Christmas Eve’s Hawaii Bowl opponents — Fresno State and Houston — found success in their first full day in paradise.

Both teams spent early Wednesday firming their 2018 recruiting classes. Wednesday was the start of the three-day, early-signing period for football prospects.

“We had a plan for a long time,” said Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford, whose Bulldogs arrived in Honolulu late Tuesday afternoon. “We were up late (Tuesday) night trying to be on the phone with people and up at 4:30 (Wednesday). All of our (recruits) got their stuff in early. It was great.”

The Bulldogs had two officials remain in Fresno to process copies of letters of intent sent through fax, text and e-mail.

The Bulldogs received a boost because starting quarterback Marcus McMaryion and running back Josh Hokit count as members of the 2018 recruiting class. Two transfers who are redshirting at Fresno this season — Michiah Quick and Romello Harris — also are considered 2018 recruits.

Houston, which arrived early Wednesday on a charter flight that was delayed, secured signed commitments from 21 recruits. They will have at least two scholarships available for the February signing period.

“It started off when we landed,” Houston coach Major Applewhite said of the commitments. “We signed great players. We had a great recruiting class we’re continuing to work on.”

Fresno State practiced for two hours at the University of Hawaii’s Ching Athletic Complex. Last month, the Bulldogs defeated the Rainbow Warriors in a game that was interrupted for 41 minutes because of lightning threats near Aloha Stadium. Asked if that gave the Bulldogs a familiarity advantage, Tedford said, “Fields are fields. They’re all the same size. That really doesn’t matter. It’s kind of familiarity with the locker room is all you can say. We’ve been there before.”

After taking over a team that went 1-11 last year, Tedford has guided the Bulldogs to a 9-4 record this year and the West Division title.

“I don’t think we ever felt we arrived,” Tedford said. “We still don’t. We still have a lot of work to do to continue to get better.”

Applewhite was promoted from Houston’s offensive coordinator to head coach when Tom Herman resigned to become Texas’ head coach in December 2016. Applewhite is back to calling the offensive plays this weekend. Brian Johnson, who served as the Cougars’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, resigned two weeks ago to accept a coaching job at Florida.

“It’s been an extra duty, but one I’ve done before,” Applewhite said.