If Hawaii football is going to have any success whatsoever on defense in 2018 it’s going to come on the production of these three players.
There’s no way to sugarcoat the fact the Rainbow Warriors’ defense was awful in 2017. They finished the season conceding an average of 33.9 points and 458.8 yards per contest.
To put these statistics into perspective, compare them to college football as a whole. Out of 130 teams, the Rainbow Warriors’ defense ranked 106th and 115th respectively, for points and yards allowed.
Most of the attention this offseason has, quite rightly, been on the team’s decision to bring back the run-and-shoot offense. Certainly, it will make for a more entertaining product on the field.
However, if Hawaii is to actually improve on their three wins from last season, the offense can’t do it alone. They will need some help on the defensive side of the ball.
Corey Batoon is the man charged with helping the defense improve, after being named as the new defensive coordinator following the debacle in 2017. The Hawaii native helped FAU’s dramatic turnaround last season, which came in large part due to the improved play of the defense.
Batoon will have his work cut out after losing six of last year’s defensive starters, and yet, when you consider how bad the defense was, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing. Regardless, let’s look at the three players who will be key to turning things around in 2018.