There is a shallower pool of University of Hawai'i quarterbacks following the recent departure of freshman Anthony Gardner.

"He just decided he wasn't up to speed with the offense," UH coach June Jones said. "He'll probably go to a Division II or I-AA school."

Gardner, a June graduate of St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio), was one of five quarterbacks on the Warriors' 105-player roster for training camp.

Tyler Graunke and Colt Brennan are in a heated battle to succeed Tim Chang as the starting quarterback. Inoke Funaki and Jeff Rhode are competing for the No. 3 job. Last week, Jones had said Gardner was expected to redshirt this season.

"He knew it would be a long, hard deal, judging himself, I'm sure, against some of the other quarterbacks," Jones said. "He felt like he would play faster somewhere else."

Gardner, who is 5 feet 11 and 183 pounds, led St. Edward to the 2003 Division I championship, Ohio's top division. Last season, he completed 71 of 143 passes for 967 yards and six touchdowns. As a junior, he was the starting point guard on the basketball team that defeated St. Vincent-St. Mary, LeBron James' alma mater.

"He came from a competitive league, and he was really competitive," Jones said. "I would have liked to have seen him stick it out, but, hey, you've got to make those decisions for yourself."

Jones said he had planned to use Gardner in a series of special plays this week. "We'll just go on to the next guy," he said.

Jones said he was exploring the possibility of summoning fifth-year senior Kainoa Akina or third-year sophomore Jack Rolovich to replace Gardner. Akina and Gardner were not invited to training camp, although they were told they could rejoin the team on Aug. 22, when the NCAA allows rosters to expand.

"We're talking about it," Jones said. "I'm not sure (of the procedure) because they were not on the 105(-player roster)."

Both were on the Mainland during the weekend. Rolovich was scheduled to return to the Islands today.

Jones said Akina, Rolovich, Funaki and Rhode are in the running for the No. 3 job. Jones said he will not announce a complete depth chart until the days leading to the Sept. 3 opener against Southern California.

MORELAND, AKPAN RETURN TO PRACTICE

Turmarian Moreland, listed as the No. 1 right cornerback, resumed practicing yesterday. He had missed two days of workouts because of a "sore" left knee. But a magnetic resonance imaging procedure, which uses magnetic fields to create an image of the body's interior, did not show any ligament or cartilage damage, Jones said.

Moreland yesterday participated in 6-on-7 drills and goal-line defenses. "He practiced really well," Jones said. "That's very good."

Defensive lineman Nkeru-wem "Tony" Akpan also practiced yesterday. He missed Saturday's workouts after suffering a gash that required stitches on his lip and the inside of his mouth.

"My helmet came off, and the play was still going, and somebody came and hit me on the mouth," Akpan recalled. "It was pretty deep. They had to stitch inside and out. I have to be careful for a little bit."

The 6-foot-6 Akpan has bulked up to 294 pounds since moving from the UH basketball team in March 2003. After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Akpan has limited his weight training to lifting 95-pound dumbbells 25 times.

"I'm learning new things every day," Akpan said.

Freshman offensive lineman Raphael Ieru of McKinley High School yesterday suffered a sprained right knee during an 11-on-11 drill. "He was just on the ground and somebody fell on him," Jones said.

Ieru was named to The Advertiser's 2004 All-State second team as an offensive lineman. He was recruited as a defensive lineman, but moved back to the offensive line on the second day of training camp.

"We were going to switch him to defense because we thought we needed bodies there," Jones said. "I wanted him (back) on offense because he looks like he'll be a good player (there)."

Meanwhile, Jason Ferguson, who is competing at both slotback positions, did not practice yesterday because of lower-back pain.

"I felt a little click," he said. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing major, but it was pretty painful."

He vowed to resume practicing today.

"I cannot afford to take another day off," he said. "I'll be out there, whether it hurts or not. There are no guaranteed starters. Every day I miss is killing me on the depth charts."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.