UH tight ends get tougher over winter

Hallmark does not have a card for it.

But Mental Toughness Awareness Month is being recognized as a hallmark of the University of Hawaii football team’s offseason training. The month-long cardio program, directed by strength/conditioning coordinator Kody Cooke, has been beneficial in helping tight ends build speed and endurance for the newly implemented run-and-shoot offense.

“This January, they really killed us,” said Landon Sims, one of five tight ends on the Rainbow Warriors’ spring roster. “I’m in the best shape of my life because of this past January. They called it Mental Toughness Awareness Month. It was a lot of running.”

Every week day, the Warriors would run on the Ching Complex track and field, on the grass practice area, on hills. There would be cone drills, lateral sprints and the appropriately named “gassers” — 160-foot dashes the width of a football field.

“All I can say is you ran until you couldn’t run anymore,” Sims said. “You went through everything. You ran until your legs felt like they were going to fall off. They put us in the best shape to run this offense.”

Tight end Devon Tauaefa said: “It showed we wanted this and were willing to work for it. A lot of people would have tapped out by the end of the first week. It showed a lot about our team. We’re here to work. We’re disciplined. We’re all trying to get each other better.”

After employing a blend of offenses the past three seasons, the Warriors are moving fully to the run-and-shoot — a four-wide scheme that usually employs two wideouts and two slot receivers. Head coach Timmy Chang, who will call the plays, has crafted a menu in which a tight end often will be used in place of a slotback.

Greyson Morgan, who is recovering from an injury, is the only Warrior who was recruited as a tight end.

Sims is a converted running back, Tauaefa moved from wideout, and brothers Kila Kamakawiwo‘ole and Kalani Kamakawiwo‘ole both switched from linebacker.

“I love it,” said Sims, who will align in the slot, wide or attached to the line. “It’s a big change from last year. Timmy’s taken a little more control. I love the run-and-shoot aspect, especially with the tight end in the mix. Keeping a little bit of our run game, and very high tempo, very deep, lots of routes, lots of running.”

The run-and-shoot is a read-and-attack scheme in which routes are based on the defensive coverage. Receivers need to be in sync with the quarterback, who requires specific footwork for each throw.

Sims was 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds when he joined the Warriors in June 2021. He is now 6-2 and 205 pounds, with the hope of weighing between 215 and 220 for the start of training camp in July. The son of Travis Sims, a standout running back on UH’s 11-2 team in 1992, the younger Sims had added cuts to his power ball-carrying style. He also has embraced Hawaii’s culture.

“The first month, I was kind of on my own,” Sims recalled. “We were up in the dorms, summer school, and all that. The team bonding … I got to hang around some of the local boys. They took me in, some kid from Washington state. It’s a long way from home, but it definitely feels like home to me.”

Ahead of the 2022 season, Tauaefa, a Saint Louis School graduate, suffered a Jones fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his left ankle. For two months, he attended every practice wearing a medical boot. He studied video in the offices, and took mental reps during practices.

“I got up every day and went to work, even though I got injured,” said Tauaefa, who was medically cleared for the final three games. He did not play in any of them. He has taken first-team reps this spring.

Tauaefa, who is 6 feet 4, weighed 185 when he joined the Warriors in June 2022. He is now 205 pounds. His target weight is between 220 and 230.

Tauaefa said he supplements his conditioning with workouts at Barbers Point Beach Park. Using a rope fastened to a tire, Tauaefa said, “I tie (the rope) to my waist and start running.”