AIR FORCE OFFENSE
WR—20 Benjamin Waters 6-1 205 Sr.
WR—7 Geraud Sanders 6-2 210 Sr.
LT—77 Parker Ferguson 6-5 280 Jr.
LG—66 Nolan Laufenberg 6-3 295 Jr.
C—68 Christopher Mitchell 6-2 265 Sr.
RG—72 Connor Vikupitz 6-3 275 Sr.
RT—61 Scott Hattok 6-5 280 Sr.
TE—87 Kade Waguespack 6-2 225 Sr.
QB—5 Donald Hammond III 6-2 210 Jr.
TB—24 Kadin Remsberg 5-9 185 Jr.
FB—33 Taven Birdow 6-1 220 Sr.
The staples of the triple-option offense are the dive, quarterback option and pitch. The first part is owned by Taven Birdow, a former multi-sport prep athlete (wrestling, baseball, track) who has a single-minded purpose as the fullback: Go forward. Of his 97 carries, mostly on dives, Birdow has been stopped short of the line of scrimmage only once. He averages 4.9 yards on first down, and has crossed the line to gain 23 times. The fastest Falcon — tailback Kadin Remsberg (10.64 seconds over 100 meters) — averages 5.6 yards a pop. Because the Falcons have not had a wire-to-wire quarterback since 2012, it was pre-planned to use a dual-quarterback approach this season. Isaiah Sanders, who started the opener, has missed the past three games. That opened the way for Donald “DJ” Hammond III, who has rushed for eight touchdowns and thrown for five more with a low-armed delivery. His sleight-of-hand skills and quickness (4.5 seconds over 40 yards) make Hammond an elusive target on mid-line options (when he hands off to Birdow or keeps the football) or on dashes to the perimeter, where he is accompanied by pitchman Remsberg. There is a fourth option as well: the play-action pass. Hammond averages 52.2 yards per scoring pass. His favorite target is Geraud Sanders, who has 17 receptions on 35 targets for an average of 21.4 yards. Benjamin Waters averages 32.4 yards on his nine catches, and tight end Kade Waguespack often gets open on check-down or arc routes.
AIR FORCE DEFENSE
DE—94 Jordan Jackson 6-5 270 Jr.
NG—99 Mosese Fifita 6-1 330 Sr.
DL—48 Jake Ksiazek 6-2 230 Sr.
OLB—8 Lakota Wills 6-3 235 Jr.
ILB—40 Kyle Johnson 6-0 220 Sr.
ILB—38 Demonte Meeks 6-1 235 Jr.
OLB—14 Grant Theil 6-1 195 Sr.
CB—3 Milton Bugg III 5-9 165 Jr.
SS—22 Garrett Kauppila 6-3 215 Sr.
FS—2 Jeremy Fejedelem 5-10 195 Sr.
CB—6 Zane Lewis 6-1 190 Sr.
While the Falcons are known as ball hogs on offense, the defense is a large contributor to the clock dominance. The Falcons are limiting opponents to 10.6 possessions per game, an average that drops to 10.0 when eliminating drives expiring at the half. The Falcons’ best showing was a week ago, when Fresno State was held to 13 plays for 20 yards in a scoreless second half. The Falcons advertise a 3-4 front, but that’s a bait-and-switch. More often than not, outside linebacker Lakota Wills aligns as a stand-up end. The configuration can feature three hand-on-the-turf linemen, or Jake Ksiazek can set up in a two-point stance. The latter enables Wills and Ksiazek the option of storming the backfield or flexing into coverage. Wills, who has a six tackles for loss, has the second-gear speed to chase down ballcarriers. It is fitting inside linebacker Kyle Johnson had a summer internship with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Johnson has two forced fumbles and a 24-yard pick-6. Milton Bugg, who plays press coverage or blends into a four-across zone, has the Falcons’ other two interceptions. Nose guard Mosese Fifita is the enigma. At 330 pounds, he is the heaviest Falcon but also their most athletic interior lineman (wrestling background). “Ironically, I don’t like flying,” Fifita said. “It’s kind of funny I’m in the Air Force. There are a lot of other opportunities.”
AIR FORCE SPECIALISTS
PK—92 Jake Koehnke 6-0 180 Sr.
P/H—15 Charlie Scott 6-1 195 Sr.
LS—46 Connor Kirkegaard 6-0 205 Jr.
KR—20 Benjamin Waters 6-1 205 Sr.
PR—27 Ben Peterson 5-8 175 Jr.
After handling all the kicking and punting duties in the last six games of 2018, senior Jake Koehnke has focused on point-scoring kicks this season. Against Navy, Koehnke converted four field goals, including a career long of 49 yards. He is 7-for-7 this season. The Falcons continue to disprove PATs as being chip shots. The Falcons have blocked two point-after kicks this year, increasing their total to 17 since 2007. Overall, they have blocked 39 kicks and punts during that period.
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 6-6 330 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.
Whether it was being named a captain or consulting with play-caller Nick Rolovich on the sideline before each snap, quarterback Cole McDonald’s efficiency has improved in the past three games. In that stretch, McDonald has completed 70.9 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns against one pick. Since being intercepted on an excusable throw intended to stretch Central Arkansas’ defense, McDonald has gone 83 passes without a pick. “Just spending more time (in the run-and-shoot offense), playing more games, the game gets slower,” McDonald said. “Just being smart, and throwing the ball where it needs to go, not trying to force too much on my part.” McDonald has thrown to 13 of the 15 players targeted this season. Each receiver has a different movement, build and style. But the reserves get ample reps in practice. And they should see the same coverage and be in the same spot as the first guy, and execute,” McDonald said. The running backs have provided solid backfield blocking — they were able to neutralize Boise State’s Curtis Weaver — but none has rushed for more than Miles Reed’s 70 yards against Washington. In the past three games, McDonald has averaged 7.5 yards on non-sack scrambles or keepers. The line received a boost with the return of Solo Vaipulu, who missed the past three games. Vaipulu can play guard and center. Kohl Levao, who made his 2019 debut last week after recovering from a training-camp injury, has started at right tackle, center and right guard during his 15-game UH career.
HAWAII DEFENSE
DE—49 Pumba Williams 6-2 245 Sr.
NT—50 Blessman Ta‘ala 6-1 300 So.
DT—95 Kendall Hune 6-3 285 Sr.
DE—96 Kaimana Padello 6-0 230 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.
Mention the stereotypical strategy about defending an academy team, and defensive coordinator Corey Batoon will have a bemused reaction. “It’s kind of silly when people say, ‘You’re playing an academy, you have to be assignment (based),’ ” Batoon said. “Everything is assignment football. There’s no football where you go out there and do whatever you want. Everything is assignment based. That was our problem the other night (against Boise State). It’s being able to do your assignment and do your job and understand how all 11 pieces are expected to work in concert with each other.” In drills specifically this week and occasionally in the spring and training camp, the Warriors have worked on defending the triple option’s fullback dive, quarterback keepers, and the perimeter pitch. Assistant head coach Mark Banker was UH’s linebackers coach when he faced the Warriors’ version of the triple-option every practice in 1995. The message then is the same now: Stay in your lane. Banker said there are defenders assigned specifically to track the dive, quarterback and pitch. Banker said the dive defender should not stray to help on the pitch. “Everybody has a primary responsibility,” Banker said. “You have to do that first.” Two other concerns: the Falcons’ play-action passes and their thigh-high blocks. “You have to play at a great pad level,” defensive line coach Ricky Logo said.
HAWAII SPECIALISTS
PK/KO—17 Ryan Meskell 6-0 185 Sr.
P/H—9 Stan Gaudion 6-3 200 Jr.
LS—44 Wyatt Tucker 5-10 205 Jr.
KR/PR—10 Melquise Stovall 5-9 190 Jr.
The Warriors have not relinquished a blocked punt since 2008. What also is impressive is what happens after the punt. Opponents have returned only three of the 15 punts launched by Stan Gaudion or Ben Scruton this year. Blessman Ta‘ala, a 300-pound nose tackle who plays on the protection unit, has one of the punt-coverage tackles. Opponents have scored on 46 percent of the drives preceded by a UH punt.
