On a chilly Northern California morning in January last year, football coach Tim Tulloch walked up to “The O”— College of San Mateo’s athletic department building — and saw the entire defensive unit in a lecture hall.

Defensive back Justin Sinclair, who called the early-morning meeting, was taking attendance. “If we’re going to win a championship, we’d all better get on the same page,” Sinclair told teammates. “And we’ll start with the defense.”

San Mateo won the 2022 California Community College Athletic Association’s championship, which is regarded as national title, and Sinclair was named a junior college All-American. Sinclair is now a nickelback and safety with the Hawaii football team.

“When you go into the playoffs and you play three of the top offenses in the state and you don’t give up a defensive point, that doesn’t happen by accident,” Tulloch said. “That happens because of what we did in January, February and March. That happens because Justin got us ready for spring ball. He had those guys meeting regularly in the winter. He was a young man of action who has competitive fire and competitive greatness that is uncommon. He had respect in that room.”

Sinclair, who enrolled at UH in January, has taken turns with the Warriors’ first-team defense in spring practices.

“He’s doing a good job,” safeties coach Josh Brown said. “He’s picking up a new scheme. He’s doing some good stuff for us at the nickel position. And I’m also cross-training him a little bit at safety, trying to get him to double the duty.”

At nickel and free safety, Sinclair has to patrol open spaces. At 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds, he might be matched against 6-foot-4 tight end Devon Tauaefa or 5-7 slotback Koali Nishigaya.

“It’s tricky,” Sinclair said. “You’ve got to change your mindset when you go against fast slot guys and tight ends. It’s really fun at the same time. It’s a challenge for yourself to have that versatility in your game.”

Brown was the point recruiter who envisioned Sinclair being able to cover a variety of receivers or mix it up in the box.

“Coach Brown has a phenomenal eye for talent,” Tulloch said. “One of the lost arts in Division I football right now is true evaluation. The second lost art is true development. Everyone wants guys that are 5-star ranked or a plug-and-play they don’t have to develop. Coach Brown has been doing this for a long time, evaluating and developing talent. I know (Sinclair’s) in good hands.”

It was in September 2022 when UH decided to make a scholarship offer to Sinclair. As usual, he was in “The O.”

“Justin is one of those guys who’s always in the building,” Tulloch said. “He’s either foam rolling, stretching, watching film, mentoring younger players, or ice tubbing.”

Sinclair was in the ice tub when he learned Brown had called. “I got out of the tub, rushed inside the (coaches’) room, and called Coach Brown back,” Sinclair said.

During CSM’s bye weekend in November, Sinclair took a recruiting trip to Hawaii. He was the only prospect on the visit. Sinclair attended the game against UNLV in the pouring rain.

“I chose Hawaii because it was the best for me,” Sinclair said. “I felt the love from the coaches. I know they have something good going on. I wanted to be part of it.”