Laupepa Out, Tank, Bradley, Salas

Jason Kaneshiro writes that Laupepa Letuli and Aaron Brown will not make the trip to Louisiana.

Letuli, a senior, injured his left knee during a weight training session this week. It was initially thought he'd play against the Bulldogs (1-2), but McMackin said yesterday that Letuli will miss the game. He's hopeful Letuli will be back for UH's meeting with Fresno State on Oct. 10 at Aloha Stadium.

Brown, who began the season as a safety, has been bothered by a hamstring injury since fall camp. He played through it and recorded 10 tackles, including a sack.

"It's just continuing to get worse," McMackin said. "We're going to have to make some decisions because he can't perform that way."

Kaneshiro also has injury updates for Ryan Henry, Jovonte Taylor, Paipai Falemalu, Vaughn Meatoga and John Fonoti.

Stephen Tsai profiles cornerback Tank Hopkins.

Yesterday, Hopkins said, "(Payne) just made a good play. I have to get better when it comes to my side. I have to make a play, just like he did. He got the best of me that time. I have to learn from it, and move on."

Wideout Rodney Bradley, Hopkins' roommate at Navarro Junior College and UH, said: "He was dwelling on it. After a while, you realize you can only do what you can control. He did what he could to make the play. The other dude had the advantage and made the play. That's part of being a corner. You have to bounce back. You can't make every play. That's the thing about Tank. If somebody does make a play on him, he's going to go even harder the next time to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Tsai also notes that George Daily-Lyles will not redshirt after all, and will make the trip to LaTech.

Kaneshiro profiles Rodney Bradley.

"He's got that speed and he's smart and very coachable. He's going to get better," UH offensive coordinator and receivers coach Ron Lee said.

"When he first got here you could tell that he didn't have a heavy background in receiving compared to what we do. But he worked hard and he worked on his conditioning with the amount of running we do."

Bradley had been a fan of Hawaii's offense from afar, but never considered playing for the Warriors as an option. That was until Navarro assistant coach Kevin Curtis pulled him aside for a chat.

"He asked me, 'Rodney would you mind playing for Hawaii?' " Bradley recalled. "I was like, are you serious?"

And via the Shreveport Times, the AP profiles Greg Salas.

"He's got pro hands," Warriors coach Greg McMackin said. "But by moving him inside, there's more chances of him getting the football. They can't double him. He's strong enough to hold up inside, and he has the quickness of a little slot back."

Nine of Salas' 20 receptions have been for 20 yards or more. In each of the first three games, he has a reception longer than 50 yards.

"He creates a lot of good mismatches for us," said Alexander, who has thrown for 1,234 yards and nine TDs in the first three games. "He just keeps working on plays. I think he's got two or three touchdowns just off scramble drills this year. He just stays alive."