Tyler Graunke, the University of Hawai'i's top reserve quarterback, suffered a painful injury to his right (throwing) hand during yesterday's spring practice.

X-rays taken last night night were "inconclusive," Graunke said. He will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging today or tomorrow. An MRI uses magnetic fields to create an image of the body's interior.

"It still hurts," Graunke said last night. "It feels the same as when it happened. It's not good at all. I can move my fingers a lot more than this morning, but I can't make a fist and I can't shake a hand or do the things you need to do to throw a ball."

He was injured during his follow-through after releasing a pass during team drills. His right hand struck defensive tackle Siave Seti's raised right hand.

"It instantly got black and blue and it was numb and stuff," Graunke said of the first web — the area between the thumb and index finger.

His right hand was placed in an ice pack.

Because of a backlog, X-rays were not performed until last night.

Graunke said the doctor did not "see a certain break, but he saw something. He wasn't sure if it was a bad picture of the X-ray."

He said his right hand is "not really black and blue (anymore). It's swollen, but not that severely swollen."

This is the final week of spring practice, and training camp does not open until the first week of August — enough time for Graunke's injury, if it is serious, to heal.

"This won't be a problem," he said. "It won't affect the season."

Still, it is a significant setback. Starting quarterback Colt Brennan left practice early yesterday to attend a morning class. Graunke was set to take all of the first-team reps when he suffered the injury.

"It's too bad he hurt his hand," head coach June Jones said. "Tyler is having a good spring. He was working hard. But he's a tough guy. He'll be all right."

Graunke has worked intensively on improving his physical condition. When he reported to his first UH training camp in August 2004, he had 6 percent body fat.

Last year, Graunke, who is 6 feet, weighed 202 pounds. His body fat was 10 percent.

"He was a little heavy last year," Jones said. "I think it was too much partying."

Graunke traced his problems to running with the wrong crowd — McDonald's and Jack in the Box.

"I was a little fat last year," he admitted. "I had a little belly. My diet wasn't very good. I had to improve my diet."

He said he now eats salads and "a lot of meat. I'm going grocery shopping instead of eating fast food every meal. I've been working out a lot. I'm doing a lot of running."

He now weighs 182, and his body fat is 7 percent. He said he hopes to gain another "five or eight pounds of muscle" before training camp.

Jones said he considers Graunke one of "two starting quarterbacks."

"He's a very good quarterback," Jones said. "He's going to get his chance, obviously, when Colt gets out of here. He'll put up a lot of wins for us, too."

SWITCH PAYING OFF

During his recruiting visit in January 2004, there was little doubt Desmond Thomas would commit to the Warriors.

After all, he arrived wearing a UH football jersey.

Back then, it was believed Thomas, who is 6 feet 2, would serve as the tall, speedy wideout.

"When I came here, playing receiver was my passion," said Thomas, who was raised in Vallejo, Calif. "But things happen. You have to go with the flow."

First, he suffered an injury to his patella tendon.

Then he avoided the bends after quickly falling to the bottom of the depth chart.

Near the end of the 2005 season, he requested — and was granted — a move to defensive back.

"Just looking at our receivers, I thought he had a better chance of getting onto the field (as a safety)," Jones said. "He played free safety in high school. He was a big hitter. He works hard. I thought he would do well there."

Thomas faced a crowded field.

"I had to work my way up the depth chart," he said. "There's a lot of competition. It's not going to be easy when you're competing at the highest level."

At the end of the 2006 season, Thomas made a move to challenge for the safety position vacated by Leonard Peters. His training focused mostly on improving his leg strength.

During team testing last month, he was third in the vertical jump (35 1/2 inches) and seventh in the long shuttle (11.91 seconds), a drill that measures lateral quickness and cutting ability.

When spring practice started two weeks ago, there were more than a dozen safeties competing for two spots. Last week, Jake Patek was named the No. 1 right safety. There were four in the running for the left safety's job.

Yesterday, the left safety competition was down to three. And Thomas, according to Jones, is "on top of the depth chart right now."

Defensive coordinator Greg McMackin praised Thomas.

"He goes to the football," McMackin said. "He's really good at knowing where the ball is. He's a fierce competitor."

Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive secondary, said Thomas "made a whole lot of plays last week. He's conscientious."

Thomas acknowledged that the job will not be solidified until the week leading up to the season opener.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity I have right now," Thomas said. "But it could turn around tomorrow. I'm trying to live for today."

Miano said the battle among Thomas, Keao Monteilh and Kealoha Porlas "will continue."

"We're looking for a guy, when the lights go on, is going to play well," Miano added. "We're not going to know until that first game because they've never been there when the lights go on. Some guys think better in games. Some guys shy away. We've still got to continue to evaluate that position.

"It's going to come down to who makes the fewest mistakes, who makes the most plays, who's technically the soundest, who tackles the best. There are so many variables. We want to make sure the decision is based on the performances in practice. The reason those three guys are playing so well is they're all competing to be that guy."

The key, Thomas said, "is to have a positive attitude. I always spoke positively that one day I would start, one day I would be a player. I'm working hard to fulfill that goal."

MOM'S HOME COOKING

Gay Patek, the mother of Jake Patek, is visiting Hawai'i this week.

She spent Sunday night cooking spaghetti for her son and some teammates.

"It was great," said C.J. Hawthorne, who appears to be winning the job at right wideout. "I'm loving wideout and spaghetti. Life is great."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.