Warriors Football: Hawaii Plans to Target Colorado's Stewart, Revamped Secondary

Honolulu, HI—When the Hawaii Warriors rolled into Boulder, Colo., last September for the first game of a home-and-home series with the Colorado Buffaloes, they were on the last leg of a 12-day expedition that zigzagged the continental United States and burned over 10,000 miles in jet fuel.

The Warriors had flown from Honolulu to West Point, N.Y., 10 days prior to play against Army, then after playing Army flew from New York to Las Vegas—their home away from home—where they spent five days in preparation for Colorado, then they traveled back east 800 miles from Las Vegas to Boulder and finally, they pulled on their shoulder pads to try and push around the Buffaloes.

And they did for 30 minutes, 5,360 feet above sea-level at Folsom Field.

The Warriors were up 10-0 at halftime but were outscored 31-3 in the second half and lost 31-13. After the game, Colorado's Tyler Hansen said, "(When the) oxygen tanks were brought on the field, we knew they were gassed."

Colorado came out after halftime and scored on their first possession, going 80 yards on 14 plays. Then less than a minute later, Hawaii's Alex Green was tackled in his own end zone for a safety. Then, Colorado scored another touchdown on their next possession and added a two-point conversion.

"We had them last year, we zipped them in the first half and we couldn't hold onto the lead in the second," said Corey Paredes after Monday's practice.  "We're still thinking about that game. People are still talking about how we should have won, and 'shoulda-coulda-woulda,' but we didn't."

After securing the lead just halfway into the third quarter, Colorado surrendered a 32-yard field goal to Hawaii before putting the game away with two Hansen touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. But it was on the ground where the Buffaloes won the game behind two running backs, Rodney Stewart and Brian Lockridge, who each gained over 100 yards rushing and helped the Buffs to a 35:49 to 24:11 edge in time of possession.

If Hawaii wants to win their season-opener this Saturday against Colorado at Aloha Stadium, they know that stopping the run will be of paramount importance.

"They're going to try to run it," said coach Greg McMackin after Monday's practice. "They have (Rodney) Stewart, a good running back, and they have a couple others that are good players. They've moved all their linebackers to fullback so we know they're going to try to run."

"(Stewart's) really quick. He's a guy that's like Barry Sanders. I used to watch (Sanders) jump laterally, he did that against us one time I couldn't believe it. This kid doesn't jump as far but he has that lateral movement and he did it against us last year, so I think he's outstanding, he's got great speed, and their offensive line is really good."

Linebacker Corey Paredes said it's going to be tough to stop Stewart and that the 5'6", 175-pound senior was smaller than he expected last year. "He hides, so it's tough, because he hides behind his (offensive line) and then he'll burst, and he's quick enough to get into the open field. So it's tough. You just got to play it slow, get into blockers so you could try to read after that. We just got to play it slow and hopefully get this little guy."

At quarterback, McMackin believes Tyler Hansen is underestimated.

"Their quarterback is a very mobile guy so we plan on seeing a lot of bootlegs, a lot of sprint-outs, him getting out of the pocket, a lot of play-action pass...their receivers are good, quarterback is very good, underestimated, but he can cause you a lot of problems," McMackin said.

One area the Warriors hope to cause Colorado a lot of problems in is the secondary. Cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Jalil Brown were drafted in the first and fourth rounds, respectively, in this past April's NFL Draft.

Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz said he was very happy that Smith and Brown were no longer with Colorado.

"I'm glad they're out of there. You know they presented a huge problem for us last year. They were strong and fast, I think the one guy went in the first round, so it's a good thing...they were very good," Moniz said after Monday's practice.

In preparation for Colorado the Warriors have had to dig deep to find film to study because the Buffaloes have an entirely new coaching staff from last year.

Bryant said: "Their scheme is different, but we've played against some of their players that are coming back so we know what kind of athletes they have. We just got to prepare differently, instead of watching film from last year we got to watch their coaches kind of film, their new style of defense, and offense, and that kind of film."

McMackin said that even though Colorado has two new starting corners, one of which is a true freshman, they do not plan on focusing on anyone in particular.

"Our scheme focuses on all their secondary. So whichever one of our guys are open, that's who we're going to throw it to. So depending on what coverages they use, I'm sure they're going to try to cover their corners (with safety help), that'll leave something else open. So we're not really going after their corners we're going after their secondary."

Bryant Moniz and the Hawaiian Flag

Quarterback Bryant Moniz was asked after Monday's practice if he planned to carry out the Hawaiian flag before the Colorado game, a tradition he started last season.

The response was candid and somewhat revealing of the Heisman hopeful who led the nation in passing last year:

"Oh yeah. That's probably the best moment of the game for me. I enjoy that more than, well maybe not; but I do enjoy that a lot, almost as much as touchdowns. I look forward to that point every game.

"There's a few minutes before the game, before that happens, that that's what I'm thinking about. I'm not even thinking about the game. I'm just thinking about, alright, it's time to go.

"I listen to my Bruddah Iz song, and I'm ready to roll. You know, BJ Penn's entrance song. I turn off the lights in my own head and just act like I'm coming out of the tunnel and it's good fun."