Who impressed you? That’s the question everyone who goes to University of Hawaii football practice on the first day gets asked.

Here’s my answer:

Darius Bright, Duke Bukoski, Tony Grimes, Art Laurel and Sean Shroeder.

That doesn’t mean they were the best of the 100-plus Warriors on the field Thursday. It doesn’t even mean they’re going to end up starting when UH opens at USC in four weeks (one of them can’t play this season). The coaches’ tape review will surely come up with other standouts. The eyes of fans watching from the hill, too.

And remember, this was just the first day.

But, to borrow one of June Jones’ favorite sentences, these guys caught my eye.

» Bright, a big wide receiver his first two years at Manoa, is now a sleek tightend. He’s listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 230 pounds, and he made a couple of catches Thursday. Most important, he looked comfortable. Like he knew what he was doing.

Bright often seemed lost in the run-and-shoot, which is so nuanced that some receivers never get the hang of it. New coach Norm Chow’s offense isn’t simplistic, but it also isn’t based heavily on sight-adjusted routes requiring decision-making in the middle of plays. In the run-and-shoot, if the QB zigs and the receiver zags … well, you get to see your favorite team’s offensive players try to tackle a defensive player.

The questions for Bright will be if he can block and if he can consistently get off the line into his routes. If he can, expect a fine senior season from him, and perhaps a place in the NFL Draft.

» Bukoski is a freshman receiver with good size (6 feet, 205 pounds) and speed and competitive fire. He caught passes all over the field Thursday. Unfortunately, you must be patient: the former Saint Louis School star is redshirting after transferring to UH from Idaho State.

» Grimes is a 6-foot, 175-pound junior cornerback with a checkered past, including trouble with the law at his junior college in Arizona just a few months ago. Personally, I have serious mixed feelings about one of my alma maters and home state’s college seemingly always being Second Chance U (or third chance in Grimes’ case, since he was sent on his way by Ole Miss as a freshman).

But I just had to see him on one play Thursday to understand why the risk has been taken. Athletically, Grimes is elite.

He and Mike Edwards at the other corner have a chance to be special. But please, no silly "best UH duo of all time" talk, at least until the games start; we owe that much to Jeris White and Hal Stringert.

» When I think of the 6-foot, 235-pound Laurel, the word "solid" comes to mind. His 61 tackles last year as a sophomore linebacker were fourth on the team. Expect a lot more this year with Corey Paredes and Aaron Brown not around to hog all the stops.

On Thursday, Laurel tore the helmet off a running back while causing a fumble.

» Schroeder is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound quarterback who has two years of eligibility and a bachelor’s degree from Duke.

I wouldn’t say he passed better Thursday than the other competitors for starting QB, David Graves and Jeremy Higgins. But his grasp of the offense despite just one month on the island is impressive, and it’s definitely a three-way race.

"Our philosophy is that if we bring guys in, we want to give them a chance," Chow said.

We’ll see if Schroeder is for real when the defense starts to pass rush.

"We like him, but we will know more about him when we see him in some live stuff," offensive coordinator Tommy Lee said. "See how he reacts."

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783.