JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Wideout Greg Salas managed a smile while cooling off during the second day of football practice at UH.

Mind games begin

The hardest part of joining UH's football team is learning the system in a month of camp

That bewildered look on the faces of Hawaii's new receivers will remain into September.

And that's fine with coach June Jones. The Warriors are loaded two-deep with talented veterans at the four pass-catching spots. He wants his rookies to take this time to thoroughly learn the nuances of the run-and-shoot.

What does he expect them to have absorbed after the first two days of fall camp?

"Nothing," Jones said. "They won't know anything for probably a month to six weeks."

He does like what he sees so far though.

"Today was the first day I really watched the receivers," Jones said. "We have some talented young kids. I really like what I've seen of Malcolm Lane, Mitch Farney and Greg Salas."

Salas originally planned to play cornerback, but is taking reps as a wideout.

"It's pretty good; I'm just trying to take everything in," said Salas, a 6-foot-1, 186-pound freshman from Chino, Calif. "It's all new to me, but I'm gonna hang with it."

Farney is a 5-11, 188-pound slotback. The chances of him playing this year are slim, since UH has two 1,000-yard slots returning in Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins.

But that doesn't deter Farney from trying to pick up the offensive schemes as quickly as possible.

"I love it so far. I'm just trying to check out the offense, learn the routes and the reads," Farney said. "The biggest challenge right now is learning the offense. It's not that complicated, but it still takes time."

The 6-1, 181-pound Lane is a speedy and versatile athlete who played high school ball in Germany.

Jones said he'll decide which of the new receivers get more reps and which go to the scout team soon.

"We'll watch the film tonight and tomorrow and go from there," he said.

Meanwhile, freshman Blaze Soares is learning the schemes at inside linebacker, where he is behind sophomore Solomon Elimimian.

"I'm just happy and feel fortunate to be here," said the 6-foot-1, 225-pound Soares, who spent last year bolstering his academics after graduating from Castle High in 2005 as one of the state's top football prospects. "I'm just going to try to make the best experience possible out of it. Our linebacker crew is real ohana kind of people. They're helping me out, showing me a lot."

Moon over Hawaii: Jones and defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville expressed pride in Warren Moon's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

They coached him when Moon played for the Houston Oilers.

"He's a tough guy. He took a pounding. He got hit by the Raiders about 40 times in a game. You could make anyone a coward if you hit him enough. But he had big, physical toughness and he was a workaholic," Jones said. "He and Nolan Ryan used to work out together year-round. They never missed a day and I don't think it's a coincidence they had two of the longest, most productive careers in pro sports."

Glanville, who was the Oilers head coach, said he sent Moon a congratulatory e-mail.

"I said, you're going into the Hall of Fame, and you fooled everyone into thinking I'm a good coach. Because of the way you played, you made people think I can coach," Glanville said.

Play it again: It's a good thing Mike Goshima has a job at the airport. He'll be there a lot this fall.

"I think I'll have to have a bag packed," Goshima said.

The veteran local football official (nearly 35 years of ILH and college games) from Aiea has been chosen by the Western Athletic Conference to work on instant-replay-review crews. It will entail traveling to the mainland eight times.

This is the first year the WAC will use instant-replay reviews during football games. It is mandated by the NCAA.

Comings and goings: Freshman safety Geoff Hayth left the Warriors after Thursday's first practice. "He was homesick and went home (to Dripping Springs, Texas)," Jones said. The 6-foot, 198-pound Hayth is not expected to return. ... Sophomore outside linebacker C.J. Allen-Jones married Clarissa, his longtime girlfriend, on July 27. Allen-Jones' brother, Cameron, is in camp as a transfer offensive lineman from Marshall. "It's like high school now," C.J. Allen-Jones said. ... Ryan Perry, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound cornerback, is expected to join the team when school starts Aug. 21. Perry is the son of former NFL cornerback Rod Perry.