Ben Clarke expects a chilly reception when he returns to his home state.

In fact, he’s looking forward to it.

The forecast calls for the temperature in Fort Collins, Colo., to top out in the high-40s on Saturday and could fall into the 30s while the University of Hawaii football team is on the field against Colorado State.

Or as Clarke puts it, "Not too bad for late October."

"I think it’ll be nice to get back in the cold," Clarke said after practice on a typically muggy afternoon in Manoa. "It’ll be exciting."

Clarke grew up in Littleton, Colo., roughly an 80-minute drive south of Fort Collins, and is one of two UH players heading more or less home for Saturday’s Mountain West Conference game.

Clarke, the Warriors’ starting center, has been trying to gather tickets for about 30 friends and family members planning to attend the game at Hughes Stadium. The road trip is also a homecoming for reserve linebacker Dylan McCagg, a senior from Denver.

"I look forward to every game, every game’s big. But it’s nice to get to go home and play in my home state and see some family and friends," Clarke said. "I haven’t seen my family since December, so it’ll be nice."

When Clarke left home last winter, his football future was somewhat hazy. He’ll return entrenched as a starter in the middle of the Warriors offensive line.

He’d been recruited out of Littleton’s Chatfield High School by former UH offensive line coach Gordy Shaw and grayshirted, delaying full-time enrollment until the spring semester to start his eligibility clock this season.

After the program’s coaching change, he remained part of the incoming recruiting class and when he led the Warriors to the line of scrimmage against USC on Sept. 1 he was one of just two true freshmen to start at center for FBS teams.

"He showed up in January and about halfway through spring (practice) he won the job and hasn’t given it up," UH head coach Norm Chow said. "He’s tough and he’s smart.

"That’s what makes coaching enjoyable, you take a young man and you can mold him. I think it’s important to do that."

The learning curve for freshmen tends to be pretty steep as Clarke and left tackle Blake Muir (a redshirt freshman) have gone through some on-the-job training. Along with acclimating to the speed and physical challenges of Division I football, Clarke was also asked to learn a new position when he reported for spring practice.

"Coming in never playing center before and also never playing in college before, I had to catch up pretty quick," Clarke said. "Now I feel good, I don’t really get nervous before the game."

Clarke is the youngest member of an offensive line working through its share of growing pains. The Warriors offense entered the week last in the MWC in yards per game (287.3), ninth in scoring (20.8 points per game); still searching for consistency.

"We’ve picked up the game plan and know what’s going on," Clarke said. "Now it comes down to executing."

Clarke said "half my school" ended up attending Colorado State after graduation and there’s the strong possibility of coming face mask-to-face mask with fellow Chatfield alum James Skelton, the Rams’ starting middle linebacker.

Skelton is part of a Rams defense that ranks sixth in the conference in total defense (420.3 ypg) and seventh in scoring (31.1 ppg).

Both teams come off bye weeks seeking their first conference win of the season.

"(The bye) helped a lot," Clarke said. "We’ve all been banged up and I think we’re all feeling good now. The first bye didn’t really help because it was right after the first game. This one was much needed."