SALT LAKE CITY — Ryan Mouton, it seems, is cornering the job market on the Manoa campus.

Mouton will be featured in the Hawai'i football team's six defensive coverages, return kickoffs and, in special circumstances, play receiver.

"He's a playmaker," UH head coach Greg McMackin said. "We want our playmakers on the field."

McMackin announced his plans for Mouton yesterday at the Western Athletic Conference Football Preview in Utah.

"Mouton is the quickest guy we have on our team," McMackin said. "We have a little package for him (on offense). His main thing is to be a corner(back). But if we can give him some things to allow him to use his quickness, why not?"

Mouton, who is entering his senior season, welcomed the expanded role.

"I played offense in high school and junior college," Mouton said. "I'm willing to do whatever. I guess it shows he has confidence in me to let me do this."

Last season, his first at UH, Mouton was a cornerback and kick returner before suffering a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. To ease the wear on his knee, he was given an honorary discharge from kick-return duties.

The Warriors have two versions of their base 4-3 alignment, two nickel defenses, a 3-3-5 scheme, and a dime package involving six defensive backs. Mouton plays cornerback in the base defenses. In schemes involving five or six defensive backs, he becomes the nickelback. Depending on the situation, as a nickelback, he will either cover an inside receiver or serve as an outside linebacker.

"He's a natural blitzer because he's so quick," McMackin said.

In front of scouts at a workout at Blinn College in Texas, Mouton ran 40 yards in under 4.3 seconds.

McMackin likened Mouton to Shawn Springs, a former All-Pro with the Seattle Seahawks.

"He's a shorter Shawn Springs," McMackin said. "I think he's a great athlete and a great person. And he really works hard. He has a passion for football. He's a student of the game. He's really smart."

Mouton said: "He said he drafted Shawn Springs when he was with the Seattle Seahawks. (Springs) had a great career in the NFL. To be compared to someone like Shawn Springs is high praise."

COUNTING ON LEONARD

Sometimes, the season opener obscures the view of the rest of the football schedule. It was that way in 2005, when the Warriors spent a summer focusing on Southern California, and in 2006, when they prepared for Alabama.

This year, the Warriors hope to not use the Aug. 30 road game against Florida as the sole measuring tool.

"We understand that no matter what happens in Florida, we have to play the next week," right-side linebacker Adam Leonard said. "We definitely feel it can be a confidence builder if we go out there and play well. No matter what the outcome is of the game, we have to go out and play the rest of the season."

The UH coaches have started to craft a game plan against their second and third opponents — Weber State on Sept. 6 and Oregon State on Sept. 13.

The Warriors are counting heavily on Leonard this season. Leonard, cross his fingers and knock on koa, is hopeful of remaining in good health.

As a UH freshman in 2005, he still was not fully healed from knee surgery that abbreviated his senior season of high school football. He played most of the 2006 season with a torn meniscus. Last season, he played virtually one-handed. He had a fracture in his right hand, which required him to wear a cast when he was not playing football.

"It was difficult breaking the right hand," he said. "But it's football. I don't need it as much. It's not as important as a leg."

There was one advantage.

"I managed to get a note-taker," he said, smiling. "It made things a lot easier. I couldn't write, and I couldn't read my handwriting."