Doe Henderson:
Only player left from WAC championship team

He is the last Rainbow to play in the 27-17 Holiday Bowl victory over the University of Illinois in 1992. Once the defensive back graduates, that championship season will be extinct.

Despite the depth and talent of that 11-2 club, Henderson became a starter only four games into his freshman season, and has been the cornerstone of the defense ever since.

A back injury last year that led to a medical hardship allowed Henderson to become the rarest of breeds - a player who redshirts his senior season.

UH defensive coordinator Don Linsdey couldn't be happier with that turn of events. His defense is so young, he needs a player with a little gray in his beard.

"You want players who have football savvy, instinct, something natural," Lindsey said. "He doesn't have size, speed, those kind of things, but he plays instinctively.

"He also was a part of their championship team, so he knows what it takes to get it done."

Actually, Lindsey could use a lot of players like that, especially when considering the youth and inexperience of his front seven.

If Hawaii has a strength, it's the experience in the secondary. All four of the projected starters have seen plenty of playing time.

Of course, top free safety Eddie Klaneski started his games as a tough-minded slotback. Henderson moves back to strong safety after several off-and-on stints at cornerback, while juniors Al Hunter and Robbie Robinson are the top corners.

Last year, Klaneski led the team in receptions, but when it became apparent that slotbacks wouldn't be needed, Klaneski decided to move to the other side of the ball.

"I played defensive back in high school, so it wasn't that tough of a switch," Klaneski said. "What I like is I get to do the hitting for a change. That's the fun part."

The senior from Damien is in a heated battle with former Kahuku standout Steve Laulu. The sophomore is a hard hitter, something the Rainbows need.

The top backups at the corner positions are Damien Arafiles and freshmen Blase Austin, Chico Bennett and Ricky Lumford.

The backups at the two safety spots are Tad Yamashita, Chris Shinnick, Gerry Graham and Anthony Smith.

"We've got some experience back there, but that's not saying much," Lindsey said. "Al and Robbie are pretty steady at the corners, while Henderson and Klaneski are solid safeties."

Robinson and Hunter had one interception each last year. Robinson had two pass breakups and 17 tackles as well. Hunter finished fourth in tackles with 53. He also had seven pass breakups.

The Rainbows switched from the 3-4 alignment to the 4-3. In this defense, the strong safety has to be like a linebacker against the run and a cornerback vs. the pass.

As for the free safety, he's kind of the enforcer in the middle part of the field.

"The thing I've tried to stress is the secondary can only be as good as the front seven," Lindsey said, "and the front seven as good as the secondary.

"I don't care who you are, you've got to be able to stop the run or you can't stop the pass. It's that simple."

Hawaii's secondary managed only eight interceptions last year, while giving up 16 touchdowns and an average of 213.6 passing yards a game.

"We've got to do better and we will," Robinson said.