EL PASO, Texas — The Hawai'i football team's defense was so good yesterday it seemed as if it were using 14 defenders.

In fact, it was using that many.

That's because the UH coaches believed today's opponent, New Mexico State, had planted a spy to watch the Warriors' walk-through practice at the Sun Bowl on the Texas-El Paso campus.

The Warriors countered by inserting decoy defenders. That led to the bizarre image of defensive end C.J. Allen-Jones aligned as a middle linebacker and 320-pound defensive tackle Tuika Tufaga placed at free safety.

Then again, the Warriors might need 14 defenders when they face the Aggies' self-styled Air Raid offense.

Although the Aggies are statistically down this season, they have quick-strike capabilities. Chase Holbrook has set several school passing records.

The Aggies are expected to force the Warriors to, perhaps, break out a dime defense featuring six defensive backs.

"It's all about matchups," UH head coach Greg McMackin said.

Here's a look at today's game:

HAWAI'I OFFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LWO—1 Greg Salas 6-2 200 So.

LSB—5 Michael Washington 5-9 170 Sr.

T/G—50 Laupepa Letuli 6-4 320 Jr.

T—77 Aaron Kia 6-5 290 Jr.

G—62 Keith AhSoon 6-1 315 Sr.

C—55 John Estes 6-2 295 Jr.

RG—51 C. Tuioti-Mariner 6-0 300 Sr.

RT—78 Keoni Steinhoff 6-0 300 Sr.

RSB—21 Kealoha Pilares 5-11 190 So.

RWO—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 180 Jr.

QB—12 Greg Alexander 6-3 230 Jr.

RB—26 Daniel Libre 5-8 185 Sr.

RB—48 David Farmer 6-1 245 Sr.

RB—4 Leon Wright-Jackson 6-1 215 Jr.

Outlook: The offense receives a boost with the return of Pilares, who missed the past two games because of a sprained right foot. The injury was to the top side, making it difficult to bend his right foot or raise his right heel when he ran. Pilares leads the Warriors in touchdowns (five) and yards-per rush (5.2). But instead of opening at running back, he is expected to make his first career start at slotback. Pilares, who led the Warriors in rushing last season, moved to slotback in spring training. He was a backup slot in the season opener against Florida, logging only three plays. The next week he was at running back, where he remained until suffering the foot injury. Pilares is effective as a running back, averaging an additional 3.08 yards after an initial hit (YAH). But he is even better as a receiver in the open field. In WAC games, as a receiver, his YAH average is 6.57. His yards-after-catch (YAC) average, in WAC games, is 18.0 — 11.4 yards better than the second-place Warrior. Most significant, Pilares catches passes 80 percent of the time he is the primary receiver.

It is hoped Pilares will help open an offense that failed to score four of the five times it was in the red zone against Utah State last week. The Warriors will return to a more vertical offense. That means less reliance on shovel passes. Against Nevada, the Warriors netted zero yards on two shovel passes. Last week against Utah State, they did not attempt a shovel pass. The renewed emphasis coincides with Alexander, who has a powerful throwing arm, being named the full-time quarterback. It also means the Warriors will not call three consecutive running plays again.

Libre, who appears to have conquered ankle problems, is displaying the elusiveness he showed last season.

HAWAI'I DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LE—94 David Veikune 6-3 265 Sr.

LT—96 Fale Laeli 6-1 305 Sr.

LT—93 Keala Watson 6-3 320 Sr.

RT—95 Vaughn Meatoga 6-2 305 Sr.

RT-99 Josh Leonard 6-3 305 Sr.

RE—59 John Fonoti 6-2 255 Jr.

OLB—44 Adam Leonard 6-0 235 Sr.

MLB—17 Solomon Elimimian 6-0 225 Sr.

MLB—13 Brashton Satele 6-1 255 Jr.

OLB—59 R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane 5-11 225 Jr.

LCB/NB—2 Ryan Mouton 5-10 175 Sr.

LCB—3 Jameel Dowling 6-3 200 Sr.

FS—24 Desmond Thomas 6-2 170 Sr.

FS/NB—35 Keao Monteilh 5-11 200 Sr.

SS—7 Erik Robinson 5-10 200 Sr.

RCB—23 Calvin Roberts 5-11 175 Sr.

Outlook: Mouton, who started the past two games at slotback, now will be used primarily as a defensive back. Mouton, who is the Warriors' best cover defender, was missed on defense — as a blitzer. Mouton is the team's best athlete. He can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds, and he has recorded a 39-inch vertical jump. But he also has become a skilled nickelback, particularly when he sneaks into the tackle box as a blitzer. Mouton has learned to read the openings created by linebackers Leonard and Elimimian. He was missed as a perimeter defender against Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick and as a pass-rusher against Utah State quarterback Diondre Borel.

Veikune played one his best games against Utah State. Borel was hit 20 times, 11 by Veikune. Veikune also raises the intimidation factor because he usually approaches from the front side. NFL scouts have taken notice of Veikune's standout play. One scout told the UH coaches that Veikune projects to be a second-round player. It is envisioned that Veikune will be a linebacker in the pros, mostly likely on the outside although he is capable of playing the middle. Veikune and Mouton have been invited to play in an all-star game matching a team representing Texas against the rest of the states. Mouton, who was raised in Texas, and Veikune, who was not, have been asked to play for Texas.

HAWAI'I SPECIALISTS

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PPK—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—89 Malcolm Lane 6-1 180 Jr.

PR—85 Aaron Bain 5-8 190 Sr.

Outlook: After reviewing videos, the malfunction that led to two missed field-goal attempts could be traced to an error in the blocking scheme. The coaches believe the problem has been corrected. What's more, Kelly has been booming kicks in this region's thin air.

Despite the unforced fumble last week, Lane is being counted on to energize kick returns. He now is averaging 31.0 yards per kickoff, which would place him in the nation's top 10 if he met the minimum number of attempts.

NEW MEXICO STATE OFFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

X—18 A.J. Harris 6-0 210 Sr.

H—10 Marcus Anderson 5-8 166 Jr.

LT—73 Patrick Blount 6-3 275 So.

LG—76 Chuck Taylor 6-3 345 So.

C—62 Mike Grady 6-3 302 Fr.

RG—65 Polo Gutierrez 6-2 304 Sr.

RT—74 Joe Suder 6-5 346 Jr.

Z—28 Chris Williams 5-8 157 Sr.

TE—17 Kyle Nelson 6-4 232 So.

Y—81 Kenneth Buckley 5-9 187 Sr.

QB—12 Chase Holbrook 6-5 246 Sr.

RB—3 Marquell Colston 5-9 205 Jr.

Outlook: The Aggies have one of the nation's most prolific quarterbacks (Holbrook) and two productive receivers (Williams and Harris). But the bottom line is: Joe Palmer. The Aggies have only six healthy offensive linemen, leaving Palmer as the top backup at tackle, guard and center. The blocking will be key for the Aggies, who run a variation of the four-wide offense (although they employ a tight end instead of a second slotback). Holbrook is the face of the program — and the symbol of the Mumme regime. Mumme and Holbrook were both at Southeastern Louisiana in 2004. After Mumme was hired as the Aggies' head coach, Holbrook soon followed, sitting out the 2005 season in accordance with NCAA transfer rules. But Holbrook was clearly the Aggies' best passer during the 2005 practices. Holbrook is tall, strong and mobile. He is ranked 15th nationally in passing yards (265.75). But discard last week's cameo appearance — he played about a quarter before departing — and his average is 294.5, which would rank eighth nationally.

Williams and Harris offer polar styles. Williams is thin, but fast. He is capable of running 40 yards in 4.37 seconds and 200 meters in 21.2 seconds. He ran the anchor leg for his state champion 1,600-meter relay team. Williams leads the WAC with 7.25 receptions per game. But Harris, who can run 40 yards in 4.57 seconds, is the Aggies' career leader with 240 receptions.

NEW MEXICO STATE DEFENSE

Pos.—Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

LT—24 Justen Alford 6-2 227 JR.

N—9 La'auli Fonoti 6-4 253 Sr.

RT—95 Oren Long 6-2 260 Sr.

LE—35 Chris Nwoko 6-1 228 Sr.

M—42 Nick Paden 6-3 235 Sr.

RE—34 Jason Scott 5-10 207 Jr.

LBS—41 Brennen Baiamonte 6-1 211 Sr.

RBS—31 Alphonso Powell 5-9 182 So.

LC—4 Davon House 6-0 172 So.

FS—22 Derrick Richardson 5-10 190 Sr.

RCB—20 Marvin Betts 5-9 180 Sr.

Outlook: After Woody Widenhofer, who was influential in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Steel Curtain defenses, retired at the end of last season, the Aggies wasted little time in finding an equally innovative successor. Joe Lee Dunn is a Mr. Fix-It, improving defenses at South Carolina, Memphis, Ole Miss, Arkansas State and Mississippi State. His tool is a 3-3-5 scheme that is similar in formation to the Okie defense the Warriors use in pass-prevent situations. The difference is the 3-3-5 is Dunn's base defense, and it is flexible enough to attack the run. Dunn can move up defensive backs to create a 3-5-3 look. Sometimes, the Aggies will use only two down linemen. All of the time, they will camouflage their blitzers.

For now, the Aggies have focused on defending spread-passing offenses. The Aggies are ranked third nationally in pass defense, allowing an average of 145.38 yards per game. To be sure, statistics can be misleading. Opponents are averaging 24.5 pass attempts per game. The yards-per-completion average is 11.08. What's more, the Aggies have amassed only 14 sacks, an average of 1.75 per game.

Richardson, who can run 40 yards in 4.57 seconds, is the busiest Aggie, averaging a WAC-high 13.5 tackles per game. He has 95 total tackles, 22 more than runner-up Paden, despite playing in one fewer game.

NEW MEXICO STATE SPECIALISTS

Player Ht. Wt. Cl.

PK/P—96 Kyle Hughes 6-0 184 So.

LS—17 Kyle Nelson 6-4 232 So.

H—29 Doug McDaniel 5-10 193 Sr.

Outlook: Hughes has an efficient short game — he has converted three of four field-goal attempts from up to 29 yards and is perfect on 24 point-after kicks. But he is only one of four from beyond the 30.

Visit Tsai's blog at http://hawaiiwarriorbeat.com.