MONROE, La. — In previous years, the knock on Hawai'i's defense was inconsistent tackling early in the season.

That changed last week — albeit against a Division I-AA opponent — when the Warriors rarely allowed a Northern Colorado ball-carrier to slip away.

The Warriors missed five tackles the entire game, and only one when the starting defense was on the field. That broken tackle came on the final play of the first half, when the Warriors were ahead, 42-0, and it did no harm.

Greg McMackin, who returned to the UH defensive coordinator's job he held in 1999, is credited with placing more emphasis on tackling.

"We do a lot of work on the technique of tackling," middle linebacker Solomon Elimimian said. "Tackling is a science. You can't go out there and try to hit someone hard. You have to know what to do."

Excluding incompletions and runs out of bounds, there were 52 plays in which the Warriors could have made initial tackles against UNC. They had initial stops 48 times.

"Coach (McMackin) is always preaching making gang tackles," weakside linebacker Adam Leonard said. "He's always telling us: 'Every man to the ball.' "

But about a quarter of the tackles were in the open field.

"A lot of guys leave their feet when they want to make a tackle," Leonard said. "Coaches preach taking that extra step. If you take that extra step, you can be in better position to make the tackle."

McMackin noted the Warriors spend a portion of every practice working on tackling.

"We teach from the ground up to basic fundamentals of tackling," McMackin said. "We work on it every day. Every form of tackling — open-field tackling, sideline tackling. Obviously, the better running backs test your tackling."

Indeed, the Warriors will be tested against Louisiana Tech in today's Western Athletic Conference opener. Patrick Jackson is considered to be the second-best running back in the conference, behind Heisman Trophy candidate Ian Johnson of Boise State.

Here's a look:

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LWO—84 Jason Rivers 6-2 189 Sr.

LSB—7 Davone Bess 5-10 195 Jr.

LT—62 Keith AhSoon 6-1 315 JR.

LG—65 Hercules Satele 6-2 293 Sr.

C—55 John Estes 6-2 292 So.

RG—73 Larry Sauafea 6-2 294 Sr.

RT—78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-3 282 Jr.

RSB—1 Ryan Grice-Mullins 5-11 180 Jr.

RWO—2 C.J. Hawthorne 5-11 168 Sr.

QB—15 Colt Brennan 6-3 201 Sr.

RB—48 David Farmer 6-1 224 Jr.

RB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 Fr.

RB—4 Leon Wright-Jackson 6-1 211 So.

Outlook: Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley joked that he would petition the WAC to use 12 defenders against the Warriors' four-wide offense. A kind-of-funny thing happened during Thursday's practice: There were 12 defenders on the UH scout team. And yet, Brennan completed pass after pass.

Critics have said the Warriors are not as efficient within an opponent's 20 and on deep passes. But against UNC, Brennan was 3 of 3 on passes that traveled at least 20 yards from the line of scrimmage. The Warriors also have been effective near the goal line. In the past, the Warriors' answer to short-yard situations was a power running play. Now they rely on their quick slots. Bess' pet move is the down-and-out. On paper, it's a simple play.

"It's three steps and go across," Bess said to a reporter. "You could even do it."

But in real time, Bess is a blur. And if a defender cheats to the corner, Bess can change his route on the fly.

Grice-Mullins favors post routes, in which he makes an abrupt cut, pretzel-twisting a defender. He credits his skill to ladder drills, in which he hop-scotches a series of squares. "It's all about ladders, and jumping on boxes, and ... to tell you the truth, knowing how to dance," Grice-Mullins said. "You need quick feet."

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LE—54 Amani Purcell 6-4 277 Sr.

Or 94 David Veikune 6-3 252 Jr.

LT—96 Fale Laeli 6-1 292 Jr.

LT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 300 Jr.

RT—67 Michael Lafaele 6-1 302 Sr.

RE—12 Karl Noa 6-4 251 Sr.

LLB—43 Brad Kalilimoku 5-10 221 Sr.

MLB—17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 218 Jr.

RLB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 236 Jr.

LCB—23 Gerard Lewis 5-9 175 Sr.

S/NB—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 193 Jr.

S—31 Jacob Patek 6-0 204 Sr.

RCB—3 Myron Newberry 5-9 174 Sr.

Outlook: The Warriors have worked on some special schemes to counter the Bulldogs' massive offensive line and power running game. But even in the 4-3 base defense, the Warriors have confidence in the tackle rotation of Lafaele, Laeli, Watson and Siave Seti. The tackles are taught to stay low, sliding under the blocks, and to aggressively advance at the snap.

"I know they're going to come out with fire," said Lafaele, who has played with a fracture in his right hand. "We have to control the line of scrimmage and be aggressive, like a dog on a bone."

Laeli has been bothered by tendinitis in his left knee. He has split reps with Watson this week.

The key in defending Patrick Jackson, the Warriors have been told, is to remain disciplined. Don't try to reach — he's too strong to arm tackle — and focus on the lower part of his jersey number because his head fakes are not covered by chiropractor insurance.

The Warriors will miss linebacker Blaze Soares, who is out with a hamstring injury, but Kalilimoku is just as quick.

HAWAI'I SPECIALISTS

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

PK—86 Dan Kelly 6-3 212 Jr.

P/H—95 Tim Grasso 5-11 221 Jr.

S—57 Jake Ingram 6-4 234 Jr.

KR—27 Ryan Mouton 5-10 182 Jr.

KR—84 Jason Rivers 6-2 189 Sr.

PR—7 Davone Bess 5-10 195 Jr.

Outlook: As good as Michael Washington was last week — he had a 80-yard punt return for a touchdown — Bess is even better.

The return units get a boost from first-line player Timo Paepule, who has recovered from a sore right arch, and Guyton Galdeira, a 5-8 dynamo. Galdeira factored in Washington's and Malcolm Lane's touchdown returns. On Washington's, Galdeira knocked back two guys with one block. On Lane's kick return, Galdeira sealed a lane with a block to the left, then he ran over to the side to block a would-be tackler on the right.

"Guyton has a heart of a lion," Paepule said.

Kelly, meanwhile, is adjusting to the fresh-out-of-the-box Nike footballs, which are more diamond-shaped than oval. When the football are new, the symmetry is sharper, narrowing the sweet spot. With more use, Kelly's kickoffs will boom farther.

LOUISIANA TECH OFFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

WR—7 Joe Anderson 6-1 195 Fr.

LT—73 Tyler Miller 6-7 314 Gr.

LG—62 Ben Harris 6-4 280 So.

C—60 Lon Roberts 6-3 272 Fr.

RG—77 Bill Jones 6-6 325 Jr.

RT—63 Ryan Considine 6-6 297 Gr.

TE—47 Anthony Harrison 6-3 242 Jr.

WR—81 Josh Wheeler 6-4 204 Jr.

QB—10 Zac Champion 6-2 202 Sr.

FB—43 Dustin Mitchell 6-4 245 So.

RB—23 Patrick Jackson 5-10 193 Jr.

Outlook: The Bulldogs have formations featuring a tight end and three wideouts; two wideouts and two backs; and two tight ends. All of the schemes involve a common theme: Champion on bootlegs, sometimes to run, sometimes for play-actions passes; and Jackson on cutbacks.

In football's value scale, every player is compared to someone, and Jackson has been described as Emmit Smith-like. Jackson has outstanding vision, good footwork and, in football parlance, "a great motor." UH's McMackin said Jackson's "feet never stop moving. That's what makes him a great running back."

Jackson will run behind a line whose average blocker is 6-5 and 297 pounds. Both tackles each have started 34 games, and already have earned bachelor's degrees.

LOUISIANA TECH DEFENSE

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

LE—98 Ben McGilton 6-2 245 Sr.

LT—92 Joshua Muse 6-3 315 Sr.

RT—5 D'Anthony Smith 6-2 292 So.

RE—85 Randy Grigsby 6-3 242 Fr.

SLB—45 Marquis McBeath 5-11 228 Sr.

MLB—44 Anthony Crosby 5-11 230 Sr.

WLB—37 Quin Harris 6-2 221 Jr.

LCB—1 Tony Moss 5-11 185 Gr.

SS—29 Mark Dillard 5-11 210 Sr.

FS—34 Antonio Baker 5-11 200 So.

RCB—35 Weldon Brown 5-10 184 Jr.

Outlook: In last year's meeting, the Bulldogs used a three-man front and dropped eight defenders into pass coverage. The result was a 61-17 UH victory. While the Bulldogs will likely play nickel coverages, they probably won't abandon their new four-man front, especially with Smith trying to apply inside pressure. The matchup between Smith and UH left guard Hercules Satele should be one of the game's best.

The Bulldogs don't do anything fancy. Their defensive linemen rely mostly on bull-rush techniques. They rarely stunt or loop.

Dillard, who was unstoppable as a running back in the 2005 game, is now a hard-hitting defensive back. Harris is the Bulldogs' busiest linebacker.

LOUISIANA TECH SPECIALISTS

POS.—PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

PK—31 Danny Horwedel 6-0 206 Sr.

P/H—17 Chris Keagle 6-0 233 Jr.

S—52 Thomas Graham 5-10 229 So.

KR—23 Patrick Jackson 5-10 193 Jr.

KR—35 Weldon Brown 5-10 184 Jr.

PR—82 Philip Beck 5-10 177 Jr.

Outlook: After averaging 38.4 yards per punt last season, Keagle is now reaching new distances. He averaged 48 yards per punt last week, and the Bulldogs report he was averaging close to 50 yards during scrimmages.

Horwedel, who was recruited by UH defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold when he was a Tech assistant in 2003, is going in the opposite direction, attempting but 12 field goals last year. But Reinebold said Horwedel has a strong leg and, more importantly, a swing that give his kicks great height.

Visit Tsai's blog at www.hawaiiwarriorbeat.com.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.