Scout Bowl, The Draft, The D

The Star-Bulletin previews today's Scout Bowl.

Coaches will get a chance to check out some of the talent that's hiding under the radar at the bottom of the depth charts.

"There's a lot of guys waiting for their opportunity," Hawaii defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said. "We try to evaluate talent every chance we get, so this will be a big evaluation of our guys and the talent of our guys."

Stephen Tsai has one of the funniest UH football articles ever with his coverage of yesterday's Scout Bowl draft. Here's an excerpt:

White's fifth pick was defensive end Antwan "Tua" Mahaley, a converted wide receiver. Mahaley wore a cap in which the word "Scout" was written on tape. In true post-draft fashion, he spoke in the third person. "Antwan Mahaley plays d-end and receiver," Mahaley said.

As the 56th — and final — selection, running back Alonzo Chopp, taken by the White, was declared Mr. Irrelevant. He was told he won a trip to Waipahu.

After the draft, in a move that broke tampering rules, Satele and Brennan grabbed Austin. In an Eli Manning-like tactic, Austin demanded a trade, insisting he would not report to the Green.

"I want to be traded," Austin said. "I didn't sign a contract."

Tsai also has a roster for both Green and White teams.

And Billy Hull writes about the UH defense's performance so far this year.

"It's to get the offense back on the field," McMackin said. "It's not about points or yards or any of that."

You do that by forcing turnovers and stopping opponents on third down. Hawaii has been exceptional at both, with 18 takeaways and a WAC-low 29.7 third-down-conversion-allowed percentage.

"Our goal on third down is 37 percent and we're below that," McMackin said. "The thing we weren't doing early is sudden change. We don't want to give up a touchdown on a sudden change. Field goals sometimes you're forced to live with."