Couple of starters may be sidelined

Inside linebacker Julian Gener resumed practicing with the University of Hawaii football team on Wednesday, but there still were concerns about strong safety Trayvon Henderson and left tackle Ben Clarke.

Henderson has a leg injury and might miss Saturday’s game against UC Davis at Aloha Stadium. Daniel Lewis replaced Henderson during the 38-0 loss to top-ranked Ohio State the past weekend.

Clarke, who was wearing a medical boot, did not practice the past two days. UH coach Norm Chow said the boot is a "precaution," and he expects Clarke to make his 40th consecutive start.

"He’ll be ready," Chow said.

Leo Koloamatangi, a fourth-year junior, has been practicing as the No. 1 left tackle.

"You just go out and do your job," said Koloamatangi, who credited Clarke as being "my mentor — on and off the field. That’s my guy."

Five minutes before the Warriors were to run onto the field against Ohio State, Gener noticed that his urine was dark red. He was taken to a Columbus hospital for medical tests, and did not play in that game.

"I scared everybody, and myself even more," Gener said.

Initial tests were inconclusive. Further tests in Hawaii on Tuesday showed Gener suffered from myoglobinuria. Translation: Myoglobin, a muscle protein, was found in his urine.

"It looked like blood — it was the pigmentation color of blood — but it wasn’t blood," Gener said.

He was cleared to practice on Wednesday while being instructed to hydrate and detox sufficiently.

"As of right now, everything is looking good," Gener said. "I’m extremely mad I missed Ohio State, but I can’t dwell on the past. The outcome was what it was."

Chow said: "It was scary, but he’ll be fine."

Defensive coordinator Tom Mason said Gener is key to the 3-4 defense.

"He’s the guy who gets everybody lined up," Mason said.

In Gener’s absence, Benetton Fonua produced a game-high 12 tackles.

Mason also praised Lewis, a sophomore from Louisiana, as a "playmaker."

"Daniel Lewis just goes out there and plays football," Mason said.

The safeties –Henderson, Lewis, Marrell Jackson, Damien Packer, Dany Mulanga and Gaetano DeMattei — are close friends.

"It’s sad," Lewis said of Henderson’s situation. "But I know he’ll bounce back. When you see a fellow teammate go down … you don’t take things lightly. You go out there and you play hard for him and yourself."

Koloamatangi was one of the first to commit to Chow’s initial UH recruiting class in 2012.

"I signed as a tight end," Koloamatangi said. "I envisioned playing tight end."

But in that first training camp, the Warriors had four other tight ends but only one left tackle.

"That’s when we made the move," Koloamatangi said.

That also was when he decided to fit the position physically. He said he gained more than 80 pounds in 2012, when he redshirted. He now weighs 295.

The Warriors will have modified practices Thursday and Friday.