"I'll be fine," Chang said, raising his left arm to a reporter after practice. "I'm going to play on Saturday."

Jones said: "I would think so, but we're going to prepare as if he's not going to be there."

Two quarterbacks with Warrior bloodlines alternated on the first team yesterday. Kainoa Akina is the son of Texas co-defensive coordinator Duane Akina, a former UH assistant coach. Jack Rolovich's older brother, Nick Rolovich, was the Warriors' starting quarterback in 2001.

"Kainoa is a little better runner," Jones said. "Jack has a little stronger — a little more accurate — arm. Kainoa can do a lot of things, having played last week. The game experience will make him better the next time he gets in the game."

Akina and Rolovich were tied at No. 2 at the end of spring practice in May. In training camp, Akina emerged as the immediate backup to Chang. The coaches had said Rolovich appeared to be distracted by his grandmother's declining health. She died Sept. 15.

"I'd hate to blame it on that, but it did take my mind somewhere else sometimes," Rolovich said. "It was natural. But after going home (that week), visiting with my family, I just have to move forward."

Rolovich said he receives advice from Nick, now a UH student manager. "He tries to do what's best for me," Rolovich said.

The brothers share similar facial characteristics. Jack, at 6 feet 3, is about 2 inches taller. As the brother to the signal-caller of one of the best Warrior teams in the past decade, "the expectations are always going to be there," Jack said. "I'm doing all I can, to the best of my ability."

Rolovich, a second-year freshman, has yet to play in a UH game. But he said he is "comfortable" with the four-wide passing offense, "20 times more comfortable than I felt last year. I think back to how difficult it was to learn the offense when I first got here. Now I understand why all of those (freshman) guys are confused. You can see the look on their faces. I used to have that look on my face."

Rolovich has been told he is two injuries away from playing. "I have to be ready," he said. "Coach (Jones) told me when he was in the NFL, he got into a Monday night game and he hadn't taken any reps for 30 days, or something like that. When he got in, he performed really well. He said that kept him in the NFL. Stories like that keep me going."

Akina said he is preparing as if he will start.

"We all know Tim is the guy," said Akina, a fourth-year junior. "If he can play, we want him in there. But if it comes to it, I'm going to get prepared mentally as the guy."

Akina is the Warriors' second-leading rusher with 103 yards this season. He has played in 35 snaps in three games.

"I think there's a little more added pressure," Akina said of preparing to start. "When I went into the UTEP game (in the third quarter), I wasn't nervous at all. I'm more nervous at practice than when I went into the UTEP game because (the relief role is) so spontaneous. You don't expect it, so you go in there worry-free. Now, knowing you'll get in there, the hype just builds up the whole time."

The anticipation will be magnified playing at Aloha Stadium, even though Akina started seven games as an Eastern Michigan freshman in 2001 before transferring to UH.

"Here, it's a much bigger deal," said Akina, who was raised on the Mainland but frequently visited relatives in Hawai'i. "I'm pumped to play in front of a lot more friends and family versus, I swear, five people I knew in Michigan."