Far off the Makaha coast, where it was difficult to tell whether their skin was salty from sweat or the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz and right wideout Royce Pollard found a way to improve their teamwork.

"We took a two-man canoe all the way out, where you only can hear the water hitting the side of the canoe," Pollard said. "We couldn’t hear anything else."

From there, they sprint-paddled toward the shore.

"Without stopping," Pollard said.

Pollard said it was an exercise in strength, stamina and cohesiveness.

"You have to be on the same page," Pollard said. "If one person stops paddling, the other person can feel it. It’s teamwork. It’s the relationship we worked on."

Moniz and Pollard are the Warriors’ only returning starters on offense.

"We have a really good connection," Moniz said, "and a good friendship. We’ve got a lot of things down in the offense."

Saturday’s practice was the first in which the Warriors were allowed to wear shoulder pads. In the 11-on-11, full-speed drill, Moniz looked left, then threw an inside screen to Pollard on the right. Pollard eluded two defenders, then raced untouched to the end zone to complete the 50-yard scoring play.

"Those two guys know what to do," head coach Greg McMackin said.

Pollard said: "It’s just the reps. We put in a lot of time together. We’re thinking the same. We’re still developing. There are always things we can develop on."

In addition to the UH-implemented conditioning program this summer, Moniz set up "Camp Wahiawa," turning his alma mater, Leilehua High, into a training facility.

Moniz invited Pollard to work out.

"Mo had a nice setup," Pollard said. "We had weights. We had a field to work on. We had cones for drills."

Soon after, they invited the other receivers and quarterbacks. To save money, the players worked out a carpool schedule.

"We got a lot of things done," Moniz said.

When the house where Pollard lives was being treated for termites, he was invited to join Moniz’s family on a camping trip. Moniz said that was the first time Pollard went surfing.

Moniz and Pollard have been tutoring the other receivers. Two of the three new starters — left wideout Darius Bright and right slotback Miah Ostrowski — did not practice Saturday while recovering from ailments. Bright has a sprained big toe on his right foot, and Ostrowski has a pulled hamstring. Backup receivers Chris Gant, Cecil Doe and Donnie King also did not practice because of nagging injuries.

"We don’t want them to rush back and end up hurting themselves worse," Moniz said.

Bright said he suffered his injury participating in a charity event three weeks ago. His treatment involves the Accelerated Recovery Performance machine, which uses electrical pulses to improve blood flow.

Bright said he undergoes two 15-minute ARP sessions each day.

"It works," said Moniz, who suffered from a similar turf-toe injury last year.

Moniz said the ARP treatment is "pretty painful. It’s worse than the injury. I don’t want to get hurt because I don’t want to get the treatment."