WARRIORS FOOTBALL
Rausch ailing
Greg Alexander took the starting quarterback repetitions at Hawaii football practice today as designated No. 1 Brent Rausch was sidelined with a strained right throwing arm.
Inoke Funaki took the snaps normally given the No. 2 quarterback.
Coach Greg McMackin said he expects Rausch will be fine by Monday and ready to play at Florida on Aug. 30.
"We're just giving him a couple days off," McMackin said. "He's got a little strain in his arm and it affected ... the velocity of his throwing."
Rausch had struggled at this week's practices.
"I'm just giving it rest for a couple of days," Rausch said. "I'm going to get warmed up tomorrow and throw a little bit, but I'm not going to run all the drills. Then Monday I'll be 100 percent."
Alexander threw well today until he was intercepted in team drills toward the end of the two-hour practice.
"I feel like I had a pretty good day. I threw a couple of picks there and gotta eliminate those," he said.
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Tyler Graunke is on his way to being reinstated after being ruled academically eligible.
Graunke had been held out of practice since camp opened Aug. 4 and must complete a physical, among other NCAA requirements, before officially rejoining the team.
"I'm happy for Tyler because he gets to compete his senior year," McMackin said last night.
McMackin said Graunke will not make the trip to Florida next week.
How Graunke will fit into the mix is uncertain.
"We're three weeks into camp and we're in battle mode now," McMackin said.