The Man In Black

Did you think I could go the whole week without mentioning Jerry Glanville. June Jones, being a former NFL coach, dug deep into his pool of former NFL colleagues to find a suitable candidate to revamp his struggling Hawaii defense.

The Warriors were beaten up by a combined 139-17 by WAC powers Boise State and Fresno State last year. Boise State's quarterback Jared Zabransky ran 85 yards for a touchdown in last year's game. Fresno State set a team record with 503 yards rushing in last year's, 70-14, win over Hawaii.

Glanville's mission for 2005 as the new defensive coordinator, turn around a defense that allowed 252.6 yards rushing per game, good enough to rank last in the nation. Hawaii in fact ranked 116th out of 117 teams last year in total defense.

So how has the man in black fared in 2005 thus far? Hawaii is giving up 178.3 yards per game on the ground to rank 90th in the nation. The Warriors have even improved in total defense giving up just 429.83 yards a game, good enough to rank 97th.

To his credit Hawaii has faced two of of the top three offenses in the country, Southern Cal and Michigan State. However, New Mexico State went nuts on the Warriors, too.

With Jones, Glanville and running backs coach Mouse Davis, the architect of the Run-n-Shoot offense, Hawaii boasts a very impressive coaching staff. Glanville's hiring has yet to pay off, and with Fresno State, Nevada, Wisconsin, and San Diego State still left on the schedule the statistics could end up being worse than last year.