In his fourth fall camp with the Hawaii football program, George Daily-Lyles is enjoying the Warriors’ break from the norm.

In past years, the Warriors spent much of August housed in the athletic department’s dance studios while preparing for the season. After beginning their latest camp in the UH dormitories, they relocated to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Sunday for a week’s stay off campus.

"The studios were good, but this steps it up another level," Daily-Lyles said after the first of the Warriors’ two practices on Monday. "This is bringing us closer, and it’s giving us another perspective on life rather than just the football aspect."

Still, the focus on football is one of the attractions for the Warriors in spending the week — which includes three sets of scheduled two-a-day practices — on the military base.

"We have no distractions out here," Daily-Lyles said.

The Warriors practiced at the base’s Earhart Field as planes landed in the background, and the change in scenery comes as Daily-Lyles continues to adjust to a slightly different viewpoint on the field.

A backup middle linebacker for most of the past two years, he’s moved to the outside and is competing for a starting spot at weakside linebacker.

Though there are differences in the responsibilities, Daily-Lyles is quick to remind that "football is football. You see the ball, you see the man with the ball, you tackle the man with the ball."

Daily-Lyles started three games the past two seasons, including the 2010 season opener against USC. But he spent most of the time as a backup in a linebacker unit that featured Corey Paredes and Aaron Brown. The duo led the Warriors in tackles last season and both are now in NFL training camps.

"Those are some big shoes to fill," Daily-Lyles said. "All these linebackers, we have a lot to prove. We all got that chip on our shoulder and we want to go out there and show the coaches and our teammates what we can do and then show our family and our fans."

Junior Art Laurel started 10 games last year and returns on the strong side after leading the team in tackles for loss, but game experience drops off from there.

Brenden Daley and TJ Taimatuia continue to get the bulk of the work at middle linebacker, with freshmen Benny Fonua and Kendrick Van Ackeren also getting reps. Daily-Lyles and Kamalani Alo are the top contenders on the weak side, with Darryl McBride joining Laurel on the strongside.

"Hopefully we prepare them enough, we do enough here and in our next couple weeks, that when it does become live and everything does become real that they just react, they trust their instincts," linebackers coach Tony Tuioti said.

Tuioti, a UH defensive lineman when the team spent fall camp at Barbers Point in the mid-1990s, praised McBride’s performance in defending against the run in Monday morning’s practice and Van Ackeren intercepting two passes in team drills.

Van Ackeren, a converted safety who redshirted last year, reacted quickly to snag a short pass over the middle and later pulled in another interception while tracking a running back downfield.

"I’m still getting comfortable with it and I feel pretty good about it so far. I just have to keep working on taking on those 300-pound guys. That’s probably the hardest part about it for me," said Van Ackeren, who bulked up from 190 pounds when he signed with UH to 215 this season.