University Of Hawaii Warriors: The Roster Breakdown: Running Backs

Back for round two of the previews. Now, it's time to look at the backfield of the Hawaii Warrior offense.

Most of you know that during the June Jones era, running wasn't necessarily a strong point. In fact, running was almost completely null and void.

For some of the most avid fans, if you were to ask who the starting running back was, they would look at you puzzled sometimes and say, we have running backs?

It's not as bad as the tight end situation, which I don't even think players know if there is one on the team, but it was never the best situation. Regardless, let's take a look at the running back position for the Warriors and who stands where.

After his freshman year, Damien High School standout Kealoha Pilares flourished in the backfield getting his reps when he did. With 338 yards on 68 touches and three TDs, he was top running dog.

However, it was decided that he should take a stab at the slotback position this year instead. After seeing some practices during spring ball and watching some of the unsupervised workouts, I can say this is a very smart move.

Pilares shows elusiveness and brilliance while moving up field and shows a lot of north-south movement. 

Leon Wright-Jackson was a highly recruited four-star athlete coming out of Pasco HS in Washington, and took a scholarship to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Things didn't quite work out how he wanted there, so he packed up his bags and moved to the islands of Hawaii to get his shot here.

Last year, he didn't see too much action because he was still learning the blocking schemes, and needed time to adjust. When he did touch the ball, he was second in rushing with 219 yards on 33 carries and two scores. His biggest moment was his 47-yard touchdown at Louisiana Tech in the classic overtime game.

When you think about it, his numbers were almost as good as Pilares' were. He had 35 fewer touches, but he averaged 6.6 YPG compared to Kealoha's 4.9.

Leon appears to be the number one guy in the backfield to some, but like most positions, UH is all about rotation, and fresh legs will be the key to victory. Will LWJ carry on the tradition of No. 4 worn by Nate "Nasti" Ilaoa?

Daniel Libre was somewhat of an unknown to most Warrior fans, but to the hardcore group, he was a force to be reckoned with. Appearing in four games as a backup, he had 190 yards on 23 touches.

He showed the best average YPG with 8.9. Rumor has it he'll be moving to a slotback or wideout position also, but he will definitely show that explosiveness on the field no matter where he goes. 

Jake Heun is a transfer student coming out of CCSF, helping to lead the team to back-to-back conference and NorCal championships. At 6-foot-1 and 255 pounds, it appears the possible second coming of West Keliikipi is upon us: a beastly fullback with linebacker size.

In fact, he actually played OLB while at CCSF as the second leading tackler, with 52 his second year. He also had 9.5 TFL, three sacks and a forced fumble. He'll provide plenty of good blocking, and if he has the speed as advertised, look for big gains with the Shuffle Play. 

Just who will the projected starter be? Well, with Pilares making a move to slotback, it appears he is gone. Jake Heun will show up mostly as a blocking back, but we will definitely see him getting touches because he will be able to run over people.

The race seems to be between Libre and Wright-Jackson, as they seem to be the most pure runners. Stay tuned for the wide receivers breakdown where we look at who will be running patterns and bringing in touchdowns for the 50th state.