Florida trip is all business for Peoples, Lane

As if the start of school and preparing to face Florida's defense wasn't enough to keep Malcolm Lane's attention occupied, the Hawaii receiver is scrambling off the field as well as Saturday's game approaches.

"It's stressing me out trying to get tickets for everybody," Lane said before the Warriors departed on their season-opening road trip to Florida yesterday.

After two days of practice in Atlanta, Lane and running back Khevin Peoples will be traveling back to their home state for the Warriors' game against the fifth-ranked Gators at The Swamp.

Lane is slated to start at wide receiver, while Peoples is a reserve running back and special teams player.

Lane hails from Fort Lauderdale and said more than 20 family members are planning to make the 5- to 6-hour drive north to Gainesville for the game.

"It's going to be a good experience. I'm excited to just go back and see my family," said Lane, who also returns kicks for the Warriors. "I've been looking forward to this one since I found out it was on the schedule. Now it's right around the corner."

Peoples, a Tampa product, was a member of the scout team last year and has been a part of the running back rotation in practice.

"Yeah, I guess it's a homecoming, but it's not a vacation," Peoples said.

"I'm not going there to hug my cousins or get money from my grandpa. It doesn't matter who's there, it's still a business trip."

Safety Spencer Smith will actually have the Warriors' first homecoming as the team stops in Atlanta on its way to Florida. Smith is from Marietta, Ga.

Santos earns a spot

Jake Santos entered this season knowing playing time would be tough to come by. Still the senior quarterback's efforts haven't gone unnoticed by the coaching staff, who put him on the 66-player travel roster for this week's game.

"It means a lot. I didn't know if I was going to be going," Santos said.

Santos, a standout junior college quarterback in 2004 and '05, transferred to UH from Missouri Southern last year and redshirted, leaving him one year of eligibility.

He wasn't a part of the competition for the starting job and it appeared the Warriors would bring along just three quarterbacks. But Santos said he found out Saturday night he would be on the trip and will likely run the scout team in practice.

"This isn't charity for him, he's a good player and he's coming up there to help us," quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said.

"I look at Jake kind of like my (graduate assistant). He has a nice calming effect. He knows when to speak up and he's just such a good role model. The effort he puts in knowing he probably won't get a chance to play is a tribute to his character and he's going to be successful in life."

Santos said his mother and older brothers decided to make the trip when he told them he was going.

"I'm glad they're going to get to see me and it shows if you put your time into it and be patient, good things are probably going to come," he said.

Southern hospitality

The Warriors will practice at Georgia Tech tonight and tomorrow morning before flying to Florida. They have a walk-through scheduled at The Swamp on Friday, their first chance to get acclimated to the stadium before Saturday's game.