VIKINGS OFFENSE
PORTLAND STATE OFFENSE
X—87 Nate Bennett 6-3 195 Fr.
LT—76 Brandon Mello 6-8 290 Jr.
LG—71 John Krahn 6-10 395 Sr.
C—74 Tyson Pauling 6-5 295 Jr.
RG—60 Brady Brick 6-5 290 Jr.
RT—77 Carlton Lorenz 6-4 290 Sr.
TE—83 Daniel Giannosa 6-10 270 Sr.
U—13 Beau Kelly 5-9 165 Jr.
Z—81 Mataio Talalemotu 6-1 180 Jr.
QB—6 Davis Alexander 5-11 195 Sr.
RB—27 Malik Walker 6-0 195 Sr.
There was a time when offensive innovation originated from the left, with Dennis Erickson, Mike Price, Dirk Koetter and Jeff Tedford crafting attacks in the Northwest and on the West Coast. PSU coach Bruce Barnum blended those concepts with schemes he learned from Jim Hoffer at Cornell and long-time Raiders coach Tom Walsh to come up with “BarnyBall” — a spread scheme with QB Davis Alexander and a running back in a pistol formation. Starting 5 yards deep, Alexander takes the shotgun snap and can feed the back aligned 3 yards behind him or run the option when two backs are split. With defenses forced to respect the receivers’ wide formations, the running lanes are thinned and tight end Daniel Giannosa has the choice of blocking a linebacker, flowing to the flats or heading upfield. Slotback Beau Kelly is a reliable route-runner, and wideouts Mataio Talalemotu and Emmanual Daigbe (4.46 over 40 yards) are vertical threats. Of Daigbe, who missed the April game against Montana, Alexander said: “He’s a freak athlete. He passes every single test with flying colors. He’s a tough guy to guard. He’s the strongest guy, pound for pound, on our team.” Alexander might be the toughest Viking. He played the entire 2019 season with a labrum injury in which his left (non-throwing) shoulder popped out of socket more than 20 times. Alexander, who is difficult to track behind 6-10, 395-pound left guard John Krahn, averaged 7.97 yards per non-sack rush in 2019.
PORTLAND STATE DEFENSE
E—53 Noah Yunker 6-4 255 Sr.
N—5 Semise Kofe 6-2 310 Sr.
E—54 Jake Porter 6-4 250 Jr.
WLB—26 Nicholas Ah Sam 6-1 245 Sr.
MLB—48 Parker McKenna 6-0 220 Fr.
BLB—41 Justice Pagan 6-2 235 Fr.
R—1 Broderick Harrell 5-11 200 Sr.
SS—30 Travis West 5-6 160 Fr.
FS—7 Ryan Lesch 6-1 200 Sr.
BCB—14 Anthony Adams 6-0 180 Jr.
FCB—38 Evan Camarena 6-0 185 Jr.
There might be a where-do-I know-you-from moment when the Vikings’ defense sets up. PSU’s flex defense is the schematic descendant of the double-eagle flex defense UH ran in the early 1990s. Rich Ellerson, who was UH’s DC at the time, learned the parameters from CFL coach Don Matthews, then remastered it from Canada’s 12-player defense. Former UH coach Dick Tomey used the scheme at Arizona to create “Desert Swarm,” a dominant defense that, at its peak, relinquished 30 rushing yards per game. PSU coach Bruce Barnum hired Payam Saadat, who had worked under Ellerson at Cal Poly and Army, to implement the flex and “see if I could get a couple extra punts (a game) out of it.” PSU’s flex is a four-level scheme that shows three, four or five defensive linemen at the snap, and can maneuver between a run-canceler with eight in the box and a secondary of five or six DBs. The attack begins with Semise Kofe or Boogie Davis across the center, quick end Jake Porter storming the backfield or dropping into coverage, and free safety Ryan Lesch as the center fielder. All-America boundary cornerback Anthony Adams led the FCS with 19 breakups in 2019, in addition to five picks. “It’s a mix-up of your typical defenses,” Adams said. “We all love it. We buy into it every day.”
PORTLAND STATE SPECIALISTS
K/KO—57 Cody Williams 5-10 190 Jr.
H/P—99 Seth Vernon 6-5 230 Sr.
LS—59 Ryan Alvidrez 5-11 215 Fr.
KR—23 Day Day Bright 5-10 170 Fr.
PR—81 Mataio Talalemotu 6-1 180 Jr.
Cody Williams has displayed a powerful right leg, nailing three of the 16 50-plus-yard FGs in PSU history. In 2019, he converted from 50 against Arkansas and 56 against Northern Colorado. He has not missed on his 83 career PAT kicks. After kickoff returners averaged 22.0 yards against Montana in the spring and 15.9 in 2019, speedy freshman Day Day Bright will get a shot.
HAWAII OFFENSE
WO—84 Nick Mardner 6-6 190 Jr.
LT—75 Ilm Manning 6-4 280 Sr.
LG—71 Micah Vanterpool 6-6 300 Sr.
C—72 Kohl Levao 6-6 350 Sr.
RG—52 Solo Vaipulu 6-2 300 Sr.
RT—74 Gene Pryor 6-3 310 Sr.
TE—85 Caleb Phillips 6-5 230 Sr.
4B—7 Calvin Turner 5-11 195 Jr.
SB—23 Jared Smart 6-0 190 Sr.
QB—12 Chevan Cordeiro 6-1 190 Jr.
RB—0 Dae Dae Hunter 5-10 200 So.
RAINBOW WARRIORS OFFENSE
Last week’s first quarter was the Warriors’ most implosive. Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro was hit six times, twice on sacks, and two of his passes were knocked down, two were dropped and one intercepted. Despite UH falling into a 24-3 hole, Cordeiro showed some moxie late in the period. Against a charging pass rusher, Cordeiro completed a no-looker to a hot receiver for a 5-yard gain. He then eluded a manhunt to fire a 30-yard pass to 4-back Calvin Turner. The glimmer was a reminder the Warriors need to avoid slow starts, establish a run game, and fight for passes. UH was credited with five drops. “Every ball we dropped, it looked like it was heavily contested,” said wideout Aaron Cephus, who caught a 49-yarder. “Now we’re focused on making those contested catches instead of (only) making the catches when we’re open.” In this week’s practices, the coaches stressed ball security — the football touched the Rose Bowl grass four times, although none for a turnover — and eliminating penalties. They committed six infractions — one was waived to force a punt. “We’ve got to get that first first down,” offensive coordinator Bo Graham said. Without Cephus’ catch, the Warriors averaged 2.5 yards on first down.
HAWAII DEFENSE
DE—99 Jonah Laulu 6-6 280 Jr.
NR—50 Justus Tavai 6-3 295 Sr.
DT—49 Pita Tonga 6-2 285 Jr.
DE—9 O’tay Baker 6-4 240 Jr.
LB—1 Penei Pavihi 6-3 245 Sr.
LB—53 Darius Muasau 6-1 230 Jr.
Spur—19 Quentin Frazier 6-1 195 Sr.
CB—18 Cortez Davis 5-11 180 Sr.
S—5 Khoiury Bethley 5-10 200 Sr.
S—0 Chima Azunna 6-0 200 Sr.
CB—20 Cameron Lockridge 6-0 180 Jr.
In the two weeks leading to last week’s opener, eight top-tier defensive linemen and a starting linebacker participated in only two fully padded practices because of contact tracing. The Warriors will have a complete active roster for the Warriors’ first on-campus Division I game in the program’s history. That should be helpful as opponents continue to test the Warriors’ run defense. UCLA averaged 5.7 yards rushing, boosted by a 9.7-yard average in the first half. The Warriors missed nine tackles, including three on Zach Charbonnet’s 47-yard scoring run. “The biggest thing is to tackle and wrap up,” said spur defender Eugene Ford, who was perfect on six tackle targets. Defensive end Jonah Laulu was able to seal the perimeter and crush the pocket, with his average tackle 2.5 yards into the backfield. While Cortez Davis is regarded as the shutdown corner, Cameron Lockridge has emerged as a quick and physical cover defender. Lockridge allowed only one completion to a UCLA receiver. Lockridge’s back-pedaling defense should not be a surprise. His uncle is Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.
HAWAII SPECIALISTS
PK/P—2 Matthew Shipley 6-1 175 So.
KO—46 Kyler Halvorsen 6-0 175 Fr.
LS—44 Wyatt Tucker 5-10 215 Sr.
H—96 Adam Stack 6-2 180 Jr.
KR/PR—7 Calvin Turner 5-11 195 Sr.
The Warriors have worked on correcting the technical glitches that led to an errant snap resulting in a downed play before the ball was punted, and their first blocked punt since 2008. Shipley showed strength with a 48-yard FG, the longest of his 10-game UH career. Freshman Kyler Halvorsen smacked three kickoffs out of the end zone. Calvin Turner is awaiting his first UH punt return. He did not have any special-teams touches against UCLA.
