CRAIG KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Melila Purcell took on a tackling dummy during yesterday's first full practice in pads.

Offense, defense clash

UH’s defense leaves Jerry
Glanville wanting more

The University of Hawaii offense faced the defense yesterday in full pads for the first time in fall camp. The numbers say the defense got the better of it, but some of the football coaches' and players' comments indicate otherwise.

In a 20-play session, quarterbacks Tyler Graunke and Colt Brennan completed five of 17 passes for 42 yards with two interceptions (one each). There were also two bad snaps and running back Bryan Maneafaiga went for 5 yards on a draw play.

Overall, it wasn't pretty for the guys in white and orange. But coach June Jones isn't panicking about his offense, which is rebuilding after losing all the starters at quarterback, receiver and running back.

"For the first day of offense going against defense I thought there were a lot of good things. I liked the intensity," Jones said. "I knew it was going to be a little more turned up with Jerry's (defensive coordinator Glanville) personality. So I was pleased with that. But we've still got a long way to go. We've got a lot of people who are still not doing quite what they are supposed to do. But it will get better every day."

Jones said Graunke and Brennan have a long way to go to be ready for the Sept. 3 opener against USC.

"They both have done a lot of good things, but they both made some errors and you can't make errors. You make errors against USC and it will kill you. So as long as we don't beat ourselves I think we'll be OK."

Graunke completed one pass -- a dump-off to Maneafaiga that resulted in no gain -- in eight attempts.

"The defense came out really intense and we let that get into our heads. We didn't play well today, but there's always tomorrow," Graunke said.

Brennan was 4-for-9 for 42 yards. His 15-yard passes to Ross Dickerson and Kala Latuselu (screen) were the longest gains of the session.

"I felt kind of good about it," Brennan said. "Guys were making plays; there wasn't any timidness out there. Obviously there were some mistakes -- it's the first day. This whole offense is based on making adjustments off of what the defense is doing and we'll get better at that."

The offense didn't complete a pass until the eighth play, when Brennan found Dylan Linkner on a short cross for 4 yards. Linkner was drilled immediately by linebacker Ikaika Curnan with the biggest hit of the day.

Lono Manners and Kenny Patton intercepted passes, and Turmarian Moreland delivered a big hit on Linkner after an 8-yard catch and Moreland also nearly got a third pick for the defense.

"We still have a lot of work ahead of us. On the defense we have to come together. The 11 best players will be on the field and I hope I'm one of them," said Manners, who started at safety last year before breaking an ankle. He was excited to finally get a shot at taking on the offense at full speed. "I was craving that from the day we started camp. I got my chance and it was fun."

Glanville wasn't pleased overall, especially since the offense had more success in a blitz pick-up drill and 7-on-7 passing. Most of the long gains were against the second and third defenses.

"You've been in the witness protection plan too long," Glanville yelled at one player when he caught him not hustling to the ball.

Later, two passes in the middle of the field went for first-down yardage.

"No inside cuts," Glanville pleaded. "It's not that hard. He catches an inside cut your a__ is going home."

Two plays later, Brennan found walk-on receiver David Kaihenui down the middle for a touchdown.

"I'm disappointed," Glanville said. "We have a long way to go. The first team can do some things, but after that we have to be careful about what we call.

"We'll have it fixed by sunlight."

Afternoon session: Following a break after the 3-hour morning practice, the Warriors returned for an hour-and-a-half in the afternoon, without pads, just helmets.

The offense worked on a 2-minute drill. "No words, just hand signals," Jones called out.

Senior wideout Ian Sample returned to action after missing three practices with a strained back.

Special stuff: Walk-on freshmen Daniel Kelly and Jeremy Shibata were sporadic on 35-yard field-goal attempts. ... Kelly and Shibata also took reps at punter, behind incumbent two-year starter Kurt Milne. ... None of the kicks were blocked, despite heavy pressure. ... Davone Bess, Jason Ferguson and Mario Cox (still not in uniform, taking mental reps) were the punt returners. ... Freshman defensive end Jake Ingram is auditioning at long snapper. Starting outside linebacker Tanuvasa Moe is likely to regain the spot he held until last year when Bryce Runge (who has since left the team) was recruited specifically to snap. ... Starting cornerback Patton is apparently out of the snapping picture for now. "I wouldn't mind having three gunners," Milne said.

Short yardage: Junior Renolds Fruean started at nose tackle in the team session. ... Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, normally a defensive end, played some tackle yesterday. ... Freshman slotback Michael Washington is attending practice, but still not suiting up because of a paperwork delay. ... Second-year freshman walk-on safety Dane Porlas was running with the second team yesterday.