Pace to increase even more at UH’s second practice

It’s really nothing new. It’s just new again, here at the University of Hawaii.

I speak not necessarily of the 5G tempo of Norm Chow’s first practice, but of what it stressed.

After 13 years, real football has returned to the grass practice fields.

Linemen going one-on-one on Day 1. Pads? We don’t need no stinking pads.

Tight ends. Fullbacks. Quarterbacks under center, not several yards behind center. Intense focus on ball security.

I like it. I didn’t hate the run-and-shoot, it was novel and exciting, and it helped save UH football and take it to an unprecedented height.

"It’s a different kind of football," said high-decibel, visor-throwing tight ends coach Phil Rauscher (think Dennis McKnight, squared). "Nothing against what they did here in the past, it won a lot of games."

GIVE FORMER Warriors running back Nate Ilaoa credit for the best sideline observation on the first day.

"No. 8 stands out. Is that one of the Manning brothers? Better check his neck."

As far as we know, Taylor Graham’s neck is fine, never been operated on. But yes, at 6 feet 5 and 235 pounds he is nearly as big as Peyton Manning. And like the newest Denver Bronco, his dad was an NFL quarterback, too.

And Graham can really throw the ball … at least he looked good doing it.

He caught a lot of eyes Tuesday — even though the transfer from Ohio State can’t play in a game until 2013.

So did returnees David Graves, Cayman Shutter and the rest of the QBs. It will be one of them who leads UH into the L.A. Coliseum against USC less than six months from now.

They all looked like they were trying to throw the ball through a brick wall. This was not a day for touch passes. Everyone was fired up.

I hope they all iced their arms really well afterward, because there’s another practice today, at 7 a.m.

Graham is a Chow recruit. Chow tried to get him to UCLA two years ago when he was offensive coordinator there and Graham was rated the 14th best high school QB prospect in the nation. He left Ohio State because he is not the right fit for new Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer’s offense.

But he might be the prototype quarterback for what Chow wants to do here.

"To put it in perspective, at Ohio State with the new offense my chance of ever playing was much less," Graham said. "Knowing that, sitting here one year is better than sitting three years in Ohio."

Of course, whoever ends up with the starting job this season isn’t going to just hand it over without a competition, simply based on the transfer’s pedigree, physicality and potential.

Graves is the odds-on favorite to start against USC, retaining the starting QB spot he was awarded toward the end of last season when Bryant Moniz’s career was ended by injury.

He is now a junior, a versatile athlete who could help UH at other positions (which he has done in the past, on special teams and practicing as a safety).

But behind center is where Graves wants to be, even if it’s going to be a few steps closer to the line of scrimmage than what he’s used to in the run-and-shoot.

Others are thinking about moving him at some point. But not Graves, and not the coaches — at least not yet.

"Yes. No doubt," he said. "I want to be the leader and the Warrior that leads this team into battle."

THERE’S ALWAYS plenty of enthusiasm on the first day of any camp, especially when there’s a new coach. But the players say they don’t expect the staff to let up, and the coaches say they don’t expect the players to let up.

"Every day," Chow said. "We want to play (games) that way, uptempo. The players gave us a good effort today. We just want them to get sharper. We left too many balls on the ground, but I thought the effort was really there."

Chow singled out a few individuals for praise. "(Receiver) Billy Stutzmann did some nice things. And our defensive line is going to be one that people will have to reckon with. (Moses) Samia, Paipai (Falemalu) both performed well."

We’re told today will be even more of a challenge, that there’s another gear.

"(The coaches) made that pretty clear that today was nothing and the pace will pick up tomorrow," said junior Waylon Lolotai, who has moved back to his high school position of tight end. "It’s a world of difference (from last year)."

We already knew Norm Chow is a master of offensive football. If the energy and passion the Warriors put on the field for their first practice under him continues with any kind of consistency, he will succeed as UH’s head coach.