"It feels pretty good out here, doesn't it?" UH coach June Jones said to two shivering reporters. "It feels like football weather."

Jones had timed the practice so it would end at 10:45 p.m., the estimated conclusion of tomorrow night's game between UH and host Texas-El Paso in the Sun Bowl.

"The weather won't be a factor," Jones said. "If it's 19 degrees, then I might be concerned."

Limited to a 60-player travel roster, the Warriors used a few starters on the scout teams last night. Left guard Samson Satele, portraying UTEP's tight end, caught a long scoring pass from backup quarterback Brandon Satcher.

"We've had good practices this week," Jones said.

Starting left cornerback Abraham Elimimian did not participate in the second half of practice after complaining of a sore right ankle. He received ice treatment, and the injury is not considered to be serious. Jones said Elimimian will start tomorrow night. "He just tweaked it," Jones said. "He'll be all right."

With cornerback Turmarian Moreland recovering from a pulled hamstring, Omega Hogan and Keao Monteilh filled in at left cornerback.

The Warriors, who arrived in El Paso early yesterday morning, will not practice in the Sun Bowl on UTEP's campus.

"I don't want (the Miners) to watch us practice," Jones said. "They're probably watching us, anyway, but I don't want the whole team to watch us."

Basic training helps Komine catch on

There was concern when UH wideout Britton Komine dropped a first-quarter pass against Nevada — his fifth drop in two games. But then Komine was the recipient of two long passes from Tim Chang, and the coaches, for now, have declared an end to Komine's slump.

"I was disappointed in myself for all of those drops," said Komine, a fifth-year senior. "My own expectations weren't met in the first couple of games. It's all about concentration.

"I was trying to do a lot of other things, and I forgot about the basic technique that I've always worked on — watching the ball and securing the catch before doing anything else."

After each practice, Komine worked on catching passes from the throwing machine, which can launch footballs at speeds up to 60 mph. Standing 15 yards from the machine, Komine risked getting hit in the face with Tyson-like force if he didn't catch the football.

"I don't think the quarterbacks throw that fast," Komine said, "but it's good for hand-eye coordination."

On road trips, Komine carries a football from meeting to meeting. In the hotel room, "I'll lie on my back and throw the ball in the air," he said. "I'll throw it to all kinds of different spots. I want to get the feel for the ball."

His extra work has been beneficial. Komine's yards-after-catch (YAC) average of 5.07 yards is second among starting receivers, behind Chad Owens' 5.46.

Water, water everywhere

The Warriors brought scores of cases of bottled water on this trip.

Each player received two large bottles as they boarded the chartered flight. Before and after meetings, they receive bottled water. The athletic trainers also use bottled water to fill the coolers at practice.

The bottled water was packaged in Hawai'i.

Perhaps to save bag room, only the black game helmets were packed for this trip. The white practice helmets were left in Hawai'i.