Whether or not his number is called, London Sapolu can count on his phone ringing after the game.

Last Saturday, Sapolu’s weekly postgame chat with his father — one of the Hawaii football program’s most celebrated alums — followed his most extensive action in his career with the Warriors.

“I want to make my family proud, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Sapolu said. “I got a lot of calls after this game. My dad called and said I did a good job, telling me to keep working hard no matter where I am on the depth chart.”

Close to three decades after Jesse Sapolu’s days as a UH offensive lineman, London stepped in at center when an injury sidelined fellow senior center Sila Lefiti in the first half of the Warriors’ rout of UC Davis.

Sapolu held his own in the middle of the Warriors offensive line while executing 65 of the 84 snaps Warriors quarterbacks received that night. The line provided the four quarterbacks time to complete 43 of 60 passes, including seven covering 25 yards or more, while allowing one sack in the 56-14 win.

Lefiti was back with the first unit for Tuesday’s practice and remains the Warriors’ starting center going into their Western Athletic Conference opener at Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

For Sapolu, a 6-foot, 290-pound senior, that means remaining ready while preparing for an opportunity that may or may not come.

Even if it doesn’t, he’s assured of receiving a call of encouragement from his father later on.

“He calls me after every game, even if I don’t play, just telling me to make sure in practice you don’t let up, just keep going,” Sapolu said.

“When I came here, I know a lot of people had their eyes on me,” London Sapolu said. “There’s some pressure, but I don’t let it get to me.”

When he decided to join UH out of Orange Coast (Calif.) College, Sapolu said the only expectations his father placed on him was “to play to the best of my ability.”

“The most important thing he wanted me to do was get an education,” he said.

Sapolu is on track to graduate with a degree in political science in the spring, and his study in the film room contributed to his on-field improvement after playing just a couple of series as a junior.

“He’s gone to the moon … since he’s been here,” UH offensive line coach Gordy Shaw said of Sapolu’s progress.

“There’s a big adjustment from junior college to here and he’s confident now, that’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed about him. He’s confident in what direction he sends the line and how he sets the protections. His technique has improved two times over.

“He’s not the tallest guy, so he’s got to be letter perfect. It got him a couple times, but overall he played a very solid game for us.”

Sapolu’s appearance last week was just the latest in a series of injury-related adjustments for the UH offensive line over the first four games.

Along with Lefiti resuming full duties at center, Chauncy Winchester-Makainai returned to practice Tuesday and is slated to back up Levi Legay at right tackle. Winchester-Makainai was the starting right guard for most of fall camp, but hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in the opener against Colorado.

Shaw said senior Andrew Faaumu and redshirt freshman David Lefotu will continue to share time at right guard. Like Sapolu, Lefotu saw his first extended action in last week’s game.

“(Lefotu) played really well,” Shaw said. “He did some redshirt freshman mistakes, but he also did some good things and I expect him to be much better this week.”