Quotes from Day 2 of camp

WR coach Craig Stutzmann said that they fill in names at the WR position on the depth chart "with pencil because on the other side there's an eraser":
"And no matter what you do, you can always go up or down." (HA)

About the battles at each position (Salas/Lane are now #1 at wideout, Bain/Washington are now #1 at slotback)
"That's what fall camp is for — evaluation and really getting the guys ready. I think once this week is done, going into the second week, we'll really start solidifying some spots." (HA)

Stutzmann said that their WR group is:
"peppered with new guys and inexperience. At the beginning of practice one guy will look great, and at the end of practice another guy will look great." (HA)

HA Note: "Yesterday, Royce Pollard and Daniel Lofton practiced at wideout with the second unit. Neither has game experience, with Pollard redshirting last season and Lofton sitting out the year after transferring from California."

About learning the offense after sitting out last year after transferring from Cal (where he redshirted in 2006), Lofton said:
"I'm just trying to get used to everything; trying to get comfortable with the routes." (HA)

About how he first learned their offense during spring ball, Lofton said:
"Our offense is tough. We rely a lot on our receivers so we have to do a lot of different adjustments and we have to read a lot of coverages. So that's probably a big challenge as far as knowing where to run and what looks you're going to get in the game." (HA)

About how he spent last season watching Rivers and Hawthorne play and analyzing how defenders reacted to different routes, Pollard said:
"In the beginning of the season I wasn't too intense because I was still learning the plays. I was just going off a lot of what (Hawthorne) and (Rivers) were doing. And I was trying to mimic them because I know they did really good." (HA)

Stutzmann said that Pollard is a:
"shifty guy who works his tail off." (HA)

About how his dedicated workouts in Hawaii all off-season, Pollard said:
"I'm still pushing to travel because there's a lot of competition out there and coach tells us every day that the spots are open. So I always look at that as something to keep working on because I don't ever want to think I'm solid in a spot." (HA)

Despite being the son of NFL Hall of Fame WR James Lofton, Daniel Lofton said he just tries to:
"go out and do the best I can do, because people are going to find stuff to critique and when you have that name you almost get criticized way more. People have big expectations." (HA)

HA note: "His father's influence did have an impact on his decision to come to Hawai'i. The Loftons lived in Hawai'i and James Lofton is friends with former UH coach June Jones. Having that familiarity with the Warriors and being a fan of the offense made it seem like the perfect fit, although the timing was a bit off. Lofton attended Cal's fall camp in 2007, and made the switch to Hawai'i the week of the season opener against Northern Colorado."

About transferring to UH from Cal, Lofton said:
"I just felt like this was the place for me to be. I've kind of waited out two years, I just want the opportunity to play." (HA)

About how the new coaching staff plans on substituting with all 4 WR positions, Stutzmann said:
"With this, you keep them fresh and you have a little more confidence in your depth." (HA)

Stutzmann added that they would like to have ready to play:
"four on the outside and four on the inside." (HA)

About how the prospect of playing time will inspire the WRs to work hard at practice, Stutzmann said:
"Before, if you were the fifth or sixth guy, you were never going to see the field. Now, if you perform, you'll get on the field somehow." (HA)

About how he didn't carry the ball much last season, LWJ said:
"My friends, they knew we were a passing team, and they were asking, 'Why aren't they giving you the rock?' " (HA)

Happy with the talk of running the ball more, LWJ said:
"I'm the happiest guy in the world. All this talk about runnin' the rock, I'm loving it." (HA)

About LWJ, Mack said:
"it seemed like every time I turned around he was running down the football field. So, I think he's pretty dang good. I think Leon is the real deal and we need to give him some (carries)." (HA)

About the praise he's been getting from Mack, LWJ said:
"Coach Mac told me to get prepared for this season. He's a firm believer in the balanced attack and has big plans for the offense this season. He has been encouraging me, telling me to get ready and be prepared for it." (HA)

About how he ran so close to Mack to catch a pass in practice yesterday that he brushed the visor off his head, Lofton said:
"The ball kind of led me that way and I got a little scared, I didn't want to hurt him. I caught the ball and he was right there." (HA)

About his near-collision with Lofton, Mack said:
"I was playing too up at the free safety. I'm going to have to deepen a little bit." (HA)

About working on fundamentals this week and not having the team in pads until next week, Mack said:
"Little things are really important, where they point their toes, what their key is, where their hands are. You have to get the repetitions and then you do it naturally." (HSB)

Praising the practices that Mack has been running, Adam Leonard said:
"He is so organized, he has everything in writing, exactly what he wants you to do. He even says if he sees a mistake on film, first he looks at himself, then the coordinators and the position coaches and then he looks at the player. He puts a lot of pressure on himself in being real organized and being real specific with what he wants us to do." (HSB)

About being on the punt protection team, Adam Leonard said:
"As a football player I'll play anywhere the coaches need me. The punt team's an important facet of the game so any players we need on that team no matter where you are on the depth chart, offense or defense, if we need you on the team, you've got to play." (HSB)

About being moved from safety to RB, Peoples said:
"I can do whatever it takes to help the team win, no problem with that. (My last time at back) all we would do is block here, block there. We were basically a lineman, but 150 pounds lighter. Now we have more mental input into the system -- a chance to think on our toes very quickly, as if we are a receiver. Good deal." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Second-year freshman wideout Royce Pollard made two impressive grabs on back-to-back reps yesterday. On the first, he tripped at the start of his route and was nearly flat on his back, but somehow managed to spring himself up off the grass horizontally in an instant when QB Inoke Funaki fired the ball his way."

About catching the pass when he was nearly horizontal on the grass, Pollard said:
"That's something I need to work on, I was just rushing and fell. When I saw the ball, I was just urgent and worked as hard as I could to get it." (HSB)

HSB Note: "On his next sequence, he twisted behind and got a hand on the ball up the middle, then spun around to complete the catch on his back. Both earned cheers from his teammates."

HSB Note: "Yesterday, Greg Salas, Aaron Bain, Mike Washington and Malcolm Lane lined up from left to right in the first group during offensive team drills. Bell (left wideout), Henry (left slot) and Tinoco (right wideout) have taken second- and third-string positions thus far."

About their new WRs, Stutzmann said:
"The first few days of practice for the new guys are the toughest because they gotta learn the plays, they gotta get the timing down with the quarterbacks, and then on top of that they gotta catch the ball. There's a lot of different factors that come into that -- getting off the line of scrimmage, running the route properly, recognizing the coverage. You'll see a lot of dropped balls in the first few days. Of course you don't condone it, but the thing you really look for in the first couple of days is the effort." (HSB)

About how he received tips from Inoke and Tyler during the summer school session and was in a 4-wide system at West LA, Henry said:
"I just want to showcase my football smarts, my IQ, route running, and what I can do after I catch the ball." (HSB)

About how UH's system has more reads on the fly than anything he used at Cerritos College, Bell said:
"It was a bit different, but it's always good to get out here and compete with the team and everything. I felt real good about it. Help the team out wherever I can, try to get as many reps as the coaches allow me to." (HSB)

About how his efforts studying the playbook helped prepare him for practice, Tinoco said:
"I knew all the plays when I went out there, knew what I had to do every route. Knew where to be, how to run it. Had no questions, that's why summer helped out a lot." (HSB)

About how they expect great things from Javonte Taylor, Stutzmann said:
"We're looking at him to stretch the field. His disadvantage is he wasn't able to come out during the summertime. So it's really going to be, how much can he learn in the next two or three weeks leading up to Florida." (HSB)

About how their newcomers are making progress, redshirt freshman Pollard said:
"I feel like they're doing all the right things, working hard. Mike's always looking to get in, Craig's the same way. Ryan's out there doing his thing. And they're all learning. They're all doing good, I feel." (HSB)