Sleepless nights might bring defensive awakening for University of Hawaii football

Every night, Trent Figg sets his alarm to “oh, my goodness.”

He awakens at 4:15 a.m., and arrives at his University of Hawaii football office 30 minutes later. “I usually don’t sleep long enough to dream,” Figg mused.

But Figg acknowledges he is living the dream as the Rainbow Warriors’ associate head coach/defense. Figg’s duties include coaching the defensive secondary, with an emphasis on the safeties, and recruiting while retaining several of his responsibilities from last year’s role as the Warriors’ chief of staff. Most of all, Figg is a collaborator in working with head coach Todd Graham to build the Warriors’ defensive structure. Graham oversees the defense and special teams.

“I’m so thankful for the opportunity Coach (Graham) has given me here,” Figg said. “It’s awesome. He and I work on the defense together. He and I have a close relationship. We’re able to do a lot of things together and split up some responsibilities, and try to divide and conquer a little bit.”

The pandemic resulted in 17 lost weeks of training ahead of the 2020 season, Graham’s first at UH, and hindered the full implementation of the defensive system that succeeded at previous programs. This year, the Warriors had a full spring training.

“We’ll do some more things this year from a scheme standpoint just because we have more time to work on it,” Figg said. “Every place you go it’s kind of a clean slate. You can’t just up and do what you did at one place. Coach (Graham) has been very different schematically everywhere he’s been. He has the core foundation of what we’re going to be defensively. … From a defensive standpoint, it’s always going to be based on our personnel and what we have. We’ve added a few more guys to the roster, which probably will allow us to do more things schematically.”

Figg noted the pressing goals are to improve the run defense, amplify the pass rush and, in general, prevent large gains. Last year, opponents averaged 4.78 yards on first-down rushes, and amassed 21 runs of 20-plus yards. There were four touchdown runs exceeding 45 yards. The Warriors are hopeful of building on the New Mexico Bowl victory in which they overpowered Houston’s offense. Of the Cougars’ 14 drives, seven ended in punts, three on interceptions and two on failed fourth-down plays. Their average possession was 2 minutes, 13 seconds.

“We’re going to be multiple every game from a front coverage and pressure standpoint,” Figg said.

The Warriors were able to fill defensive needs in recruiting despite pandemic-related restrictions on in-person scouting and visits. “We wanted guys who can impact the quarterback,” Figg said. “We wanted to get guys off the edge who can really rush the passer. We also wanted to get the best athletes, the best tacklers we could find. The game’s all about speed.”

In evaluating prospects, the Warriors spoke to their coaches and reviewed videos. Hugh Nelson II was a walk-on defensive back at Georgia. When Nelson entered the transfer portal, Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning reached out to UH. Lanning, who was Figg’s college roommate, had coached under Graham at Arizona State. Lanning “knows our scheme, and thought (Nelson) would be a great fit,” Figg said. “(Nelson) didn’t have a ton of (game) film, but we were able to get practice film on him. We got to know his family.”

The Warriors also used their strong Texas ties to secure commitments from two Division I transfers — Arnold Azunna of Iowa State and defensive lineman Zacchaeus McKinney of Oklahoma. Both grew up in the Dallas area.

“We just don’t recruit random guys,” Figg said. “They’re all guys we have some sort of connection. They’re guys we know their high school or college coaches really well, and dive into deep on a guy.”

Figg said UH’s defensive backs have bonded. All 23 recently got together for a socially distanced dinner.

“We’ve got a ton of experience coming back (in the secondary),” said Figg, citing Khoury Bethley, Eugene Ford, Kai Kaneshiro, Donovan Dalton, Sterlin Ortiz, Eugene Ford, Cameron Lockridge, Mike Washington and Cortez Davis, among several.

Davis, who will represent UH at next week’s Mountain West media days, has developed into a shutdown corner and accurate blitzer.

“We talk about being conscientious and not being careless, and Cortez is very, very conscientious,” Figg said. “He pays attention to details. He’s a student of the game. I’ll call him on a Sunday afternoon to check on him, and he’ll be watching film. Two weeks ago when I called him, he was watching UCLA film. He’s a smart player. He’s the type of player you want to clone him because he’s a high-character guy. He doesn’t say a lot. He goes about his business. He’s a great leader. He’s dependable.”

The coaching staff also have been busy scouting and analyzing videos. Figg said they already have evaluated UH’s 13 opponents this coming season.

“The first half of our schedule we’re diving deep into it right now,” Figg said. “The first five opponents we’re going to have, not the final game plan, but the starting game plan before we start fall camp (on July 29).”

Figg said each coach is responsible for dissecting different parts of an opponent’s scheme. The information is broken down, then presented to the staff. “And then we’re putting together our game plan,” Figg said. “When we’re not with our players, that’s what we’re spending a lot of our time doing right now, diving into our opponents and making sure we’re prepared.”

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Key dates

>> July 21-22: Mountain West Conference meetings, Las Vegas

>> July 29: Opening of training camp

>> Aug. 28: Season opener vs. UCLA, Pasadena, Calif.

>> Sept. 4: Portland State, Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex