Two University of Hawaii football players with year-long wait times are making their marks this training camp.

After resolving eligibility issues, weak-side linebacker Jalen Smith and cornerback Jaheim Wilson-Jones have drawn praise for their play in recent practices.

“I’m ready to go this year,” said Smith, a 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif.

Smith, a running back and linebacker at Garces Memorial High, missed his senior season because of an injury. “All the offers I had, they pulled off me,” said Smith, who then played the 2021 season for Bakersfield College.

After speaking with UH head coach Timmy Chang and linebackers coach Chris Brown, Smith committed to the Rainbow Warriors last year. But because one of his courses was not accepted by UH, Smith was allowed to practice with the Warriors but not play in any games in 2022.

“We tried to send a couple waivers to the NCAA, but they got denied,” Smith said. “God’s plan. We’re good to go this year.”

Smith initially was frustrated with his situation.

“I’m not going to lie, it was tough on my mental,” he said. “I had Coach CB (Brown) and Coach Chang to talk me through it. They helped me keep my head straight and to come to every practice with a purpose. I knew I wasn’t going to play on that Saturday, but I eventually knew I was going to play on a Saturday. There was no point for me to waste the reps and go through the motions when I could get better every day and get ready for where we are now.”

Smith was a running back on the scout offense that went against UH’s first-team defense in practice. After that, he moved to weak-side linebacker to go against the Warriors’ No. 1 offense. Smith embraced the lion’s mentality that Brown promoted. The linebackers’ meeting room is known as the “lion’s den.”

“Coach CB says some of the best lions are the hungriest lions,” Smith said. “I promise I’m hungry right now.”

Smith has three UH seasons remaining.

Wilson-Jones, who also has three available seasons, was a three-sport athlete for Gila Ridge High in Yuma, Ariz. During a COVID-abbreviated senior season in 2020, amassed four interceptions as a cornerback and caught 12 touchdown passes in five games.

He played one season at West Los Angeles College, and then accepted a UH scholarship offer. “My (recruiting) visit, they made it feel like home,” Wilson-Jones said. “They showed me love. They showed my family love. I automatically fell in love with Hawaii.”

Wilson-Jones delayed his transfer while he completed work on a class. He joined the Warriors last month.

“I wasn’t around for the spring,” Wilson-Jones said. “I had a long offseason. I had a year off. All I could do was train. I’m doing what I can to help the team.”

During UH’s situational scrimmage at Saint Louis School last Saturday, Wilson-Jones made two interceptions. He has moved into the cornerback rotation.

“It was good to do what I can do with the amount of reps I get,” Wilson-Jones said. “The starters ahead of us are dogs. I’m trying to meet the standard with them. I’m trying to do what they do.”