In his first team meeting as Hawaii head football coach, Nick Rolovich asked for questions from the players.

Safety Trayvon Henderson’s hand was the only one raised.

“He asked if he could play both ways,” Rolovich recalled of Henderson’s request to be used as receiver. “It was a joke, and everybody was laughing … until today, leading this football team.”

After Monday’s practice, Rolovich announced Henderson, quarterback Dru Brown, left guard John Wa‘a and safety Daniel Lewis were selected as co-captains in polling of players. Each Rainbow Warrior was required to rank his top four choices from among the more than 100 players on the training-camp roster. Rolovich said Henderson, a fifth-year senior from Sacramento, received the most votes.

“I appreciate that,” Henderson said.

Even when he medically redshirted in 2015 because of a knee injury, Henderson has served as mentor to the other defensive backs.

“I don’t want to force anything upon anybody,” Henderson said. “I’ll always tell people: ‘You have the option to do whatever you want. I’m not going to bully you into it. But if you need help, come to me.’ ”

Henderson also said he was sincere during that team meeting in November 2015. “I didn’t ask for anything else but how I could help out the team,” Henderson said. “If it meant playing both ways, extra reps, I’ll do it. I’ll play all three phases. If they need a jump-ball (receiver) in the red zone, give me that. Easy.”

Rolovich said Henderson has progressed “as a person and as a player. This is a big, important season for him. … Trayvon got the most votes. He’s shown why he’s such an important player for us.”

Lewis received a medical hardship for the 2016 season. He underwent surgery for a sports hernia in December.

“I wasn’t around and able to contribute as much on the field (in 2016), but I continued to do my part off the field, being that vocal leader that each team needs,” said Lewis, a fourth-year junior from Louisiana. “Now that (the captaincy) has been set forth and put in stone, I have to take it to the next level and be even more of a leader, more of a leadership role. Like my coach told me, it’s the things that we won’t do that are the things that are going to be magnified.”

Brown, a sophomore from San Mateo, Calif., has been viewed as a leader since being named the No. 1 quarterback last year and leading the Warriors to six victories in 10 starts. Two weeks ago, Brown and middle linebacker Jahlani Tavai represented the Warriors at the Mountain West Conference’s Media Summit in Las Vegas.

The captaincy was “something I hoped I’d get the honor of receiving, especially from your peers, the guys you’ll be playing with,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, we’re called into a room … and you’re allowed to pick four names. The fact the guys on the team chose me as one of the four, that means a lot to me.”

Wa‘a, a fifth-year senior and Kahuku High graduate, has been effective on pulls and pass protection. The Warriors have been successful running to the left side behind Wa‘a and left tackle Dejon Allen.