With five days to go before the season-opening kickoff, all but three University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors have been medically cleared to play against USC.

"But they’re three top guys, guys we were counting on," coach Norm Chow said.

Running back Joey Iosefa is recovering from a fracture in his left foot. Tight end Jordan Pu‘u-Robinson has missed three weeks of practices because of a sprained shoulder. Defensive tackle Kennedy Tulimasealii has a partially torn MCL in his right knee.

Iosefa and Pu‘u-Robinson were projected starters entering training camp. Tulimasealii was in the rotation at defensive tackle. It is hoped all three will be available to play against Nevada in the Rainbows Warriors’ Mountain West Conference opener on Sept. 21.

With that said, the Warriors are in relatively good health.

"It’s real credit to Gary (Beemer, the new strength coach) and what he did in the offseason," Chow said.

Friday’s practice was the first on the Manoa campus since the Warriors ended training camp Tuesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The Warriors had the day off Wednesday to move into dormitories and off-campus housing. There were conditioning drills on Thursday.

Several players resumed practicing after apparently healing from ailments. Running backs Diocemey Saint Juste (hamstring), Steven Lakalaka (concussion) and Faga Wily (foot) were activated for Friday’s practice.

"It’s great to be back on the field," said Saint Juste, a freshman from Florida. "I have a lot of catching up to do. I missed a lot."

Wily admittedly had an uneven practice.

"I have to step it up the next practice," said Wily, a 2013 Kahuku graduate.

Friday’s practice was the first in which the Warriors focused solely on the game plans they plan to employ against USC. The scout players who will portray the Trojans wore yellow jerseys.

"It’s different preparing for a game rather than fall camp, where you’re running all the plays you’ll run throughout the season," quarterback Taylor Graham said. "We focused on plays we can expect to run in the game. We really honed in on those things."

There will be several players making their Warriors debut in the opener. Of the 57 rotation players on offense and defense, 23 joined the team this year or redshirted in 2012.

The infusion of new players, Chow said, "happens all the time. That’s what makes college football so interesting. You have to evolve every three or four years.

"You don’t have Steve Young for 10 years," he added, referring to the Hall of Fame quarterback he coached at BYU.

Chow said players were recruited with the intent of competing immediately.

"Our word means something," Chow said. "We give them an opportunity to play."

Chow said one of the freshmen — Wily, Saint Juste or Lakalaka — will start at running back.

"We need to make a decision in a hurry," Chow said.

Three new receivers — Vasquez Haynes and Keith Kirkwood at Z, and Marcus Kemp at X — will be in the top rotation.

"Somebody has to start and somebody has to come in," Chow said. "With the receivers, we’ll play ’em all, just like the defensive line. You’ll have to rotate them. It’s too hard for one guy to run all day."

Kirkwood did not play organized football until last year, his senior season of high school.

"So far, everything is looking good," Kirkwood said. "I’ve only played one year, but I came out here (from New Jersey) and busted my butt for every practice, every drill, every sprint. Hard work does pay off."

So, too, does patience. Haynes missed a week of training because of a shoulder injury. When he returned, he was placed on limited-contact status. Now he is allowed to participate in all drills.

"I rushed back at first," Haynes said of initially aggravating the injury, "but now I’m good to go."

Safety Trayvon Henderson and cornerbacks Barry Higdon, Kwamane Bowens and Anthony Pierce are freshmen who will be in the rotation in the secondary.

Graham, who redshirted in 2012 after transferring from Ohio State, said the Warriors went through some learning struggles in the early practices.

"We slowed it down to work on our game, to work on our technique, to work on our craft," Graham said. "The last couple of weeks were really productive."