Spring Previews

Spring practice starts tomorrow. Stephen Tsai has detailed breakdowns of each position and talks to Greg McMackin about his philosophy heading into the new year.

That passive-aggressive offense that went through several transformations last year is going back to the original air-it-out model.

Greg McMackin, who enters his second spring as UH head coach, also promises to roll out more attacking schemes on defense and special teams.

The approach is as basic as taking the SAT: Go with your first answer. And McMackin, whose promotion was based largely on the thriller instincts he relied on as a decorated defensive coordinator, is returning to a philosophy he knows best.

"We want to attack in all three phases," McMackin said.

Star-Bulletin reporters Billy Hull, Jason Kaneshiro, Brian McInnis and Dave Reardon interviewed Coach Mack. Here's an excerpt about new offensive line coach Gordy Shaw:

Q: With a new offensive line coach, is the spring even more critical for the line?

A: I love the confidence of Gordy Shaw. We just met on our entire personnel today and he sees so much potential. He's a positive guy and he sees so much potential with our offensive line.

He is really excited about coaching these guys. He's an outstanding coach and he likes the guys we have. You'll never hear an excuse out of him. We've worked hard at getting our protections and everything together with our schemes. It's just a matter of teaching, and he's a great teacher.

The article includes a spring practice schedule and positional breakdowns. But speaking of the o-line, Dave Reardon has a column about all the different coaches the offensive line has had in just the past few years.

Counting Cavanaugh, the man for whom they committed to sweat, bleed and play, the fifth-year year seniors taking the field tomorrow on the first day of spring practice are on their seventh O-line coach.

Of all the units in football, the offensive line requires the most cohesion. It takes a tough and experienced coach to ball those five fingers into a fist.

Some guys can impart knowledge but not motivate, others are the opposite.

In addition to shoring up the offensive line, Ferd Lewis writes that reducing penalties is a top priority.

But tackling the propensity for penalties, especially unsportsman-like conduct infractions, is something different. The problem there isn't a technique that must be overhauled as much as a mindset that requires changing. And it starts with the head coach putting his foot down on the issue — and keeping it down.

That's something we didn't always see last year.

And KHON's Kanoa Leahey has part two of his interview with Coach Mack.