During Hawaii’s football practices, there are no names of players or teams on the jerseys.

The defense wears black jerseys, the quarterbacks wear red, the rest of the offense is in white, and the scout team portraying the coming opponent is in yellow.

UH coach Norm Chow’s intent is twofold: to reinforce the team-over-individual concept and to depict the opponent as “faceless.”

When the defense is practicing against the scout offense, it only sees formations and routes.

The idea is to defend against the techniques and schemes  and not focus on an opponent’s history or tradition.

During the bye week, the Warriors were not aware they were practicing against schemes used by Lamar, tonight’s nonconference opponent at Aloha Stadium.

That approach is fitting for this game. The Lamar defense has the self-styled nickname of “No Names.”

HAWAII OFFENSE

 Outlook: Schroeder was widely praised for his grittiness against USC — when he was knocked down 15 times (often after releasing a pass) — only to repeatedly bounce up, as if he were a human Whac-A-Mole. Schroeder still completed 61.5 percent of his passes, including five of 11 on third-down throws. Lost in the loss was that when Schroeder had time, he was very efficient. When he was untouched on pass plays, he was 18-for-24. But two were dropped and two were caught out of bounds. Schroeder is at his best on play-action moves or rollouts. For those lamenting the departure of the four-wide offense, it never really left. The Warriors were in a one-back or no-back formation 74 percent of the time against USC. Look for running back John Lister and Sterling Jackson to join the mix today. Davis is expected to get the start in place of injured single-side receiver Billy Ray Stutzmann, but Darius Bright, no longer a tight end, also will get work. David Graves is now the No. 2 quarterback.
 

HAWAII DEFENSE

Outlook: During practices, the defensive secondary will be mixed and matched. The intent is that each DB needs to learn to play alongside different players. It proved useful when Hardy-Tuliau was hampered by hamstring tightness against USC, and it is expected to pay off when the secondary is shuffled today. Sellers, who has graded well against USC, earns the start at safety — a position he learned near the end of spring training. He was recruited as a cornerback and played nickelback in 2011. Phillips, who gets the nod at right corner, is thriving in UH’s new defense in which the corners are in bump-and-run coverage. Edwards, who played in the four-across zone last year, said: “I love this style. If you want to beat us, you have to beat us head to head.” In 2011, Alo was one of the Warriors’ best kickoff-cover players. But he struggled to find a fit as he moved between safety and linebacker. In this system, Alo is free to roam, making him a perfect annoyance for opposing blockers. Alo, who makes his first start of his UH career, is a threat on the edge or in the middle.
 

HAWAII SPECIALISTS

Outlook: Harding might be the Warriors’ most valuable player, serving as punter, punt returner, holder and receiver. His rollout punts are effective because he can kick with both legs. Also, the angle in which he makes contact creates an end-over-end spin that is difficult to field. Last year, an average UH kickoff would go to the 13, with the returner running it back 18 yards. With the new rules — the tee moved up 5 yards to the 35 and a touchback starts the play at the 25 — the Warriors figured they would be better off kicking it deep. Against USC, all three of Hadden’s kickoffs went into the end zone. 

LAMAR OFFENSE

Outlook: This summer Mossakowski’s future was crystalized on a hill overlooking Possum Kingdom Lake, where he took a knee and proposed to the woman who is now his fiancee. His short-term plans are designed in a meeting room, where he takes a seat and watches hours of video cut-ups of practices and opposing defenses. “The fastest guy in the world is not always the quickest,” Mossakowski said. “I really try to study video, to really try to comprehend this offense. Then I go on the field and try to work on everything I’ve learned.” The offense has multiple personalities. In a one-sided loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, it was a rat-a-tat scheme in which only two of Mossakowski’s 19 passes exceeded 10 yards, with eight directed to the flats. In a blowout of Prairie View, Mossakowski threw to 10 different  receivers, contracting the defense with long throws to Soto up the middle, then going wide to Johnson, Franks and Ford. In this pro-set offense, Johnson, a transfer from Oklahoma State, is the moving piece. He can align wide, in the slot or somewhere in between off motions. On handoffs, he has the ability to cut inside instead of taking the usual path around end. Garrett and Herschel Sims, another OSU transfer, split time at running back. The key is Mossakowski, who began his college career at Kentucky. “This offense can absolutely do anything and everything,” said Mossakowski, who split reps in the opener but played the entire game against Prairie View.

LAMAR DEFENSE

Outlook: The seeds of this 3-4 defense were planted in the 1970s, when defensive coordinator Bill Bradley was an All-Pro safety with the Philadelphia Eagles. Dick LeBeau, who was then the Eagles’ special teams coordinator, spent his spare time crafting schemes that he later would use when running the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense. During his coaching career, Bradley had a three-year stint in Buffalo, where Wade Phillips, another proponent of the 3-4, was the Bills’ head coach. Ted Cottrell, who was Buffalo’s defensive coordinator, provided the details of the 3-4. Bradley took a little here and a little there — he still has Phillips’ 3-4 playbook — to develop Lamar’s aggressive concepts. Prescott is a misnamed nose who plays a one-gap technique, making him a dual threat as a pass-rusher and space eater. The edge defenders — Chavis and Malbrough (as well as hybrid Dickson) — create the chaos. With linebackers acting like ends, and Allen acting like a linebacker (team-high 10.0 tackles per game), Bradley said, “the 3-4 is an interesting defense because you can disguise and people don’t know what side you’re coming from. It looks like you can come from either side at all times. Plus, you get more speed on the field.”
 

LAMAR SPECIALIST 

Outlook: The Sporting News ranked Sims as the nation’s 14th best recruit in 2011, when he signed with Oklahoma State. But after a breakout freshman season, he was dismissed from the team this year after being charged with felony forgery. He transferred to Lamar this summer. Sims is the kick returner, but he probably could help on punt returns. The Cardinals have not attempted to return any of eight punts. Kahler has been busy, with 10 punts in two games. He’s averaging 41.1 yards a boot.