In what is becoming a moving puzzle of a position, one Hawaii No. 1 receiver resumed practicing Monday but another was sidelined because of what was termed a minor medical condition.
Left wideout Darius Bright, who had been suffering from a sprained big toe on his right foot for about four weeks, participated in all of the drills during Monday’s practice.
Billy Ray Stutzmann, the No. 1 left slotback, did not practice. He said he had tightness in his right hamstring, but did not consider the condition to be serious. He said he will resume practicing in another day or two.
With right slotback Miah Ostrowski recovering from a tight hamstring, the four projected starting receivers have not practiced together in the first five days of training camp.
“It just means somebody else has to step up,” quarterback Bryant Moniz said, with a shrug.
Right wideout Royce Pollard is the only returning No. 1 receiver.
“We don’t want to rush anybody back,” offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said. “But we would like to practice with all four of our (No. 1) receivers.”
Bright suffered his turf toe during a charity event last month. When he reported to camp last week, his right big toe still was swollen. He said it improved after twice-daily sessions of the Accelerated Recovery Performance machine, which uses electrical pulses to increase blood circulation.
The turf toe “was killing me, but the ARP machine made the healing process faster,” Bright said. “It was a big turnaround. I felt really good this (past) weekend. I knew I would be ready to go out there.”
Bright made several catches during the scrimmage-like session. He earned praise for a hard cut on an out route, which drew a defender away from slotback Justin Clapp.
Later, he caught a pass on a slant route. But cornerback Mike Edwards stripped away the football.
“I was ready to take off, ready to stride, and (Edwards’) hand was right there,” Bright recalled.
But then Edwards fumbled, and Bright pounced on the football.
“That was the lesson: never give up,” Bright said.
