Brennan accurate at practice before icing ankle

By Brian McInnis and Dave Reardon
bmcinnis@starbulletin.com
dreardon@starbulletin.com

After initially throwing with the first-team receivers at the start of the Warriors' morning practice yesterday, quarterback Colt Brennan took it easy and iced his sore ankle while backups Tyler Graunke and Inoke Funaki took over. Graunke slid into first-team duties, while Funaki took over the second unit, as they did prior to Hawaii's victory over Charleston Southern last week.

Brennan didn't appear to be completely fluid during the early reps he did take, but his accuracy remained at Colt-like levels of precision.

Graunke, again seeing increased practice time, displayed his flexibility by going for moderate gains on quarterback keepers on four consecutive downs.

On the final play in practice before the team left for Moscow, Idaho, in the afternoon, sophomore defensive tackle Rocky Savaiigaea batted a Funaki pass high into the air, tracked the ball and made an impressive diving catch behind Funaki, to resounding cheers from the entire defensive unit.

Senior starting wideout Jason Rivers, meanwhile, remained sidelined with a sore back. Malcolm Lane participated in his place.

Hardship year for Reynolds?

Freshman running back Korey Reynolds, who injured his shoulder during the Warriors' two-game road trip to Louisiana Tech and UNLV, has played special teams in three games and is eligible to apply for a medical hardship.

Coach June Jones acknowledged that Reynolds could be a candidate to push back his freshman-year eligibility for next season.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's a possibility," Jones said after practice.

Home from hospital

Freshman quarterback Kiran Kepo'o is home recovering from surgery after a bicycle accident last week on lower campus.

Kepo'o, who was expected to redshirt this year, has been told by doctors that he probably shouldn't return to football for up to six months. His injuries include damage to his left (throwing) shoulder. He underwent surgery last week for a fractured cheekbone and other head trauma.

Kepo'o said he can't remember what happened when he was riding his bike home from a campus library last Tuesday. Campus security found him dazed on the road, and a police report was filed. But it is not known if Kepo'o was hit by a car, said his father, Ken Kepo'o.

"Kiran is getting better and the surgery went as well as can be expected, but we still don't know much about the accident," the father said.

Short yardage

Jared Lene has returned to the Warriors after missing all of fall camp and the first two weeks of the season with a virus that caused him to lose more than 20 pounds. The second-year freshman outside linebacker has regained most of the weight and is practicing with the scout team. ... Washington State basketball star Derrick Low, the former Iolani standout, plans to attend tomorrow's game. The WSU and Idaho campuses are in different states, but less than 10 miles apart.