"He's taking some tests," Jones said.

UH has a bye this weekend. Asked if Watson would return for the Oct. 2 game against Tulsa, Jones said, "Right now I'm not expecting him back (for that game) ... maybe longer."

Watson, a 2004 Nanakuli High graduate, did not attend yesterday's practice and was not available for comment. Teammates say he has been training in the weight room.

Watson was impressive during training camp, earning the job as top backup to starting defensive tackles Lui Fuga and Matt Faga.

"We didn't miss a beat when Lui or Matt went out," said Vantz Singletary, who coaches the defensive linemen. "He was making tremendous strides for a freshman. There aren't too many freshmen who come in and contribute the way he has."

Watson was included on the 60-player travel roster to last week's game against Rice. He participated in the two practices in Houston. But on the day of the game, Jones said, Watson was notified by school officials that he would not be allowed to compete against Rice.

"He's got a medical thing," Jones said. "He needs to wait and see. ... I can't talk about it."

Michigan State to get $300,000 to play here

Michigan State will receive more than $300,000 for the Dec. 4 game at Aloha Stadium — believed to be the largest appearance fee paid by UH.

In 1997, Notre Dame received $250,000 in cash and 5,000 complimentary tickets from UH.

NCAA football teams do not have to count the games they play in Hawai'i as part of their regular-season limit. That enables the UH opponent to schedule another home game. Because it receives the extra game and it can use the trip as a recruiting tool, a non-conference opponent usually will agree to play in Hawai'i for a nominal appearance fee and expenses for travel and lodging.

UH's 2001 blowout of BYU on television

The Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl's ticket drive kicks off with tomorrow's re-telecast of the Warriors' 72-45 victory over Brigham Young in 2001. That outcome — which left UH with a 9-3 record but nowhere to go — spawned the creation of the Hawai'i Bowl.

The game — featuring Chad Owens' two returns for touchdowns and Craig Stutzmann's celebratory punt — airs at 1:30 p.m. on Oceanic 16.

Warrior football is in Na Koa's Yee's blood

Ben Yee has changed little in his 37 seasons with the UH football team. He chews a toothpick — "it's better than smoking," he said — and sports an ice-ice-baby flat-top. "They cut it for the Korean War, and the thing stayed that way," he said of his gravity-defying 'do.

In 1987, Yee co-founded Na Koa, the football team's booster club. The club raised $27,000 that year. Now, it earns about $500,000 annually through memberships, the Pigskin Pigout and golf tournament.

The Warriors' annual Most Inspirational Player award is named after Yee, the vice president of Na Koa.

Yee has blood ties to the program. In 1989, before he was set to undergo quadruple-bypass surgery, the UH football coaches signed up as blood donors. He received two pints of type-O blood from that reserve.

UH football, Yee said, "is in my blood."