It did not take long for quarterback Royal Gill to realize that New Mexico State's Hal Mumme is not an ordinary football head coach.

"I got here in January," Gill said. "I'm the new recruit, and I asked him for a playbook so I could learn the offense. He said, 'We don't have a playbook. Really. We teach it to you.' "

"That's right," Mumme said. "I've never had a playbook. Besides, I don't think learning the offense is very hard. Mastering the offense might be something else."

Mumme's hiring last December coincided with New Mexico State's renovation of its athletic program. New Mexico State joined the Western Athletic Conference in July.

Mumme was head coach at Kentucky for three years in the late 1990s, where his wide-open passing attack helped quarterback Tim Couch become the No. 1 selection of the 1999 National Football League draft.

Mumme's first hire at New Mexico State was Woody Widenhofer, the coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers' "Steel Curtain" defense of the 1970s. Mumme also implemented a nothing-to-lose attitude.

"He has an aggressive coaching style," Gill said. "I like that. He believes in going for it on fourth down. I've never been around a coach like that."

Mumme, whose team plays Hawai'i Saturday at Aloha Stadium, also improved the Aggies' physical conditioning by hiring Matt "The Punisher" Walter, who advocates the use of free weights in offseason workouts.

Still, Mumme has lightened the mood, particularly before games. During warmups, Mumme does not set aside a period for the Aggies to stretch as a team.

"Coach (Mumme) thinks it's a waste of time," Gill said. "When we're supposed to be stretching before games, we'll do it for about two seconds. Then we do a little cheer and break up."

Mumme said: "We don't have the weight coach standing out there yelling at everybody and counting stretches. I kind of figured those guys can do that themselves. Stretching is not a science. You pretty much know if you're loose or not, right?"

After that, Walter leads an interactive chant with the players, a ritual that involves sign language.

"We yell back and forth," Gill said. "It's kind of fun."

This season, however, has given the Aggies little reason to shout. They are 0-6, including losses to California and Colorado. Five of their six losses were to teams that played in bowls last season. The sixth was to Louisiana Tech, which crushed UH, 46-14, last week.

"UTEP and New Mexico are rivalry games we play every year, but it's not every year those teams are both coming off bowls and playing as well as they are this year," Mumme said.

Because of the Aggies' inexperience — 34 of the 46 offensive players are freshmen, sophomores or first-year players — Mumme has had to modify his four-wide passing offense. The Aggies are averaging 28 carries per game. Mumme remains upbeat.

"I like these kids," he said. "I'm not down on these kids at all. We've got some older guys who were recruited to do other systems who have adjusted mentally, and they're trying as hard as they can for us. And we've got some guys we recruited last December and January who are in there doing pretty good, but they're just learning. It's a hard-learning deal when you have to play against Cal and Colorado."

SEVERAL WOUNDED WARRIORS HOPE TO PLAY

Despite not practicing this week because of a "turf-toe" injury — sprained big toe on his right foot — UH running back Nate Ilaoa vowed to play against New Mexico State.

"I'll be able to go," he said. "It's football. You've got to go."

But coach June Jones was not convinced, and freshmen Mario Cox and David Farmer are prepared to rotate at running back.

"Mario is doing good," Jones said. "The game time last week really helped him. He's getting better every week."

Of the possibility of making his first NCAA start, Cox said, "I'm really not that nervous. I want to get in and make some plays so I can help the team."

In his Sept. 24 debut against Idaho — he missed the first two games and all of training camp while his eligibility was reviewed — Cox appeared to run tentatively. He said he had difficulty synchronizing his speed with the offensive line's blocking. "Now we're on the same pace," he said. "It was a timing thing."

Bryan Maneafaiga, who started the first two games, still has not fully healed from a pulled left hamstring. Jones said Maneafaiga will not play this week. Maneafaiga appeared ready to accept Jones' diagnosis.

"I'm on the verge," Maneafaiga said. "I don't want to come back too early and hurt myself again. I want to take it day by day. There are a lot of games left in the season. Hopefully, I'll be back soon."

Right tackle Dane Uperesa rested his sprained left shoulder and sprained right ankle, and did not compete in contact drills yesterday. He is expected to start on Saturday.

In distributing the practice work yesterday, left guard Samson Satele took several turns at left tackle.

Renolds Fruean also competed at defensive left end, a position vacated because of Melila Purcell's injury (bone bruise and partially torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee). Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said the swelling subsided in Fruean's sprained right ankle. Glanville said nose tackle Michael Lafaele will start at left end this week.

Meanwhile, cornerback Ryan Keomaka said he will wait until the offseason to undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb. Keomaka will continue to play despite the injury.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.