Marie Kondo could find joy in Abraham Elimimian’s orderly life.

Elimimian begins each morning with a prayer.

He will not leave his home without making his bed — sheets tucked with Army precision, blankets folded with origami care.

“How you make your bed sets the tone for the day,” Elimimian said. “You can control those things in life. When you come home to that, the bed’s already made. I like clean sheets. I like the smell of Downy softener. It helps you sleep better.”

His office at the University of Hawaii, where he is the football team’s recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach, is as clean as an operating room.

“It leaves you feeling unaccomplished when things are messy,” Elimimian said. “When you get things organized, the day flows easier.”

But Elimimian acknowledged that not all plans are the only plans.

“Do I plan everything?” Elimimian said. “I used to plan everything. There are certain things in life you can’t control. I don’t live my life trying to plan for everything. I plan for the most important things in my life. I try to make good decisions. I know the decisions you make have ramifications, good or bad. It’s about balance. There are certain decisions you have to make right away and bigger decisions that you can take your time to make.”

Elimimian was born in Nigeria, the eldest of five siblings, in a household that spoke English and Edo. His father is a former professor who authored several books, including an encyclopedia.

When Elimimian was 7, his family moved to Los Angeles, where they lived in hard-scrabble Crenshaw. Looking back, Elimiman is empathetic to those who chose a life “with bad intentions,” a path he avoided by participating in football and basketball.

“They didn’t have an avenue to be successful,” Elimimian said. “They didn’t have a path where they felt hope, so to speak. The only way was to live a lifestyle they lived. In that aspect, I had my education. I had football. I had a path.”

Elimimian said Crenshaw High’s football coach Robert Garrett and Willie West provided guidance. In football, Elimimian was a lock-down cornerback whose position coach was Doe Henderson, a former UH safety. It was Henderson who recommended Elimimian to George Lumpkin, who was UH’s associate head coach at the time. “There were a lot of great people at Crenshaw who helped me,” Elimimian said.

Elimimian, who suffered a knee injury during his senior season at Crenshaw, was set to join the Warriors as a walk-on. But when a recruit decided to go elsewhere, Lumpkin offered the 25th — and final — 2000 scholarship to Elimimian.

Elimimian redshirted in 2000, then started at cornerback the next four seasons. As a junior and senior, he did not allow a touchdown reception.

“There are two sides of me,” Elimimian said. “There’s the competitive side on the football field when I’m extremely competitive. You play this game with emotion, with passion. If you don’t play with emotion and passion, good luck winning. And players feed off that. As a player, I didn’t like to get beat. But as you get older, you need to compartmentalize the emotional aspect.”

Elimimian cites the game in which he lost his cool after a Fresno State player was ruled to have caught a pass when it appeared he landed out of bounds. Elimimian tossed a pylon in protest — an action he still regrets years later, but now uses as a teaching example. “You’ve got to draw the line,” Elimimian said. “But how do you compartmentalize your emotions, and foster them to a positive approach? It’s the drive. It’s the will power.”

Elimimian is the longest continuing member of the UH coaching staff. Norm Chow hired Elimimian to coach the defensive backs in 2015. In that season’s finale, three weeks after Chow was dismissed, Elimimian took over the play-calling on defense. UH beat Louisiana Monroe, 28-26.

Elimimian was on Nick Rolovich’s staff the past four seasons. In January, Elimimian was retained after Todd Graham was named head coach.

“One thing we do share in our DNA is our competitive drive,” Elimimian said of Graham. “He is extremely competitive. That’s one thing I do appreciate. When I come here (to the office), I don’t consider it work. I consider it an opportunity to learn from him and get better.”