Defensive line talking through trouble

David Aranda has seen some good play out of Hawaii's front four early in fall camp.

Yesterday, the Hawaii defensive line coach was more encouraged by what he heard.

"Today was a hot day, there were some guys with some aches and pains and it's good to hear Keala (Watson) step up like he did today and (David) Veikune step up like he did today," Aranda said. "That, in my opinion, is the strength of our team."

With the line rotations altered by several injuries at the top levels of the depth chart, the Warrior coaches are leaning more on the leadership of veterans like Watson and Veikune.

While both acknowledge their roles as seniors on the line, they're more than willing to defer to the other.

"I vocalize when I need to, but I just lead by example on the field and go hard," Veikune said. "Keala's the one, he's the talker out there."

From Watson's perspective: "Our D-line is pretty solid, everybody knows what to do, everybody's their own leader."

In any case, both are being counted on to make their share of noise on the field this season.

Despite starting just one game at defensive end last year, Veikune earned All-Western Athletic Conference first-team honors after leading the Warriors with seven sacks, including a safety against Nevada.

After sharing time with Amani Purcell last year, Veikune is preparing for even more action.

"That's why I just have to push harder," Veikune said. "Last year during team (periods), I didn't get as many reps, me and Amani would always switch in and out. Now I'm getting in there every single play. I'm getting better, and my technique's looking better."

Aranda concurred, noting the improvement in the finer points of Veikune's game between spring practice and fall camp.

"He's a great natural pass rusher, he's great with his hands, run and pass," Aranda said. "Where he's made the most improvement is with his footwork in our line slants and our rush stunts."

Watson played in every game last season and had two starts at tackle, which requires taking on double teams on most plays to free up the ends and linebackers to flow to the ball. He spent most of the season backing up Michael Lafaele, the spiritual leader of the defense last year.

"It's hard for the guys who are injured because they can't get the reps," Watson said. "But the guys who are in there, we get double the reps. It'll help us prepare that much better, get our reads down. A lot of things are coming faster, more reaction instead of reading."

Aranda has also been pleased with the play of senior Joshua Leonard at tackle.

"Josh has really been a superstar this first part of camp," he said.

The Warriors began camp with tackle Fale Laeli and end John Fonoti joining Watson and Veikune with the first unit along the front.

Fonoti has been out since Thursday with a strained hamstring and Laeli still has issues with a knee that bothered him throughout last season.

"We just have to be smart with him," Aranda said. "Fale's a great player; we're going to give him the reps he needs, but we're going to condition him in a smart way."

Junior tackle Rocky Savaiigaea's triceps injury could keep him out the rest of the week. Aranda is hopeful Fonoti's hamstring will improve enough for him to be back on the field this week.

"That's the thing, once you start talking about how much depth you have, usually the next thing is all of your depth falls off," Aranda said. "We're hoping in the next couple of days to be back to full strength. What it does is it gives a bunch of younger guys a chance to go with the first string."