In crafting a defensive identity, the Hawaii football team is seeking to be a breed apart.
Head coach Todd Graham and associate head coach and defensive coordinator Victor Santa Cruz have dubbed the unit, the “war-dog defense,” and are implementing a system that plays fast and furious.
“Here’s the thing,” said Santa Cruz, a former UH linebacker who was hired in January, “there are a lot of dogs out there. But you know the kind of dogs you take on a pig hunt? One of my players, Tiger (Peterson, a safety), told me: ‘There’s nothing pretty about those dogs. But when it’s time to hunt, they go. They don’t stop until the mission is complete.’ We’re not about show dogs. There are a lot of show dogs out there. We’re looking for war dogs. The war dogs are going to be, when the whistle blows, ‘it’s time to hunt.’ They’re going to hunt together. They’re going to be relentless. And they’re going to have a blast.”
Santa Cruz was a key member of the 1992 Warriors, who went 11-2 culminating with a 27-17 upset of Illinois in the Holiday Bowl. He said the current Warriors have the same drive.
Despite the Warriors not practicing in the spring because of the pandemic, Santa Cruz has bonded with the defensive players during frequent Zoom meetings and video chats. “Now you know not just what their skill set is, but their mind-set and their motivation,” Santa Cruz said. “I think an attacking hybrid-style defense fits them well.”
Santa Cruz said there will be several formations to counter evolving offenses. It was an approach he learned from former UH defensive coordinator Rich Ellerson. “He said, ‘you’ve got to live in a tent, you’ve got to keep moving. You can’t fall in love with one system,’ ” Santa Cruz recalled.
Whatever alignment, Santa Cruz said, “defense is always about that attitude. Disruptive, explosive players who we can keep you off our scent. Understand this: There are bigger prey out there. … I’m watching a National Geographic special, and they’re talking about this dog pack in Africa.
“These dogs hunt together, and they take down this big water buffalo, or whatever it is. They press it. They attack at all angles. It means we can take down anyone as long as we do it together, we understand our system well, we’re aggressive, we take the fight to the opponent. That’s the culture we have here. We’re going to run and we’re going to be fast. I’m really impressed with our young men right now.”
It has been a hectic homecoming for Santa Cruz, who lived in Marine Corps Base Hawaii for three years until he was 5, and then returned to play will linebacker for the Warriors in the 1990s. It was just before the 1991 season when Santa Cruz had what he described as an epiphany.
“I was on the practice field, it was hot, and I was just coming out from doing my reps,” Santa Cruz said. “I think I was having a bad attitude that day. And then, you know my faith, I thought: ‘Here I was living my dream and I’m having a bad attitude?’ I was so humbled at that point. Let me take perspective. Here I am playing Division I football for an amazing state and I’m surrounded by amazing people. I vowed from that moment, I’m not letting my brain get into that bad attitude mind-set. It really enriched my play, my experience. My grades went up. You have to realize how blessed we are to be here.”
Two years later, he visited Calvary Chapel Vista in California. “The pastor said to turn around and greet somebody, and she was there,” Santa Cruz said of meeting his future wife.
This month marks their 26th anniversary.
“There are a few things that are the deep core of my life,” Santa Cruz said, “and that would be talking about my faith, talking about my wife or my kids. (Meeting his wife) was a pretty amazing moment.”
Another came in January, when Graham asked Santa Cruz to join his first UH coaching staff. Santa Cruz was content as Azusa Pacific’s head coach. They developed a close friendship when Santa Cruz attended Graham’s practices at Arizona State.
“Multiple times I said, ‘it’s going to take something very special to get me out of here,’ ” Santa Cruz said of APU. “I had a great job. Hawaii calling me was absolutely, ‘OK, I’ve got to go home. It’s a no-brainer.’ ”
He said negotiations took about “30 seconds. I’m too honest when it comes to the place. I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to Hawaii.”
