As the Hawaii football team’s center nearly two decades ago, Derek Fa’avi helped prepare and deliver Thanksgiving meals to teammates at the dormitories.

“That was something we did,” Fa’avi recalled. “It was looking after the boys.”

After eventually earning a football scholarship, Fa’avi would sneak plates of food to the walk-on players who were not included in training-table breakfasts.

“You recognized how that felt not having what the scholarship guys had,” he said. “You wanted to help out the guys. Nobody should ever go hungry.”

And last week, when a coaching vacancy on the offensive line was created with Roman Sapolu’s departure to the Miami Dolphins, Fa’avi was quick to offer help to the Rainbow Warriors. An agreement was reached allowing Fa‘avi to join as a consultant and coach the O-linemen on an interim basis. Thursday’s practice was the 10th of 15 in spring training. Fa’avi said he has applied for the permanent O-line coach’s position.

“Hopefully, everything works out,” said Fa’avi, who has served as USC’s quality control analyst the past year.

Fa’avi and Dennis McKnight, who also signed up as a consultant, add more expertise in the Warriors’ development of the run-and-shoot offense.

When head coach Timmy Chang resurrected the four-wide attack last year, Sapolu met with McKnight for tips on the scheme’s blocking assignments and techniques. McKnight served two UH stints under former head coach June Jones, one of the run-and-shoot’s innovators. During Jones’ nine-season leadership, Chang was a record-setting passer and Dan Morrison mentored the quarterbacks. Morrison and Anthony Arceneaux, who also has extensive knowledge of the run-and-shoot, were added to the coaching staff last month.

Jones has praised Fa’avi’s command of the run-and-shoot. That was made clear during the Warriors’ awards banquet in December 2005. With future NFL players Colt Brennan, Davone Bess, Nate Ilaoa and Samson Satele as candidates, Fa’avi was announced as winner of the Alec Waterhouse Most Valuable Player Award.

“All those guys were elite players representing us, and here I am,” Fa’avi said of the surprise selection. “To sum it up, it was an honor. You realize it’s one award, but there were so many other deserving guys. Everybody helped me get that — coaches, teammates, trainers, everybody around you. It was humbling. It was an honor. But I couldn’t just take it on by myself. That’s not how it works.”

Fa’avi, who does not read music, is an accomplished ukulele, guitar and piano player. “Just mess around with it,” Fa’avi said of his musical ear, “and just learn on your own. You take the time to learn something, to be creative in learning, and let it rip.”

Fa’avi relies on audio, visual and practical means to teach UH’s O-linemen. Then through on-field drills, the expectation is players will use fundamentals and techniques and then let it rip. “There are 15, 20 people, and they all learn differently,” Fa’avi said. “Some work quicker than others, so you have to find a way to bridge that gap and help each individual learn on his own.”