Morrie Roe:
Was recruited as a running back
by former coach Bob Wagner.

Morrie Roe, Branch Nautu and Ellie Kapihe all played other positions before finding a permanent home under the roof of coordinator Don Lindsey.

Roe, who is one of the top defensive ends, was recruited as a running back by former coach Bob Wagner. Last year, Kapihe started at offensive tackle. Nautu was projected as a linebacker. Lack of down linemen forced Lindsey to switch the undersized (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) player to defensive end in the middle of spring practice.

"In all my years of coaching at the Division I level, I never saw anything in worse shape than this," Lindsey said. "This program has lost so many defensive linemen that we don't really have any experience at all.

"Brian Chapman has played in a lot of games the past two years, but I don't think he started a one, and it was in a 3-4 alignment, not a 4-3. He was bothered by a bad ankle last year, then missed the first week of camp with a knee.

"So, you can see we're not in too good of shape up front. I can't really say who our starters are because we're going to be rotating eight to 10 guys in and out of there all the time."

Roe, Chapman and Sam Collins will see the most time at left end. Lindsey said that Chapman and Roe could be playing right end as well, given the circumstances. Kapihe also is expected to see some playing time at right end.

"It was hard at first because it's totally different," Kapihe said of the switch to defense. "But if my move helps the team win, then I'm willing to do it."

Chapman is excited about the prospect of playing end in the traditional four-down-linemen scheme because of the pass rush. Chasing down the quarterback is a lineman's dream.

"I'm real pumped about making the switch because this scheme gives the linemen more of a chance to make plays," Chapman said. "In the 3-4, you're double-teamed all the time.

"It took some time to make the switch in the spring, but I think everybody is coming around. The good thing is, most of us played the 4-3 in high school, so we're familiar with it."

Spring football helped Roe grasp the 4-3. The junior competed at running back during part of his freshman year, before moving to defense.

Last year in the 3-4, he played in 11 games, had 16 total tackles and one quarterback sack. Now, he's an end in the 4-3 and could prove to be one of UH's better players.

"We definitely have more experience at end than at tackle," Lindsey said. "I've seen some improvement over the past few months, especially in our conditioning program. These guys will be in shape.

"But when we go up against a big offensive front like the one Boston College has, our guys are going to face a stiff challenge. We'll have to see how they do."

A key to that will be the play of the tackles against the middle of the Eagles' line. The leading left tackles for UH are Ben Bright, Tony Tuioti and Kasey Jackson. The projected right tackles are Kekoa Kilcoyne and junior college transfer Bob Pigott.

Bright is the only one in that group who has seen any playing time at the Division I level. Last year as a redshirt freshman, the Kamehameha Schools graduate started two games en route to finishing with 27 tackles and one quarterback sack.

Pigott is a transfer from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, Tuioti is a redshirt freshman from Santa Ana, Calif., Jackson is a redshirt freshman from Orem, Utah, and Kilcoyne is a walk-on from Punahou School who practiced with the team last year but didn't play in any games.

"Kind of scary, isn't it?" Hawaii coach Fred vonAppen said. "We don't have a lot of experience in an area that is critical to the success of your program.

"We've had to move guys all around up there looking for the right combination. It's less than ideal, but what are you going to do? You have to play with what you have and hope you can improve on last year's woeful defensive statistics."