Hawaii quarterback Chevan Cordeiro’s creativity powers UH

For more than three decades as a defensive specialist, Hawaii head coach Todd Graham has gathered extensive knowledge of the other side. He has studied quarterbacks with a criminal profiler’s scrutiny. Several of his offensive coordinators have graduated to head-coaching jobs. With that background, Graham jokingly offers this advice to the self-styled offensive experts: Give thanks to improvisational quarterbacks, like UH’s Chevan Cordeiro.

“Look now,” Graham would muse, “I know you’re a guru and an offensive-coordinator wizard and all this, but 30% of your plays don’t work.”

Graham added: “When you have a quarterback, like Chevan, (who) takes all those plays that don’t work and makes something out of ‘em, then you ought to be real nice to him. That’s the way it works, especially in college football. You gotta have a guy who can extend plays. And then what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to adapt what you’re doing to him.”

Cordeiro has been an escape artist this season, averaging 8.7 yards per non-sack scramble.

“I think it all starts with Cordeiro,” said San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan, whose Spartans meet the Warriors at 1 p.m. Saturday at Aloha Stadium. “He’s obviously a very good thrower. But you see him do a lot of damage running. He has great escapability.”

SAN JOSE STATE OFFENSE

Where we left off, the Spartans were crafting complementary roles for quarterbacks Nick Starkel (70.1% accuracy) and Nick Nash (7.3 yards per keeper, 8.38 on first down). In their last game, Starkel and Nash, as a fly-sweep slotback, were in the opening lineup. Starkel, who arrived as a grad transfer after stops at Texas A&M and Arkansas, has styled his game after Brett Favre’s. “He was the one who made it look fun to play football,” Starkel said. “He wasn’t just standing back there throwing the football. He was running all around, doing side-arm, no-look passes before they were a big hit. He claims he invented the RPO.” Starkel has more hits (nine TDs, 11 completions of 25-plus yards) than misses (two picks in 109 pass plays). With double tight ends or four-wide alignments, nearly every play involves a crossing route underneath the coverage as a diversion from speedy receivers Bailey Gaither (6.8 catches per game) and Tre Walker (21.0 yards per third-down catch).

SAN JOSE STATE DEFENSE

In tribute to his upbringing, defensive end Cade Hall has an arm tattoo sporting “408,” San Jose’s area code. Hall’s preferred area is behind the line of scrimmage, where he has made 43% of his tackles, including 5.5 sacks in four games. At 6-2 and 260 pounds, Hall is more slugger than boxer, using steely hands and arm strength to batter the blind-side tackle. A favorite move is to collide into a blocker, disengage and then chase the ball carrier. Hall is part of a rejuvenated defense whose 3-4 base expands when linebacker Kyle Harmon moves up as an edge rusher or on-line middle. Harmon’s the nation’s runner-up in tackles with 13.0 per game. Viliami Fehoko is an end with the reach to obscure the passing lane and quickness to loop into the backfield. The past three games, the Spartans have amassed 14 sacks, half against UNLV. They also have been tough against the run, holding opponents to 3.1 yards per carry. NCAA rushing leader Air Force ran for 206 against SJSU, 183 yards below its average, and San Diego State, which averages 347 ground yards, tallied only 102.

HAWAII OFFENSE

In the six quarters since Graham’s halftime speech two weeks ago, Cordeiro has completed 69.5% of his passes, including 74.5% accuracy on throws up to 19 yards. He has gone 100 pass plays without being intercepted. Pressure on Cordeiro has been alleviated with improved blitz/stunt recognition from the linemen, quick-release throws up to two seconds, and his own elusiveness. Pass-game coordinator Bo Graham and offensive coordinator G.J. Kinne have helped Cordeiro adjust to the scheme’s new footwork. But the rest — to get skinny in the pocket’s escape lane, to look for route-breaking receivers on scrambles, to juke would-be tacklers set in their stances — is all Cordeiro. “Man, he is only scratching the surface,” Graham said. “This is kid is really, really going to be a special player. I think he’s played as courageous as any quarterback I’ve seen.” Melquise Stovall has joined Calvin Turner as a player who can be used as a wideout, running back, on jet sweeps, and as a decoy.

HAWAII DEFENSE

After defeating Nevada last week, Graham, who calls the defensive plays, was greeted at home by a vocal critic. “Why were you rushing two people?” Graham recalled his wife asking. In a unique tactic that UH had three days to rehearse, the Warriors employed a two-deep base that could expand to an umbrella of five DBs to frustrate Nevada receiver Romeo Doubs. The Warriors’ two best press and high-ball defenders — Cortez Davis and Cameron Lockridge — took turns fronting Doubs, depending on the hash placement. The layered coverage also involved a safety forming a double team. The strategy called for Lockridge, usually a corner, to learn to play both safety positions. When in-game injuries caused two starters to exit, DJuan Matthews rotated at all three defensive line spots, and weak-side linebacker Isaiah Tufaga played almost every defensive snap. Doubs finished with one catch for 10 yards, and Nevada’s Plan B — the running attack — caused only superficial damage. The answer to the original query? “I was trying to win,” Graham said.