Former Kahuku High School offensive lineman John Manu-Olevao said he will delay the start of his University of Hawai'i football career for a year.

Meanwhile, Elijah Lesu, an All-State player from Farrington High, will attend City College of San Francisco this year.

Manu-Olevao, who was supposed to play for the Warriors this season, instead plans to join the team next August.

Manu-Olevao said he will take some classes at a local college this academic year. If all goes according to plan, he will have four seasons of eligibility.

"This is good," Manu-Olevao said. "It will give me one year to train."

Manu-Olevao, who is 6 feet 3 and 310 pounds, was one of the best blockers on Kahuku's 2006 state championship team.

He was named to The Advertiser's 2006 All-State second team. He received a 2-star rating from Rivals.com.

His uncle, Samson Kela, played for UH in the mid-1980s.

Lesu, who is 5 feet 10 and 180 pounds, was named to The Advertiser's 2006 All-State team as an all-purpose player. He also was the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's 2006 Offensive Player of the Year.

CCSF is one of the top junior-college football programs in the country. Nick Rolovich, a former UH quarterback, serves as an assistant coach.

WEDGE LEADS THE WAY

The Warriors believe they have a good return policy, thanks to three players known collectively as the wedge.

Aligned at UH's 15, Jason Laumoli, Brashton Satele and Siave Seti serve as the primary blockers for kick returners Malcolm Lane and Kealoha Pilares.

"A wedge back there isn't three guys going 'you go left' or 'you go right,' " said Dennis McKnight, who coaches the wedge and kick returners. "There's a lot of coordination involved. I could spend an hour with three wedge guys and two return guys and barely cover everything you need to cover. There are so many scenarios — high-pooch kick, onside, power squib."

McKnight said the three wedge blockers were selected because of their athletic ability and background as runners.

Seti, a defensive tackle, was a blocking back last year. Laumoli, a converted offensive lineman, is practicing as a running back. Satele, a linebacker, also was a running back in high school.

Laumoli serves as the wedge captain, calling out the blocking schemes. In Saturday's practice, a bouncing kick that was thought to go left went right. Laumoli yelled out "mayday" — the alert for a troublesome kickoff — and pounced on the sputtering football.

"He did the right thing," Seti said of Laumoli's mayday response. "He always does the right thing. We count on him to make the calls."

Contrary to its name, the wedge is not a three-man blocking sled. Instead, the wedge players are instructed to "re-direct" the on-coming defenders.

"You don't want to bully them," Seti said. "You want to get in their way, block them to the side, and then work to the next level (of defenders)."

Satele said: "It's fun to block. I really like it."

It is admittedly an acquired skill to try to create open spaces against would-be tacklers running at full speed.

McKnight instructs the wedge players to aim for a shoulder instead of trying to make a straight-ahead block.

"It takes experience," said Laumoli, adding the blocking technique still can lead to knockdowns. "It's like playing fullback. You're lead blocking. They're trying to come through, we're coming at them. It's who wants it more. You go at it and see what happens."

Seti said: "It takes a lot of heart, a lot of determination, a lot of faith in the coaches."

LANE EAGER TO RETURN

Lane, a sophomore, said the up-front blocking has improved his confidence on kick returns. He said he had difficulty adjusting to his role last season.

"I'm way more excited this year," he said. "Last year, I'm not going to lie ... a couple of times I got a little shaken up. I was scared to mess up. This year I have so much confidence."

Lane said he spent the summer working on improving his strength while maintaining his quickness. He said those qualities should be helpful in his challenge for playing time at right wideout.

"The key is to stay fast and flexible," Lane said. "I need to stay focused. If I were more focused last year, coach would have given me more of a shot."

SECONDARY SHAPING UP

Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin said he is pleased in the improved play of his secondary. During Saturday's practice, starting cornerbacks Gerard Lewis and Myron Newberry received most of the reps. For today's first day of full-pad practice, backup cornerbacks Calvin Roberts, Keenan Jones and Jakeem Hawkins will play extensively.

This will be the first practice for Roberts, who arrived in town Thursday.

It is the coaches' hope that cornerback Ryan Keomaka, who is on personal leave, will rejoin the team today or tomorrow.

"We're starting to make plays, and that's exciting because we're going against an offense that doesn't make mistakes," McMackin said. "Our offense very seldom throws an interception. The offense executes so well that we have to execute well. We're getting closer and closer to where we want to be. (Defensive backs coach) Rich Miano is doing a good job with them."

SHOULDERING THE LOAD

McMackin on strongside linebacker Blaze Soares, who has missed three practices because of a deep bruise in his left shoulder: "We're thinking of moving him to the other side so he can hit with his good shoulder."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.