Graduation, Practice, CJ, SS, Kickers

Stephen Tsai writes about the Warriors getting ready to graduate as they get back to practice.

Brennan met the final requirements when he completed a video project that he used as his thesis.

"I'm just glad to be done," Brennan said. "Now I can focus just on football."

Defensive ends Karl Noa and Amani Purcell, defensive tackle Siave Seti, linebacker Rustin Saole, right guard Larry Sauafea and right wideout C.J. Hawthorne also will graduate.

Jason Kaneshiro has a report from the practice field.

After the relatively light workout, the Warriors pushed through about a half-hour of conditioning drills. It won't be quite as rigorous as training camp, but the Warriors can expect more over the next week or so leading up to their departure.

"Probably the next 10 practices we'll really run a lot and then we'll taper down the week we get down there (to New Orleans)," UH coach June Jones said. "We're just doing our stuff right now we're not really game-planning. Next we'll start that and get two solid weeks of practice of what we need to do."

On the same page, Dave Reardon talks to C.J. Hawthorne about some no-nos in NOLA.

"I think the majority of it is there's going to have to be some self-discipline," Hawthorne said. "I'll definitely try to steer them the right way. This is a business trip for us. There's definitely good things about (New Orleans) and there'll be time for us to have fun. But New Orleans can definitely steer a lot of people the wrong way."

Hawthorne said the streets will be incredibly crowded with all kinds of people celebrating in all kinds of ways. He warns fans as well as teammates to not get separated and lost.

"Everyone's walking, and you can walk into anything," Hawthorne said. "Fun never starts out wanting to be bad. Next thing you know you're in trouble, somebody gets suspended. A little problem can turn into the wildest nightmare."

Dave Reardon also speaks to safety Spencer Smith, who hails from Georgia.

Smith said many of his friends from Kell go to Georgia. The Athens campus is about a 2-to-3 hour drive from Marietta.

"It's a long way. My friends who go there don't come home too often. But a lot of them are making the trip to the game and they're excited. They're excited about us, too. When you grow up in Georgia as a Georgia fan, all you think of is red and black.

"Everybody wants tickets, so it's kind of hard, yeah," said Smith, who has around 40 friends and relatives who want to make the trip. "A lot of my friends go to UGA, so they're talkin' trash already. It's going to be a great experience for everyone."

Nick Abramo profiles former UH and current Cowboys punter Mat McBriar, who has this to say about the Sugar Bowl matchup:

He certainly hasn't forgotten his football roots at UH.

"Oh yeah!" he gushed, when asked about the Warriors' upcoming Sugar Bowl appearance. "I couldn't be happier for June Jones. What a boon for the school to be in a BCS game and in the national championship discussion. I think they can pull it off. I've seen most of the games this year, there's been quite a bit of coverage.

"Some of the guys here came from the SEC, like (tight end) Jason Witten from Tennessee. They think Georgia will be able to run at will. But I doubt there's a corps of receivers as good in the nation as Hawaii's. And I'm pretty sure Hawaii has a better quarterback."

And speaking of former UH kickers now in the pros, here's a profile of Broncos kicker Jason Elam, by Lee Rasizer of the Rocky Mountain News.