It took a little while for Jake Ingram to fully accept his role.

Now he's completely embraced it.

Ingram walked on with the Hawaii football team in 2005 with designs on competing on the defensive line. But four games into his freshman season he stumbled onto a job that could extend his playing career beyond the two games left in his senior season.

“;Last year I really buckled down,”; Ingram said, “;but this year from the offseason all the way through I had my mind set 100 percent on, 'I'm a long snapper and I want to be the best at it.' “;

Ingram takes pride in performing a duty best rewarded by anonymity and has fired 111 snaps into Tim Grasso's hands on punts and place-kicks without incident this season entering Saturday's senior-night game against No. 13 Cincinnati.

Although he averages 9.25 opportunities per contest, Ingram estimates the number of practice snaps he'll make on the sideline during the game at close to 100.

Then there's practice.

“;One time Tim and I tried to do the math - it's thousands,”; Ingram said. “;It's a lot.”;

Those repetitions have developed a consistency that's the measure of a long snapper and has drawn the attention of pro scouts.

“;Every single guy knows about him,”; said Warriors associate head coach Rich Miano, UH's liaison with NFL teams. “;I wouldn't be surprised if he gets drafted if someone needs a long snapper.”;

Ingram, who's grown accustomed to an upside-down view of the game, didn't take such a favorable view of his specialized role at first.

Ingram was asked to fill in when former Warriors linebacker and long snapper T.J. Moe injured his hand prior to UH's game at Louisiana Tech in 2005. He remembers his first snap coming on a second-quarter punt.

“;That was probably the least pressure I ever felt as a long snapper,”; Ingram said. “;I remember it like it was yesterday.”;

The Mililani graduate figured he'd still be in the mix at defensive end, having seen playing time early as a freshman. But it soon became clear his substitute role had become permanent.

He recalled playing on the kickoff-return team against New Mexico State when, “;Coach (June) Jones noticed I was out there and he was 'What's Jake doing out there? Get him off the field. He's going to get hurt.' From then on I had to come to the realization that I was a long snapper.”;

“;I struggled with it for probably a year,”; he said. “;I still wanted to play defensive end. I felt like I was selling myself short. Really I wasn't, but at the time I thought I was. I was still defensive minded and wanted to make my name as a D-end. But times change and you have to adjust.”;

He continued to hone the craft, and his present devotion to the job was evidenced by his reaction when Grasso had to reach up for a snap against Boise State this season.

“;He didn't have to jump for it, but he caught it over his head. Jake is upset about a snap like that,”; special teams coach Ikaika Malloe said. “;As long as it's catchable, it's a good snap to me. That's how important he takes his job.”;

Malloe said Ingram consistently gets the ball to Grasso in 0.67 seconds, 0.65 if he really muscles up on one, contributing to a goal of getting the kick away in less than 2 seconds and taking pressure off the protection unit.

Once the ball is out of his hands, Ingram takes pleasure in helping cover the kick.

“;My favorite part is when I get to run down the field and you get a chance to make a play,”; he said, “;hit somebody, make a tackle.”;

Ingram is hoping to take his skills to the pros, but is keeping those thoughts in the background with the Warriors still looking forward to Saturday's regular-season finale and the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

“;I'll be blessed if I can do it at the next level,”; Ingram said. “;Right now, I have to take care of business the last two games. One bad snap and it's done.”;

Still hurting

Receiver Greg Salas sat out yesterday's practice to rest a sore leg, joining running back/slotback Kealoha Pilares and defensive back Ryan Mouton on the sideline. McMackin said all three could be ready for today's practice.

Erik Robinson returned to practice at safety and Mana Silva was back on the kickoff unit after missing the last three games with a sprained ankle.

Big East crew coming over

An officiating crew from the Big East will make the trip to Honolulu to call Saturday's game between the Warriors and Bearcats. The arrangement is written into the contract agreed to by the schools.

“;It's an unusual situation, but not necessarily a bad one,”; said UH athletic director Jim Donovan, who was not involved in the negotiations. The contract was finalized last year prior to previous AD Herman Frazier's departure.

The last meeting between the teams in 2002 ended in an on-field brawl following UH's 20-19 comeback win.