The University of Hawaii football team begins the second part of the season with 15 extra practices to prepare for its Hawaii Bowl appearance against Louisiana Tech.

Rainbow Warriors coach Nick Rolovich views these workouts as an opportunity not only to prepare for his second bowl appearance in three years, but to develop the young talent waiting and watching on the sidelines for their chance to make an impact.

The Warriors successfully rebounded from last year’s 3-9 season, after which several players and assistant coaches departed. Had the 8-5 Warriors failed to make it to the postseason, it would have been spring before the underclassmen would have had an organized practice.

With the bowl bonus, developing young players will be a point of emphasis for Rolovich and his coaching staff. Granted, a game plan will be designed to beat fellow former Western Athletic Conference member Louisiana Tech. But getting the young guys deeper into the playbook is also part of the process as the team prepares for its Dec. 22 meeting with the Bulldogs.

Here are three players benefiting from the extra workouts:

Justus Tavai

It is not uncommon for Tavai, a sophomore defensive lineman, to receive an autograph request. “There’s about 90 percent of this island calling me ‘Jahlani,’” said Tavai, who bears similar features in face and long hairstyles with his linebacker brother.

Justus Tavai is hopeful of distinguishing himself as a hybrid lineman who can play nose tackle or 3 technique. After transferring from El Camino College (Torrance, Calif.) this summer, Tavai is redshirting this season. He has not appeared in any games this year, and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

For most of the season, he has played on the scout defense that is simulating an upcoming opponent’s schemes. It also means he has gone against the Warriors’ starting offensive line. He has practiced against players with different sizes, techniques and temperaments.

“Every player has to do something for the team,” Tavai said. “They can’t be selfish.”

On Monday, Tavai took reps with the regular defensive rotation. “It’s helping us with our fundamentals getting in these extra plays and practices to work on our skills and improve on them,” Tavai said.

Wyatt Tucker

Third-and-long is Tucker’s daily situation. He is the backup to the backup to starting long-snapper Noah Borden.

“It’s good to learn the ropes and the schemes from him,” Tucker said of Borden. “He’s just a humble guy. You would never know he’s the starting long-snapper for Hawaii. … If he does have a bad snap, the next one is going to be perfect. If he does have something go wrong that day, he doesn’t let it bother him, he doesn’t let it get to him. It’s good to have that motivation and someone to look up to.”

Borden and Shawn McCarthy are seniors, giving Tucker an edge entering the spring. Tucker, who played in four games at Division III Whittier (Calif.) College in 2017, is redshirting this season.

At the insistence of his father, Tucker decided to add long-snapping to his skills as the center at Chino Hills (Calif). High. After a year at Whittier, he was set to transfer to Fullerton (Calif.) College. But then Tucker received an invitation to join the Warriors as a walk-on.

While Tucker appreciates the extra bowl reps, he still maintains a training method he learned from the Rubio Long Snapping camp. Tucker said he places his bed mattress upright and then paces off 5 yards.

“And you snap (a football) as hard as you can,” Tucker said. “That way you’re not breaking stuff.”

On the sideline during practices, Tucker tries to snap to a garbage bin. “That’s the problem with being a specialist, you’re never really going to have enough time to practice your craft with someone else,” said Tucker, who used to snap to friends and family members when he was in California. “You’ve got to be self-taught and learn on your own.”

Ernest Moore

Moore has been on an accelerated developmental track after first playing football as a senior at Washington High (San Francisco) and, after two seasons at City College of San Francisco, joining the Warriors in the middle of training camp. Moore has practiced mostly on scout team, although he was in the line rotation on Monday.

“So far, it’s been cool,” Moore said of his extended work. “It’s nothing new, really. It’s more putting what we did mentally all year on the field now. It’s like, ‘All right, instead of doing an opponent’s offense, we’re rockin’ with ourselves.’”

Moore is 6 feet 8 and 305 pounds, having gained more than 40 pounds during the offseason. He has displayed good footwork and technique in blocking speed rushers.

“In the beginning, I was struggling heavy,” Moore said. “Now, I’m like coolin’ and whoopty-wooing.”

Moore also is sporting a new look. He broke his athletic goggles while playing basketball. He was wearing his normal glasses in practices earlier this season.

“I miss the goggles,” Moore said. “That was my thing. That was like my chain.”