%), power armed (16 completions of 25-plus yards) and clutch (75% on third-and-medium). He also waits in the pocket as long as possible. The Broncos try to drive opponents’ “see-sick,” showing pre-snap motions, shifts, double shifts and jet sweeps. But the sleight-of-handoff is a blue-turf illusion. At their core, the Broncos create mismatches with three receivers on one side of the formation, or tight ends forming a caravan to the perimeter. When the formation is spread, it opens the way for inside runs. When they stretch the field (with speedsters John Hightower, CT Thomas), the tight ends/H-backs become check-down receivers. Instead of go-to backs of the past — Alexander Mattison, Jeremy McNichols, Jay Ajayi, Doug Martin — the Broncos split the labor among George Holani, Robert Mahone and Andrew Van Buren. The trio combined for nine negative carries in 131 rushes. But they have converted on only 38.5% of their third-and-short runs.
BOISE STATE DEFENSE
DE—93 Chase Hatada 6-3 262 Sr.
NT—98 Sonatane Lui 6-1 283 Sr.
DT—55 David Moa 6-3 296 Sr.
SLB—99 Curtis Weaver 6-3 265 Jr.
MLB—25 Benton Wickersham 6-2 230 Jr.
WLB—44 Riley Whimpey 6-1 233 Jr.
NB—28 Kekaula Kaniho 5-10 182 Jr.
CB—26 Avery Williams 5-9 198 Jr.
S—5 Kekoa Nawahine 6-2 207 Sr.
S—4 DeAndre Pierce 5-11 180 Jr.
CB—15 Jalen Walker 6-0 179 Jr.
In labels befitting of a standout career, end Curtis Weaver plays the strong-side position known as “stud” and has accrued a following of “Be-Weavers.” This season, Weaver set the Mountain West career record with 29.5 sacks in 32 games. He has nine sacks this season. At 6-3 and 265 pounds, Weaver aligns as a stand-up defender on either side of the three hand-on-the-dirt linemen. With his speed (a scouting service listed his 40 time at 4.62 seconds), lateral quickness and Mayweather-like hand power, Weaver is built to fight off blocks. Nose tackle Sonatane Lui is deceptively agile. He amassed 16 tackles against Air Force. The Broncos have an active secondary in which nickleback Kekaula Kaniho can line up in coverage, as an edge rusher or blitzer. The Broncos are fond of their version of a match-up zone, going from a four-across secondary to sneaking safeties into the box. Ezekiel Noa, who made 29 of his 36 tackles in the final four games of 2018, moved from weak-side linebacker to the middle to replace ousted Tyson Maeva. But against Air Force, Noa suffered season-ending injuries to his ACL and wrist. Benton Wickersham, a prep offensive lineman and safety, replaces Noa. The Broncos have forced three-and-outs on 21 of 64 full possessions.
BOISE STATE SPECIALISTS
PK—36 Eric Sachse 5-10 198 Sr.
P/KO—46 Joel Velazquez 6-0 225 Jr.
LS—42 Daniel Cantrell 6-0 231 So.
H—28 Kekaula Kaniho 5-10 182 Jr.
KR—16 John Hightower 6-2 172 Sr
PR—26 Avery Williams 5-9 198 Jr.
John Hightower’s affinity for engines — he’s a car enthusiast — transcends to his high-motor kickoff returns. He scored on a 98-yard return against Portland State. Hightower, who ran 400-meter high hurdles in junior college, has been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Eric Sachse, a transfer from Division III Trinity, delivered five field goals in his BSU debut. He is 7-for-8 on treys, with a long of 52 yards.
