UH OK without JJ

June Jones missed UH football practice to be at Bill Walsh's funeral

A good operation can run well for at least a little while without its leader.

So it was for the Hawaii football team yesterday, as coach June Jones went to the mainland to attend services for Bill Walsh, who died last week.

Quarterbacks coach Dan Morrison handled the offense, along with Ron Lee (receivers), Wes Suan (running backs) and Dennis McKnight (line).

"Things went smooth, it was pretty easy to step in," Morrison said. "We've watched it for so long we kind of know what to do. But you always miss him because he's such a force on the field. It was real important for him to go up there. The players and coaches wanted for him not to worry."

Colt Brennan didn't have his best day throwing the ball -- at one point, the Heisman candidate missed on three straight passes, with the last hitting receiver Malcolm Lane in the back of the helmet. But he wasn't terrible overall, zipping passes with his typical accuracy for most of the 3-hour practice.

Senior wide receiver Jason Rivers was sidelined, with a sore foot.

"A DB stepped on it (Wednesday). It's a little tender, so it was ice it and come back tomorrow," Rivers said.

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He joined linebacker Blaze Soares (shoulder) and center John Estes (elbow) as starters on light- or no-duty status with injuries.

Defensive ends coach George Lumpkin ran the team in the spring of 2001 when Jones was recovering from his near-fatal car accident.

"He's only gone one day this time, so everything's pretty normal. Everybody knew he'd be gone, so we had a plan in place," Lumpkin said. "We operated the way we always operate."

Jones was expected to return to Hawaii last night. Two-a-days begin today.