HONOLULU — Dennis Thurman has a no-sweat policy — at least in front of the cameras.
With a sunny first spring practice with the Hawaii football team in the books, the Rainbow Warriors’ new defensive coordinator mopped his brow and stepped into a local media scrum for the first time.
“You guys got me out here sweating while I’m talking to you guys while I could be in there showering,” said Thurman, a lifetime veteran of NFL and college football staffs.
The comment was made at least partially in jest, as the 67-year-old has made career stops in locations as frigid as Buffalo, N.Y., and as elevated as Boulder, Colo. The sea-level heat, he acknowledged, was a welcome change.
Thurman, a former pro cornerback who has coached the likes of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, began taking stock of the hand he was dealt with UH fresh off a 5-8 season.
He rated the first outing a “C.”
“Some good, some not so good,” Thurman said. “We’re young, we’re new to what we’re trying to do. For the most part, the guys are locked in, they’re paying attention. It’s just the small details. It’s knowing our assignment, it’s running to the ball, it’s getting there with a purpose.”
There were a couple of takeaways for the defense during 7-on-7 drills, leading the defensive captain Logan Taylor, who is recovering from ACL surgery, to whoop and slap teammates on the backside.
Beyond that, Thurman was looking for “focus, discipline, courage, understanding.”
He said it is to be determined what sort, or sorts, of defensive schemes UH will run. UH frequently used a nickel package last season. Thurman inherited the coordinator title from Jacob Yoro, who remains on staff as safeties coach.
“We’re going to be multiple. What that means is, what our guys can handle,” Thurman said. “I’m not going to do things they can’t do, won’t ask a guy to do something that he cannot do. Then that’s on me, on the coaching staff. To ask a player to do that is unfair. The more they can do, the more we’ll do. But if we have to have a package that’s limited, that’s what we’ll have.”
Senior cornerback Cam Stone said he appreciated Thurman’s straightforward style. He noticed right away Thurman’s attention to detail; he’d have a tip to offer even after what would be considered a good rep during a drill.
“It’s what we need,” Stone said. “He lets us know our rights and our wrongs. He keeps us on our toes. Very wise. You can learn a lot from him, just off stories, sitting down and talking to him. He knows the game in and out and it shows. We’re lucky to have him.”
Besides Thurman, changes to the staff visible Monday included Dan Morrison’s return to the program as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator, Jeff Reinebold’s return as defensive tackles coach and Anthony Arceneaux’s arrival as running backs coach. Linebackers coach Chris Brown assumed the title of associate head coach from Thomas Sheffield, the special teams coordinator.
Morrison got to work with the four quarterbacks in camp, Brayden Schager, Jake Farrell, John-Keawe Sagapolutele and newcomer Micah Alejado. The QBs have new GoPro mounts on their helmet so that they can review film of their eye movement prior to the snap and during plays; Schager wore the team’s lone GoPro on Day 1. Head coach Timmy Chang said the inspiration came from the most recent season of the NFL show “Hard Knocks,” with Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins.
For Thurman, it was a welcome reunification with Morrison, his old coach at Santa Monica High, as well as UH coach Timmy Chang, whom he tried to recruit to USC in the 1990s.
Thurman most recently worked for Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado, a few years after his decade of experience with the Cardinals, Jets, Ravens and Bills.
“I ended up reconnecting with him and meeting him through Coach Morrison again through the years, and then I reconnected with him in Buffalo (with the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship Program in 2016),” Chang said. “He was the defensive coordinator. I was just an intern. He was very kind to me. I’ve been tracking him since he was with Deion at Jackson State and a couple of my guys from Nevada were at Jackson State, now at Colorado.
“A guy like Dennis is instant credibility,” Chang continued. “He coached at the highest level. He coached renowned guys, arguably some of the best in the game. He’s been good for us. He brings a style of defense that we want to play.”
Chang elaborated that he’s looking for the attacking style that defined UH football in the early to mid-2000s, when Chang was a player.
UH is working on finalizing its spring game, likely on Sunday, Feb. 25 during a busy sports weekend on campus. The Rainbow Warriors held a spring game going into Chang’s first season of 2022 but eschewed one last year.
With Oregon officially out as Hawaii’s opponent to open the 2024 season, UH is close to replacing the Ducks with an FCS opponent for the Week Zero slot.
“We are finalizing a Week Zero opponent at home and should be announcing it hopefully by the end of the week,” UH Athletic Director Craig Angelos messaged Spectrum News.
Sources said the opponent is Delaware State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Oregon still lists the Aug. 24 game at Hawaii on its 2024 schedule, but Hawaii does not. The Ducks dropped out of the game after adding a contest against Oregon State, per Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.
Delaware State went 1-10 last season. DSU would be the second FCS opponent of the 2024 season for UH, along with Northern Iowa on Sept. 21. For FBS teams, only one FCS win per season may be counted toward bowl eligibility.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.