Sunday night's three-hour practice at Aloha Stadium is listed as the final event of training camp. But Wednesday, players who live off campus during the school year were allowed to move from Gateway House, where the entire team has stayed since Aug. 5. Yesterday, several players moved into on-campus apartments, and today, the remaining players will move into dormitories.

Right guard Uriah Moenoa, a newlywed who lives in Waimanalo, has one regret: "You have to wake up about an hour earlier to get to practice. It's hard, especially when there's traffic."

With the approach of the season opener against Appalachian State Aug. 30, Jones rested several players yesterday.

The defensive line — short-handed because of injuries to Isaac Sopoaga (back spasms), Matt Faga (subluxed shoulder), Travis LaBoy (abdomen) and Melila Purcell III — was excused during passing drills.

The Warriors still had a spirited workout, especially on special teams, when full contact was allowed in the trenches. Strongside linebacker Keani Alapa, one of seven fifth-year seniors, blocked Justin Ayat's field-goal attempt from 50 yards.

"I think I have to step up," Alapa said. "I've got the most experience of all of the linebackers."

Jones expects the Warriors to be at full strength for the Sunday practice at Aloha Stadium. He scheduled the three-hour workout at night "because we want the guys who have never played there to experience it."

This also will mark the first UH practice since FieldTurf was installed. Jones said the new surface, which uses grasslike blades, will cause fewer injuries than the previous AstroTurf. He said the players can use the same cleats they wear during practices on UH's grass field.

• Health report: Starting strong safety Hyrum Peters missed his second consecutive day of practice because of a strained right calf.

"I'm just trying to rest it," said Peters, who expects to start in the opener. "I'm trying to make sure it gets better for me to play the whole season."

Peters said he incurred the strain because he was over-compensating for an injured left knee.

• In the money: Quarterback Kainoa Akina, the son of former UH assistant coach Duane Akina, is receiving a football scholarship. Akina played at Eastern Michigan as a freshman before joining the Warriors as a walk-on last year.

Each of UH's six quarterbacks is on scholarship.

• Unrivaled speaker: In an up-is-down scene, a former player of UH's biggest rival provided motivational speeches for the Warriors this week.

Vai Sikahema, a former NFL player and Brigham Young University standout, told the UH players: "If you put as much commitment into academics as you do into workouts, you'll be fine. Even if you don't make it in the pros, an education is a great hedge against life."

Sikahema, who lived in Hau'ula until his family moved to the Mainland when he was a teen-ager, was recruited by UH in the early 1980s.

"In the end, my parents couldn't afford to come over and watch my games, and back then, Hawai'i played many home games," Sikahema said.

In 1984, BYU edged UH, 18-13 — quarterback Raphel Cherry was stopped a foot shy of the end zone on a crucial drive — en route to winning the national championship. "If we didn't make that play," he said, "our dream of winning the national championship wouldn't have seen the light of day."

Sikahema said UH's defense always caused problems for BYU. During a bus ride from Honolulu International Airport, Sikahema remembered, a BYU player asked: "Why do they put the prison right in the middle of the city?" The Polynesian players on the team responded in unison: "That's not a prison, that's Farrington High School."

"We told him, 'Falaniko Noga and Al Noga went to that school. That's why we always struggle against Hawai'i's defense,' " Sikahema said. "If we got two field goals in a game (against UH), we were really happy."

Sikahema went to the Pro Bowl twice as a return specialist. After UH's Chad Owens scored on punt and kickoff returns against BYU in 2001, Sikahema called his close friend and former Philadelphia Eagles teammate, Rich Miano, who coached UH's special teams.

"Richie, is that kid for real?" Sikahema recalled asking. "He told me, 'This kid is so much better than you it's not even funny.' "

Wednesday, Owens approached Sikahema after a team meeting. "Of course, I knew who he was," Sikahema said. "I told him, 'You've got the skills to play at the next level.' "