Hawai'i linebacker Solomon Elimimian and placekicker Dan "Iceman" Kelly are football rarities — four-year starters who have never redshirted.

Their unique status is why Elimimian is on track to break the UH record for career tackles. And it is why, it seems, Kelly is icing a victory with a winning kick every season.

More likely by design than coincidence, the Warriors used an approach for the 2005 freshman class that was different from the previous season.

Several first-year Warriors on the 2004 team— notably running back Andrew Pearman and quarterbacks Taylor Humphrey and Brandon Satcher — did not return to UH in 2005. In Pearman's case, homesickness aggravated by redshirting appeared to contribute to his transfer.

In 2005, the Warriors decided not to redshirt 11 freshmen — Kelly; slotbacks Davone Bess, Aaron Bain and Michael Washington; running back Mario Cox; cornerback JoPierre Davis; and linebackers Elimimian, Adam Leonard, John Fonoti and B.J. Fruean, and long-snapper Jake Ingram. Offensive lineman John Estes redshirted, but made the trip to San Jose.

As a result, all of those 2005 freshmen returned the next season, and now Elimimian is in the hunt for a career record.

Here's a look at tonight's game:

LOUISIANA TECH OFFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

WR—6 Phillip Livas 5-8 175 So.

LT—74 Rob McGill 6-6 305 So.

LG—62 Ben Harris 6-4 295 Jr.

C—60 Lon Roberts 6-3 277 So.

RG—67 Jared Miles 6-3 324 So.

RT—76 Cudahy Harmon 6-6 327 So.

TE—43 Dustin Mitchell 6-4 252 Jr.

WR—82 Philip Beck 5-9 190 Sr.

QB—13 Taylor Bennett 6-3 217 Sr.

RB—23 Patrick Jackson 5-10 203 Sr.

RB—20 Daniel Porter 5-9 190 Jr.

U—47 Anthony Harrison 5-3 242 Sr.

Outlook: Bennett has a Wikipedia page in part because of his unique situation. He was at Georgia Tech for four years (his first pass went for a touchdown), earning a bachelor's degree. Taking advantage of the amnesty rule that allows a graduate to transfer without sitting out a season, Bennett announced in February he would leave Georgia Tech, acknowledging he would be miscast in new head coach Paul Johnson's triple-option offense. At Louisiana Tech, Bennett has struggled, completing 39 percent of his passes. But Bennett is difficult to sack (four in 131 pass plays), and he is more efficient — relatively — in third-down situations. On third down, he has been sacked once in 40 pass plays, and he is completing 47.5 percent of his passes. On the other downs, his accuracy is at 35.6 percent.

Bennett has not been able to capitalize on the play-action opportunities created by the two-helmeted running attack of Porter and Jackson. Jackson is supposed to be the star, but Porter has been slightly more productive. Porter's talent was displayed in a play that did not count. Against Boise State last week, he broke five tackles in a run that was nullified because of a penalty. Tech's pet running play is the stretch.

LOUISIANA TECH DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

DE—91 Matt Broha 6-4 228 Fr.

DT—90 Mason Hitt 6-1 268 So.

DT—5 D'Anthony Smith 6-2 300 Jr.

DE—85 Randy Grigsby 6-3 242 So.

SLB—36 Brian White 6-1 228 Jr.

MLB—58 Brannon Jackson 6-1 265 Sr.

WLB—37 Quin Harris 6-2 235 Sr.

CB—35 Weldon Brown 5-10 187 Sr.

FS—34 Antonio Baker 5-11 200 Jr.

SS—25 Deon Young 5-11 197 Jr.

CB—27 Stevon Howze 5-9 175 Sr.

Outlook: The Bulldogs will be without their best pass-rusher, Kwame Jordan. During Monday's news conference, head coach Derek Dooley said Jordan has an unspecified injury. At Fort Scott Community College last year, Jordan amassed 17.5 sacks. He has 3.5 of the Bulldogs' eight sacks this season, as well as five backfield tackles. Jordan would have been key against the Warriors' revised read-option offense that features rollouts to the perimeter. Without Jordan, Smith is the Bulldogs' best defensive lineman.

In last year's meeting, the Bulldogs blitzed frequently to try to disrupt the Warriors' four-wide offense. Without Jordan, the Bulldogs will need to put pressure to ease a defense that is one of the worst against the air game (105th nationally in pass-efficiency defense). Brown (4.47 seconds in the 40) is the Bulldogs' best man-to-man defender.

LOUISIANA TECH SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK—33 Brad Oestriecher 5-10 184 Sr.

P/H—17 Chris Keagle 6-0 242 Sr.

LS—52 Thomas Graham 5-10 236 Jr.

KR—6 Phillip Livas 5-8 175 So.

KR/PR—82 Philip Beck 5-9 190 Sr.

Outlook: The Bulldogs have the best kickoff unit in the WAC. An opponent's average possession begins at the 23 following a Tech kickoff. Of Oestriecher's 17 kickoffs this season, only one was returned past the 30. One kickoff went out of bounds, giving Southeastern Louisiana possession at the 40. But that drive ended with a punt. Only one kickoff resulted in a touchback, meaning the Bulldogs' aggressive coverage forced opponents into difficult field position. Of the 17 drives initiated by a Bulldog kickoff, only one possession ended in a touchdown. hawai'i offense

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LWO—1 Greg Salas 6-2 200 So.

LSB—5 Michael Washington 5-8 170 Sr.

LT —77 Aaron Kia 6-5 290 Jr.

LT—50 Laupepa Letuli 6-4 320 Jr.

LG—63 Brysen Ginlack 6-2 310 So.

C—55 John Estes 6-2 295 Jr.

RG—51 C.Tuioti-Mariner 6-0 300 Sr.

RT—78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-3 295 Sr.

RSB—85 Aaron Bain 5-8 190 Sr.

RWO—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 180 Jr.

QB—11 Inoke Funaki 5-11 190 Jr.

RB/SB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 So.

RB—4 Leon Wright-Jackson 6-1 215 Jr.

RB—26 Daniel Libre 5-8 185 Sr.

Outlook: Funaki appears to be more comfortable steering an offense designed with his elusive running skills in mind. The rollout play — the dash — creates chaos for opponents who must defend the option, Funaki's scrambling and an out-of-pocket, four-wide passing attack. In most rollouts, the offense is supposed to be split in half because of the difficulty in throwing across the field. But offensive coordinator Ron Lee created schemes to utilize all four receivers. On rollouts to the right, for instance, left-side receivers Washington and Salas can drag across the field.

The twist is the bootleg. Funaki is skilled in selling a play to one direction and then going in the other. Even his blockers are trying to adjust. Against Fresno, two long runs off bootlegs were nullified because of holding penalties. Funaki said he prefers playing on the edge, mostly because "I have a better view." It also celebrates his elusiveness. Last week, Funaki averaged 1.29 broken tackles per scramble; he averaged 4.42 extra yards after an initial hit.

The downfall is that on rollouts, Funaki too often moves away from his blocker, leaving him vulnerable to the contain defender. Last week, two of his three sacks came on rollouts. Funaki also has been instructed to throw away passes instead of absorbing sacks. "Incompletions," Funaki said, "are better than completions to the other team."

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE—94 David Veikune 6-3 265 Sr.

LT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 320 Sr.

RT—99 Josh Leonard 6-3 305 Sr.

RE—58 John Fonoti 6-2 255 Jr.

LLB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 235 Sr.

MLB—13 Brashton Satele 6-1 255 Jr.

RLB—17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 225 Sr.

LCB/NB—2 Ryan Mouton 5-10 175 Sr.

FS—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 200 Sr.

SS—7 Erik Robinson 5-10 200 Sr.

NS—24 Desmond Thomas 6-2 170 Sr.

CB—23 Calvin Roberts 5-11 175 Sr.

NCB—3 Jameel Dowling 6-3 200 Sr.

Outlook: Elimimian is the team leader with 36 tackles, and is 17 shy of tying Levi Stanley's school record of 366 tackles. It is a remarkable accomplishment considering Elimimian moved from the middle to the outside at the start of the season, reducing his opportunities in a defense that funnels the plays inside. He also was short-changed by seven tackles in the Florida game. (Then again, this wasn't the first suspect tally count in Florida history.) The secret to Elimimian's success? "I like to tackle the guy who has the ball," he said, smiling. "It's the easiest job in America. Tackle the man with the ball."

Elimimian credits the defensive linemen for occupying blockers to free the linebackers to swoop in for tackles. In turn, the defensive backs credit the linebackers for also creating openings. Two weeks ago, Elimimian and Adam Leonard essentially became blockers on defense to create space for Mouton to blitz. Last week, Elimimian and Kiesel-Kauhane filled that role. Of Mouton, Elimimian said: "I call him the 'Cat Burglar.' He's so sneaky when he blitzes. He's so fast. He goes in and out."

HAWAI'I SPECIAL TEAMS

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK—86 Dan Kelly 6-3 225 Sr.

P/H—49 Tim Grasso 5-11 210 Sr.

LS—57 Jake Ingram 6-4 235 Sr.

KR—2 Ryan Mouton 5-10 175 Sr.

PR—5 Michael Washington 5-8 170 Sr.

Outlook: Richard Torres, who did not play last week because of a concussion, is back on the active roster. He will play the newly created position of single-wedge on kick returns. Torres will be positioned about 10 yards in front of the kick returner and 10 yards behind the wedge of blockers. His job is to block the on-rushing "head-hunter," helping to escort the kick returner to the wedge. The new strategy was implemented last week. The risk is UH uses only one deep returner; the advantage is the returner has an extra blocker. It paid off last week when Mouton raced 90 yards, eluding five would-be tacklers along the way, for a touchdown. Mouton, Lane and Pilares will take turns returning kickoffs.

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.