Hawaii football team shaping up after productive offseason workouts

Every University of Hawaii football tweet ends with #WinEveryDay.

Every Rainbow Warrior practice ends with a declared winner.

Head coach Todd Graham and assistant head coach Kody Cooke, who oversees the strength/conditioning program, vote on which side of the ball had a better practice. “At the end of the day, Coach Graham rules,” Cooke said. “He has a bigger vote.”

The offense has been awarded the championship belt the most times after five practices this training camp.

“We constantly think about (the belt),” safety Kai Kaneshiro said. “In the beginning of the day, in stretch lines, we’re talking with each other (about) who’s going to win the belt. We’re really going at it with each other. It’s a big deal out here.”

What’s apparent is the Warriors are in fighting shape following productive offseason workouts. “It’s nice to have consistent training,” said Cooke, referencing the pandemic-related cancellations of the 2020 spring practice.

The Warriors entered the offseason with a tiered plan. “You’ve got to look at it from the winter through the summer,” Cooke said. “The winter, we’re trying to build work capacity so these guys can have an engine underneath themselves. We don’t want to put a bunch of horse power in an engine that doesn’t exist. We were able to do that pretty early on in the wintertime. Summertime, we’ll flip the script a little bit and go more speed-power approach. Our true philosophy in strength/conditioning here is going to be power speed.”

Cooke said the current workouts are specific to a player’s position. One project was for starting quarterback Chevan Cordeiro to add strength to last year’s 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame.

“I always tell them: ‘I want to have shoulder pads on without having shoulder pads on,’” Cooke said, adding strength training improves durability. “We do a lot more rowing than pressing here. All our presses are for shoulder health more than anything else. That’s what’s going to keep these guys healthy and safe at the end of the day.”

Cordeiro appears to be sharper in reaching all branches of the passing tree. His touch has been apparent on deep throws from the far hash mark.

Cooke has designed a program to minimize soft-tissue stress, a concern last year because of the pandemic-abbreviated training camp.

Cooke also is planning in advance of the coming season. The Warriors will make seven road trips, including playing in Laramie’s 7,200-foot elevation and traveling 3,120 miles to Las Cruces, N.M.

“Travel is unique here,” said Cooke, who advocates ample rest and good eating habits. “We want them to sleep when it’s time to sleep. We talk to them about getting the blue light off their phones, put it in the night mode, little tips and reminders. When to eat, when not to eat. We don’t want you to eat right before you get on the plane.”