Hawaii quarterback Cayman Shutter is on suspension but not in suspended animation.

He throws about 100 passes each practice, offers encouragement and tutorial sessions to teammates, and plans the exit entertainment of position meetings.

“The quarterbacks tell me I provide some comedic relief,” Shutter said.

What was not a laughing matter was his arrest in March on suspicion of drunken driving. He was suspended for the four remaining weeks of spring training. In June, he pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and was required to pay a fine and attend classes on driver’s education and substance-abuse prevention. He also was suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season, although he was permitted to participate in team activities.

Instead of taking his case to trial, he opted to accept the plea.

“I really did want to take responsibility,” Shutter said. “I did make the mistake. I knew it right away. It wasn’t something that I felt I wanted to back out of.”

Shutter added: ”It was a bad mistake, and I recognize that. There has to be some consequences. I’m lucky there weren’t worse consequences. Quite frankly, there were so many other things that could have happened. We had a speaker from MADD come in and share a story that put things into more perspective. It could have been way, way worse.”

UH coach Norm Chow and Shutter met a couple of weeks ago. From that conversation, Chow decided to invite Shutter to training camp.

“I’m grateful he gave me that chance,” Shutter said.

Before the incident, Shutter was a contender for the starting quarterback’s job. On Monday, Duke transfer Sean Schroeder was named the No. 1 quarterback.

“I don’t want to look back,” Shutter said. “There are so many ways I can contribute now. Once my suspension is up, we’ll deal with that. I just want to look at my situation and see how I can help. Right now, we have three weeks until we get to the Coliseum (for the opener against USC).”

Loyd Jr. gets a first-team look at left tackle

In his first two years at UH, offensive lineman Frank Loyd Jr. was known for his long hair.

Now he has earned the distinction as the left tackle on the No. 1 offensive line. Loyd has been practicing in place of Blake Muir, who is suffering from a groin injury.

Loyd has been impressive in team drills the past two days.

“I’m trying to earn a spot,” Loyd said. “I’m trying to find a way to get to the 1s.”

Loyd even embraced the mandate to cut his hair. The NCAA is cracking down on players whose helmets become dislodged during games. Long hair has been cited as one of the top causes.

“After Coach explained to us that it was a safety issue, I bought into it,” Loyd said. “Maybe it was time for a new look, a change.”

Milovale, Fields await confirmation

Offensive lineman Mike Milovale and cornerback Ronald Fields continue to await confirmation of their junior-college transcripts, a requirement to joining the Warriors.

Chow said Fields has returned to the mainland to meet with counselors at College of San Mateo.

Chow said if Fields does not meet the requirements, a scholarship will be held for him, allowing him to join in January.