The Hawaii football team spent its first practice without its leading receiver filling the slot on Thursday.

“He was a big part of our offense because he’s so talented,” head coach Nick Rolovich said of slotback John Ursua, who will undergo surgery next week for a season-ending ACL injury to his right knee.

Rolovich said Dylan Collie, Kalakaua Timoteo, Davine Tullis, Isaiah Bernard and Kumoku Noa “know what we’re trying to do. As long as they care, we’ll continue to have success.”

Ursua, who is sixth nationally in receiving yards per game (111.2) and receptions (7.8 per game), was diagnosed following Sunday’s MRI. The Rainbow Warriors have a bye this weekend, and did not practice until Thursday. They play San Diego State on Oct. 28 at Aloha Stadium.

Collie, a fourth-year junior who has started six games this season, is the other slot in the Warriors’ two-slot formation. Collie, who also can play wideout, took the first-team reps when the Warriors were in single-slot alignments on Thursday. Collie said he will miss working in tandem with Ursua.

“That’s absolutely a gut-wrenching thing to happen — not just in football, not just in terms of losing eight catches and 100 yards a game and what not — that’s more so feeling bad for a friend,” Collie said. “That sucks. It’s a matter of now we have to make plays for him and continue on with the season.”

Timoteo and Bernard practiced at right wideout on Thursday, but the plan is to give them reps at slotback.

“When we watch film, I watch John, and I try to manipulate his routes and try to make them my own, and use his flavor and put it on mine,” said Timoteo, a sophomore.

At 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, Timoteo is skilled at repelling press coverages on the outside. At slot, Timoteo said, “they give me more space off my release compared to the outside people who are always in your face.”

Tullis, also a sophomore, bounced between wideout and cornerback last year. Before moving to inside receiver this past summer, Tullis worked on shredding cornerbacks’ jams. Tullis, similar to Timoteo, is enjoying the cushion coverages he now faces as a slotback.

“I can do a little more stuff,” Tullis said. “I can use my athleticism.”

Noa, who was named to the All-State first team as a Kamehameha senior in 2015, struggled to earn significant practice reps earlier in the season. But he gradually ascended the depth chart. On Thursday, he was with the second unit as a slotback.

“Moku got an opportunity to take a step up in practice,” Rolovich said of Noa. “I think he kind of ran with it.”

Noa said: “It’s a great opportunity We’ve always had a good receiving corps. We’re getting better every day.”