A month ago, Larry Tuileta was playing volleyball in an international tournament.

Three weeks ago, he joined the Hawaii football team.

And on Thursday, he was both UMass quarterbacks.

In preparation for the Aug. 26 opener against UMass, Tuileta was assigned to the scout team to orchestrate the Minutemen’s plays against the Rainbow Warriors’ No. 1 defense during Thursday’s 17th preseason practice. UMass has not announced a starter between quarterbacks Ross Comis and Andrew Ford.

But because the UMass passers throw with different arms, right-handed Tuileta received tips from teammates Hunter Hughes and Justin Uahinui on how to simulate the footwork and rollouts of a lefty quarterback.

“It was fun,” Tuileta said of the scout work.

On Wednesday, head coach Nick Rolovich formed scout teams to go against the top-rotation players. That day, Tuileta joined game-ready quarterbacks Dru Brown, Cole McDonald and Cole Brownholtz in drills and meetings. On Thursday, Rolovich assigned Tuileta to the scouts.

“I want to keep bringing him along, at least to get him back into football mode,” Rolovich said. “And I think he gets more work with the scouts than he does watching the reps with the 1s offense.”

Rolovich said Tuileta will continue to meet with Craig Stutzmann, the quarterbacks coach and pass-game coordinator. But until after the Sept. 9 road game against UCLA, the plan is for Tuileta to build reps with the scouts.

“Physically, I think it’s good to get out there and compete against the best defense we’ve got and just get into football mode and make some throws,” said Rolovich, adding that Tuileta’s passes have been “impressive. I think if you’re a natural thrower, you never really lose it until you get old and it rusts up. I think volleyball, with those movements, kept some flexibility for him. He’s done a nice job so far.”

Tuileta had not thrown a football in a practice setting since 2014, when he was a walk-on quarterback at USC. He then played volleyball the following spring, left USC after the 2015 fall semester, and joined the UH volleyball team this past spring.

Tuileta said working with the scouts “is totally fine. … I just got here and I’m getting used to the offense and the timing with the receivers. It’s getting better. I like to be honest with myself, I’m definitely not there yet. The guys they have now are great and they know their stuff and they have good arms.”

Portraying the UMass quarterback, Tuileta is able to take snaps from under center, a tactic UH uses infrequently. He said he is working on quickening his release. As a 6-foot-2 volleyball player, he was used to hitting off or over the block. As a a quarterback who cannot tool the block, Tuileta is working on his field vision.

“If there’s a way to get back into it quicker, it would be against the 1 defense,” Tuileta said. “It’s perfect, right? I’m going against them every day.”