By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

By the time the first week of spring football practice splashed to soggy conclusion at the University of Hawai'i, the booming voice of new defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville had become a raspy whisper.

But after four days with the Warriors, Glanville's message had been heard loud and clear: It is a new day for the defense.

A unit that ranked 116th among 117 Division I-A teams in total defense last season had new expectations and, even in the comparatively laid-back atmosphere of spring ball, a buzz about it.

What that might mean in five months, when two-time defending national champion Southern California comes knocking, remains to be seen.

But the arrival of Glanville, a former NFL head coach, brings considerable hope to a unit that, even in better times, languished deep in the shadow of its record-setting offense. Glanville might provide the best opportunity for the defense to prove itself a full partner in UH's success, reframing the debate of whether a team that runs the run-and-shoot offense can really have a defense as a productive equal. Especially on a team that has been known to award eight scholarships to quarterbacks.

The contention has long been that, by its throw-first-and-ask-questions-later nature, the run-and-shoot digs its defense a hole. That, either by quick-strike score or swift expiration of downs, it puts the ball back in the hands of the opposition in a hurry, burdening the defense.

Head coach June Jones, who swears allegiance to the run-and-shoot, maintains "that is just something the media says. When I was with Houston, we were the No. 1 defense. When I left Houston, they were still running our offense ... and they were the No. 1 defense."

A spokesman for the Tennessee Titans, the former Oilers franchise, said the Oilers were "17th (1987) and eighth (1988) in defense, yards given up" the two seasons Jones was quarterbacks coach under Glanville.

At UH, the Warriors have yet to rank in the Top 65 in either total defense or scoring defense in the six years of a run-and-shoot that has been a Top 20 fixture in scoring and total offense.

Glanville figures to provide the best chance for the defense to close some of that gap. For here is someone not only with vast experience but with a history of working in tandem with the run-and-shoot. Not to be overlooked, he also enjoys both Jones' confidence and ear. Except when Greg McMackin was the coordinator in 1999, that hasn't always been the perception.

If Glanville can, indeed, carve a new niche for the defense, imagine the possibilities.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.