Soon after concluding yesterday's news conference to announce the 2009 recruiting class, Hawai"i head football coach Greg McMackin said, "We're starting to work on next year."

That non-stop approach helped the Warriors construct one of the largest and most heralded classes in recent years.

The Warriors signed 29 prospects, a number that actually swells to 32 when factoring three grayshirts — defensive end Alema Tachibana, and linebackers Art Laurel and Waylon Lolotai.

Grayshirts are recruits who delay enrolling in school for a semester or, in Lolotai's case, five semesters because of a church mission. They can count retroactively to the 2008 recruiting class' total.

The Warriors admittedly went over the NCAA's limit of 25 new scholarships each academic year. But McMackin said it is not comparable to an airline's overbooking in which "if a guy loses a seat, he's in big trouble."

McMackin said some of the recruits will join the Warriors next January.

The UH coaches felt they needed to use this recruiting class to restock the defensive secondary and bring in young quarterbacks who can be developed over the next couple of seasons.

Nine defensive backs, including six on scholarship, completed their eligibility after the 2008 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. The Warriors redshirted six defensive backs last season. They signed eight defensive backs in this recruiting class. Aaron Brown, a hard-hitting safety from Saddleback Community College, is considered to be the best defensive back of the newcomers.

Tony Tuioti, UH football's director of player personnel, said the plan was to land physical cornerbacks with speed in an effort to improve the Warriors' bump-and-run coverage.

While remaining true to a four-wide offense, the Warriors also wanted to add a complementary running attack. They signed three running backs — speedster Chizzy Dimude, and bruisers Alex Green and John Lister.

Those additions create a ripple effect. Kealoha Pilares now can focus on being a full-time slotback, and Jake Heun can move to rush end.

The Warriors were able to sign five mid-year recruits who are now enrolled at UH. Those five junior-college transfers, as well as the three grayshirts and freshman wideout Billy Ray Stutzmann, are participating in the offseason conditioning program. They also will compete in spring practice in April.

"We get a whole eight extra months to get these guys ready," Tuioti said.

Tuioti also said that most of the remaining recruits will report to the team in May, allowing them to take summer-school classes.

The strategy has a double benefit. Recruits can earn extra credits and participate in the summer workouts.

"All of the guys we signed, we made a point of making sure they'll be here at the beginning of summer and not the end of summer," Tuioti said. "That'll be big for us. They can come out here and train with their teammates."