What’s a Hawaii football training camp without a little quarterback controversy?

This time the competition is intensifying between Cole McDonald and Cole Brownholtz for the top backup job to No. 1 quarterback Dru Brown.

“Both are doing good things,” coach Nick Rolovich said after Friday’s second practice of training camp.

Brown is the only UH quarterback to have taken a snap in an NCAA games. McDonald, a second-year freshman, and Brownholtz, a third-year sophomore who transferred from Sierra College last year, both redshirted in 2016. Those three were the only quarterbacks used in 5-on-4, 7-on-7 and team drills on Friday. McDonald was 12 of 16; Brownholtz was nine of 12.

As the scout quarterback last year, McDonald portrayed the upcoming opponent’s quarterback each week. “Last year was week to week changing offenses,” McDonald said. “I couldn’t really focus. Now there’s stability. It’s nice focusing on one (offense), doing my job and trying to help the team.”

McDonald said he has improved on his decision making, such as quickly going through his progression of options, reading defenses and making checks. “Watching film has helped a lot,” McDonald said.

Rolovich said McDonald offers a “different skill set” than Brown. McDonald is considered to be an elusive ballcarrier.

“I ran a lot in high school,” said McDonald, who gained more than 1,000 yards rushing as a Sonora (Calif.) High senior. “If I need to get out of a situation using my legs, that’s always an option.”

McDonald competed on Sonora’s track team. His personal bests were 10.9 seconds in the 100 meters and 22.1 seconds in the 200.

McDonald also is sporting a new look. He bleached his hair this summer, reviving a tradition he and his friends used to do before every football season. “I didn’t do it last year because I was redshirting,” McDonald said. “I’m trying to get the tradition going (in Hawaii). We’ll see what happens.”

Rolovich said Brownholtz has learned to temper his powerful right arm. Rolovich’s mentor, Terry Malley, once noted that a strong arm is a weapon that needs to be used selectively.

Rolovich said he does not want “carnival quarterbacks where either I want to know how strong my arm is or I want to throw at a bag or a tree or whatever. That’s nice. That’s fun. That’s good for (winning) stuffed animals. But this is about playing the (quarterback) position for the team and making people better and doing what you need to do to complete footballs.”

During player-run practices the past two months, Brownholtz has worked on throwing with more “touch.”

“I was kind of stubborn (last year),” said Brownholtz, who admittedly tried to rocket every pass no matter the distance from the intended receiver. “I was doing what I thought would work for me. I was trying different things to get better. It’s a process. I’m getting there.”

On Friday, Brownholtz lofted a pass that a leaping Kalakaua Timoteo caught above the outstretched arms of a cornerback. In another session, he placed a lead pass to Isaia Leeth on a fade pattern.

“He’s doing a nice job of throwing the ball that needs to be thrown for the situation he’s in,” Rolovich said of Brownholtz. “I feel I can count on him more than I could in the spring.”

Brownholtz said: “The biggest thing is doing it on the field. You can’t do it on paper.”