New day dawning

Even with an early wake-up ahead, sleep didn’t come easily to Taylor Graham on Monday night.

"As the clock kept going I was getting excited and I couldn’t sleep," Graham said. "I was trying to put it out of my mind and take practice as it comes, but the jitters and the butterflies are there."

Taylor did get a solid five hours before getting out of bed at around 4:45 Tuesday morning. He was out the door at 5:15 to report for opening day of his first spring practice with the University of Hawaii football team.

Graham, who joined the program last summer, then took the lead in the quarterback rotation as the Warriors began formal preparations for the fall with the first of 15 practices spread over the next month.

"The first practice, once you get it out of the way it’s like the first play of a game," Graham said. "You’re excited for the game, but once you get that play over you can just play. That’s how practice is with one down and 14 left. We just want to build off of today and continue to get better."

UH coach Norm Chow altered the Warriors’ practice schedule from last year, shifting away from the afternoon routine for morning workouts this spring.

That meant meeting at 6 a.m. and gathering on the field just before dawn.

"It’s good to get up early, and we’ve got a lot of teaching time in the afternoons, a lot of film work, so it’s good," said senior safety John Hardy-Tuliau, who grew accustomed to morning practices during Greg McMackin’s tenure as head coach.

The teaching aspect is somewhat different compared to a year ago, when Chow and the Warriors coaching staff implemented new schemes in all three phases. Although the returnees have a season in the system, Chow said there will be some new wrinkles introduced by new offensive coordinator Aaron Price and defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer.

"We’re changing a little bit," Chow said. "Aaron’s bringing some things in, Thom’s doing some different things, but that’s what spring is for. Spring is for evaluating talent and also for experimenting with schemes."

Graham is getting the first look in the evaluation process at quarterback after redshirting last fall as a transfer from Ohio State. Sean Schroeder, who started 11 games last year, won’t participate in spring ball due to a back injury and freshman Ikaika Woolsey followed Graham in the rotation.

"We’re not so much learning a new system now," Graham said. "It’s reinstalling it and trying to get better at what we do, refining things. With Coach Price there’s some nuances we haven’t had before, just some slight tweaks. But from what we have so far I’m really excited about it."

Graham said he’d worked on his timing with the receivers in preparation for spring practice and was on target for much of Tuesday’s practice.

"We’re getting there," Graham said. "Obviously the first day we have to work the kinks out, but I think we’ll get there."

Hardy-Tuliau also said he feels more comfortable after a year working in Kaumeyer’s system and was among the defense’s vocal leaders on the first day of practice as the Warriors got to work putting last year’s 3-9 season behind them.

"Once spring ball starts, everyone’s excited for the season," Hardy-Tuliau said. "It’s coming up fast, especially coming from a disappointing season last year. Everybody’s ready to get it going. Everyone’s hyped, the energy’s up."

The first day of spring practice was also an introduction for a few newcomers who joined the program this semester. Among them was linebacker Julian Gener, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio (Calif.) College who worked with the first unit in his first Division I practice.

"Like I’ve said all along, we don’t recruit to redshirt guys," Chow said. "We recruit to bring guys in to look at them right away and see what they’ve got."

Said Gener: "I was a little nervous at first, but once the first play went by I just felt like I was one of the guys. Everything was flowing well."

Since arriving on campus, Gener said he’s spent much of his free time in the coaches offices and meeting with the returnees to get a feel for the plays and concepts.

"The faster you learn the playbook the faster you’ll play," Gener said. "You’re out there just flowing, not thinking. It just comes naturally."