By Jason Kaneshiro

Notes from Tuesday’s practice:
>> Richard Torres is the first free safety in the base package. Mana Silva will continue to play with the first unit in the nickel packages.
>> Linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane is nursing a sore ankle and was held out of most of the drills today. Head coach Greg McMackin expects Kiesel-Kauhane will be ready for Saturday’s game at Idaho. “He wanted to practice today, but we told him to just take it easy and get mental reps,” McMackin said.
>> Offensive tackle Adrian Thomas expects to practice tomorrow. Austin Hansen practiced with the first unit at right tackle the last two days while Thomas rested his sore back.

By Jason Kaneshiro

Notes from Greg McMackin’s weekly press conference today:
>> Quarterback Greg Alexander suffered a setback in his recovery from season-ending knee surgery. McMackin said Alexander had another operation Sunday night to treat an infection that had developed in his knee. Alexander had the original surgery on Oct. 3 after suffering torn ligaments in his knee against Louisiana Tech.
>> Defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga might not make the trip to Idaho due to a persistent ankle injury. Meatoga has been limited in practice since suffering the injury against UNLV. “He’s our best tackle and he’s trying to do it, but it’s not healing,” McMackin said.
>> Offensive tackle Laupepa Letuli will miss his third straight game. McMackin isn’t sure about Adrian Thomas’ availability due to a back injury. Austin Hansen, a backup guard, played right tackle in the second half against Fresno State.
>> The offense will work on communicating with a silent count in anticipation of dealing with a raucous crowd at the Kibbie Dome.
>> Whether Greg Salas or Ryan Henry will return punts will be “a game-time decision.”
>> On reviewing the tape after the game: “What I was looking for was if anybody quit, and nobody quit. Everybody played to the end that ballgame. Their attitude and intensity never faltered. Like I say, I believe in them, I talked to them today about that, we’re together as a football team and as a family. We’re going through some adversity right now and we’re going to deal with it within our family.”
>> On Bryant Moniz: “What I like about him is his composure. I like his class, I like his leadership ability, I like his accuracy, I like the way he delivers the ball, and that’s his first ballgame. And he’s got a good crew to work with, and they’ve got to gain confidence. That was our first game as an offense basically in my eyes. And we’re going to improve next week.”
>> On dealing with adversity: “People forget, let’s be real here, we started this season with a brand new defense. We’re playing a lot of young players and young players make mistakes. It doesn’t have anything to do with focus, it has to do with we have a young football team.
“The thing is, we’re not the same team that we even started in camp with. We have been beat up, we have been hurt, we lost our middle backer (Brashton Satele), our quarterback is back in the hospital now. The point is we can talk about little, minute things, but we are a team that is fighting through adversity and we have been all season. I’m just going to say the truth. We’re not making excuses, we’re going to deal with it.”

By Jason Kaneshiro

Notes from Thursday’s practice, the Warriors’ last full session before facing Fresno State on Saturday at Aloha Stadium:
>> Defensive tackle Geordon Hanohano practiced for the first time this week and will be in the rotation for Saturday’s game. The freshman suffered a stinger in the game against Louisiana Tech and was held out of practice until today. The return of Hanohano and Vaughn Meatoga give the Warriors more depth in the middle of the defensive front. Rocky Savaiigaea and Tuika Tufaga are expected to start.
>> The starting defense targeted Chizzy Dimude for much of the scout period. Dimude drew the assignment of simulating Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews, sporting a No. 21 practice jersey.
>> The plan remains to redshirt true freshman Cayman Shutter. But the Punahou graduate got a couple of snaps with the first offense during the team period.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” Shutter said. “I was buckling up my straps going into the huddle.”

“Cayman’s done a nice job as far as learning the stuff. We just wanted to see him in a little live action,” quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said.
>> Freshman safety Mike Wadsworth charged off the edge to block a field goal late in practice.

By Jason Kaneshiro

Hawaii and Washington are scheduled to meet on Dec. 7, 2013 at Aloha Stadium and Sept. 19, 2015 in Seattle, the schools announced today.
The home-and-home contract extends the series beyond the two-game deal that began with a meeting in 2007. The Warriors and Huskies are scheduled to meet again in Seattle in 2011.
“We are pleased to add more Pac-10 games to our future schedules, especially against the University of Washington which has such a successful and proud football tradition,” UH athletic director Jim Donovan said in a release. “We have many alumni in the Northwest, so by extending this series, it will allow us to continue to build our relationships with them.
“These games will also help us in recruiting – both in the Northwest and with a Pac-10 opponent.”
The 2013 nonconference schedule now includes four home games — USC, BYU, Army and Washington. The 2015 schedule has UH playing Colorado at home, with road games at Washington and UNLV.

>> Defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga sat out this morning’s practice, but said he’ll be back in the rotation tomorrow. Chris Leatigaga has been out since suffering a hyperextended knee in fall camp and hopes to be ready to practice next week.

By Jason Kaneshiro

UH athletic director Jim Donovan confirmed that Hawaii and Washington have agreed to a home-and-home extension of their series. Details of the extension are expected to be officially announced tomorrow.
UH and Washington met in 2007 at Aloha Stadium and are scheduled to play in Seattle in on Sept. 10, 2011 to complete the original contract.
Next year’s nonconference schedule is complete. Donovan said UH is working on filling the remaining hole in the 2011 schedule left by Washington State’s cancellation. They have two openings left for 2012 and 2013 and three for 2014.
—————-
A few items from Greg McMackin’s press conference today:
>> On Bryant Moniz taking over at quarterback:  “Bryant Moniz is a guy that we’ve liked all along. His upside is very good. … He’s cool, he’s got a good arm, he can throw every ball, very smart, goes through his progressions. Very athletic. He can get himself out of trouble with his athletic ability.
>> On Greg Alexander’s surgery: “The surgery went really well and he’ll be able to play football in the future. He has a six to nine month recovery period. Unfortunately he doesn’t have any college eligibility left, but who knows what can happen for him. … He’s planning on getting his degree, and he’s a class act. He did so much for this program, he’ll be dearly and sorely missed.”
>> On the players organizing a practice on their own: “Blaze Soares, John Estes and some of the other leaders asked me if they thought they could have a practice. … I thought it was a great idea. It’s leadership. It shows unity. It gave me chills, I was so proud of them. I’ve coached for a long time and never had a team do that. It shows what they think, it shows that they’re taking some ownership and they’re taking some responsibility.”
—————-
Defensive linemen Vaughn Meatoga and Paipai Falemalu have both been dealing with ankle injuries. McMackin said they’ll have to wait and see how they respond in practice this week. Same goes for offensive tackle Laupepa Letuli, who didn’t make the trip to Louisiana Tech due to a knee injury.
“We’re a little beat up but we have some days to catch up. That’s what happens when you’re in a physical ballgame,” McMackin said.

By Jason Kaneshiro

… Monroe, La.

The Warriors arrived here this afternoon after holding their walkthrough at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. They’ll make the half-hour drive to Ruston for tomorrow’s game.

>>  News of today’s earthquake and tsunami in American Samoa struck close to home for about a dozen members of the traveling squad who have family members there. They’ve been monitoring the situation through the evening with some trying to get in touch with relatives.

By Jason Kaneshiro

UH offensive tackle Laupepa Letuli and linebacker Aaron Brown will not make the trip for the Warriors’ Western Athletic Conference opener at Louisiana Tech.
Letuli injured his left knee while working out in the weight room during the team’s break from practice this week. Adrian Thomas and Kainoa LaCount have been working at right tackle in his absence.
Brown has been struggling with a hamstring injury since fall camp.
>> Defensive end John Fonoti worked with the first unit in his first day in pads since returning from a knee injury. He ended the morning soaked in water and Gatorade. Rocky Savaiigaea and Tuika Tufaga emptied the jugs on him to celebrate his birthday.
>> Eliott Purcell, coming off a solid game at UNLV, was first in the rotation at the other end.
>> Punt returner Ryan Henry has missed the last two practices with a tight hamstring.
>> Arizona transfer Kaniela Tuipulotu has been cleared to practice with the scout team. The defensive tackle is coming back from a shoulder injury and is sitting out this season due to transfer rules. “I’m just trying to get out there and try to help them get a look,” Tuipulotu said.

By Jason Kaneshiro

With their week in Las Vegas winding down, the Warriors went through their final preparations for Saturday’s game against UNLV with a light walkthrough at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The team will check out of the Suncoast Hotel, their staging area for the week, prior to the game and head back to Honolulu right after the game.

“Even though there’s casinos downstairs there’s really no distractions,” defensive lineman Vaughn Meatoga said of the team’s stay. “It’s brought us close, especially as friends off the field. We get to know other people and it transfers onto the field the more trust we have in each other.”

>> Tua Mahaley joined the team in Las Vegas to fill Paipai Falemalu’s special teams duties. Falemalu won’t play tomorrow due to a sprained ankle.

>> A crowd of between 30,000 and 32,000 is expected for the game.

By Jason Kaneshiro

LAS VEGAS >> With the Warriors in pads for the first time this week, the second-team defense gave the starting offense a look at UNLV’s schemes during today’s practice at Palo Verde High School. Likewise, the second-team offense, with Shane Austin at quarterback, ran the Rebels’ plays against the first defense.

“I’ve got the hang of that now, I’ve been doing it for the past few years,” said Austin, who joined the team in Seattle last Friday night as a roster replacement for Brent Rausch. “It’s just like playing video games. You just look at the play on the sheet and you go and run it.”

>> Freshman defensive end Paipai Falemalu rolled his right ankle during drills and left the field on crutches as a precaution. “I’ll be all right for Saturday. I just have to stay off of it for now,” he said.

>> Viliami Nauahi, a linebacker in the spring, is now a 250-pound defensive end. Most of his action comes on special teams.

>> UNLV remains a 7-point favorite for Saturday’s game.

By Jason Kaneshiro

The Warriors practiced for about 1 1/2 hours at Palo Verde High School this morning, the offense and defense working on the gameplan on opposite sides of the field.The team will do most of the heavy preparation for Saturday’s game against UNLV at Palo Verde, a short drive away from the Suncoast Hotel.“Coach (Darwin) Rost has really open his doors to us,” UH head coach Greg McMackin said. “It’s real good facilities and the guys had a really good Tuesday workout.”The 8 a.m. practice keeps the team close to its regular schedule at home and allows them to practice while its relatively cool.“We practice in the morning and then we can work all day and (the players) can go do school, keep their normal routine,” McMackin said.>> Defensive end John Fonoti hopes to play this week, but is taking a cautious approach to his return from a hyperextended knee and isn’t sure when he’ll be back in practice. “I have to see how it is by gameday,” he said.>> UNLV head coach Mike Sanford said he expects quarterback Omar Clayton will be ready for Saturday’s game. Clayton left last week’s game against Oregon State in the second half with a knee injury. Speaking during the Mountain West Conference’s weekly teleconference, Sanford said an MRI showed “nothing significant.” He said whether Clayton starts will depend on how he performs in practice this week. Backup Mike Clausen threw two touchdown passes coming off the bench against OSU.