Kenny Patton views the afternoon hours spent at Ching Field as his way of giving back to the Hawaii football program.

Patton, a former Warriors cornerback, has been helping the current defensive backs with their offseason training, leading drills and providing structure to their voluntary workouts.

“;Any way I can help out, I'm happy trying to give back to these guys,”; Patton said. “;I'm happy these guys are coming out and working hard and are hungry for it. It makes it a pleasure.”;

Patton put together a program combining drills he learned while playing for UH and in his NFL experiences with the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders.

“;It was a brief stint, however I did learn a lot,”; Patton said. “;I just tried to soak up as much as I can and break things down, add to it and be creative and just motivate these guys.”;

Patton is now a special education teacher at Radford High School and got involved with the Warriors this summer when senior safety Spencer Smith gave him a call asking him to help with the training sessions. He initially started with two players, but the group had grown to close to a dozen for Tuesday afternoon's workout.

Coaches aren't allowed to work with the players in the voluntary sessions.

So Patton hopes providing guidance in footwork and quickness drills will give the Warriors defensive backs a head start going into fall camp.

“;Football's a game of inches. If your foot is pointed out just a little too much, that's going to mess with their acceleration and that's the difference between a pass-break and a completion,”; Patton said. “;Every little thing helps.”;

The Warriors enter the season rebuilding a secondary that lost nine letterwinners, including four starters, off last year's team.

Among the returnees who turned out on Tuesday included cornerback Jeramy Bryant and safeties Kenny Estes and Mana Silva. They were joined by newcomers such as junior college transfer Aaron Brown and freshman Mike Wadsworth.

“;We're all young and we have to grow together, so it's going to help us with our chemistry on the field,”; Silva said.

Back in town

Lametrius Davis returned to Hawaii last week and has been taking part in the workouts. The transfer participated in spring practice and was back home in Portland for the early summer. He said he worked out regularly with incoming running back recruit Alex Green, a teammate at Butte (Calif.) College and a close friend since middle school.

“;We did a whole bunch of running, cardio, yoga, stuff like that to get more flexible,”; Davis said.

Davis practiced at both free safety and cornerback in the spring. The post-spring depth chart has him listed as a cornerback, but he said he's open to contributing at either spot.

Short yardage

Kainoa LaCount is optimistic he'll be ready to play this fall after sitting out last season. The former Kailua offensive line standout initially signed with UH in 2008 but didn't earn his associate's degree in time to become eligible last season. LaCount said he completed his requirements from College of the Canyons in the spring semester and has been working to keep in shape.