The original injury was incurred when Chang was hit in the Sept. 4 season opener against Florida Atlantic. Although the dislocation is in his non-throwing shoulder, it is painful when he turns to throw to receivers on the left side.

"He's been sore ever since Game 1," UH coach June Jones said.

UH players are not made available to the media in the two days before a game.

After aggravating the injury last week, Chang stayed in for two plays, went to the training room to receive treatment, then returned to play in two series. He threw nine passes to his left side after being tackled by Ibok.

Yesterday, Chang threw passes of all distances.

The health report is not as optimistic on the defensive side. Right cornerback Kenny Patton did not compete in his seventh consecutive practice because of a pulled left hamstring.

Patton gave a thumb's-up sign to a reporter as he walked from practice yesterday, saying, "Never felt better."

But defensive coordinator George Lumpkin and Rich Miano, who coordinates the pass defense, said it is doubtful Patton will play tomorrow.

Ray Bass, a second-year freshman, is Patton's immediate backup.

Turmarian Moreland, who has emerged as the team's third-best cornerback, suffered a sprained ankle yesterday. He recently recovered from a pulled hamstring.

Starting left cornerback Abraham Elimimian, who missed the past two practices because of a pulled right hamstring and sprained right ankle, practiced in seven-on-seven drills yesterday. "I would think he would play," Miano said. "We'll see how long he lasts."

UH also is looking for help at safety. Right safety Lono Manners suffered a season-ending ankle injury against UTEP last week. Left safety Leonard Peters suffered a sore back yesterday.

Miano said Lamar Broadway, Matt Manuma, Landon Kafentzis and Keao Monteilh will rotate at safety.

"We're pretty thin," Miano said.

Freshman cornerback George Perry was summoned for work yesterday.

Sopoaga home for homecoming

Isa'ako Sopoaga, a former UH defensive lineman now a rookie with the San Francisco 49ers, attended yesterday's practice.

"I'm here to see the boys," said Sopoaga, who is on injury reserve with a back injury. "I wanted to support them for homecoming game. It's good to be home."

Staples the glue of Spartans' defense

When San Jose State sought volunteers to play linebacker in spring practice, Ezekiel Staples was the only player not to take a step backward.

"I played it in Pop Warner and high school," said Staples, who was the Spartans' starting fullback last year, "so I thought, 'why not?' "

Staples, who is 5 feet 11 and 203 pounds, leads Western Athletic Conference defenders in tackles, averaging 10.4 per game. Eight of his 52 tackles have been in an opposing team's backfield.

Staples does not focus on the statistics, saying it is difficult to measure the value. "You can rush for 100 yards and you know that's good," he said. "You get 10 tackles and, what does it mean? Is that a lot, like 100 yards?

"And the numbers don't tell you about the quality of the tackles. You can get 10 tackles, and they can be the most spectacular, but it's just 10 tackles. I don't worry about numbers, except the number of wins."

Family members are not surprised that Staples was able to make an easy adjustment to linebacker. When he was 11, he decided he wanted to be a club owner. He hooked up a boom box and speaker system in his garage, set up a table of non-alcoholic drinks and sent invitations to his neighbors.

"We had a great time," he said. "It was just the joy of good company."

A few years later, he rented a recreation hall for his parties.

His goal is to open his own club i Z!NC — featuring live hip-hop and R&B music.

He also would like to open a physical therapy practice. "I've always been interested in how the body works," he said. "When the trainers are working on me, I'm always asking what's going on."

It shouldn't be a problem for Staples to manage his many interests. After all, he is a member of San Jose State's Juggling Club.