DAVIE, Fla. — It's a good thing Tala Esera cut all of that pretty hair of his.

Even with his new buzz cut, the former University of Hawai'i offensive lineman complained of South Florida's oppressive mixture of heat and humidity yesterday, his first day of mini-camp with the Miami Dolphins and his introduction to professional football.

"It's warm in Hawai'i, too, but today was overwhelming," said Esera, who went undrafted last weekend only to be signed by Miami, which had already drafted two of his college teammates, fellow lineman Samson Satele and fullback Reagan Mauia.

Esera practiced at right guard yesterday while Satele lined up at left guard.

Another two-a-day session will be held today and the mini-camp winds up tomorrow at the Dolphins' training facility.

It didn't take long for the South Florida sports reporters to latch on to the connection among three former Warriors. In selecting Satele (second round) and Mauia (sixth round), the Dolphins equaled the total number of Warriors drafted by the team in 41 previous drafts. Other than quarterbacks John Beck and Daunte Culpepper, the Hawai'i threesome received more media attention than any other players.

"It's awesome having two teammates and another guy from American Samoa here because then hopefully (Miami) will get a feel of how close we are — Polynesians — because we're very family-oriented," Esera said. "Hopefully, guys will see that and it will rub off."

Former Utah defensive tackle Paul Soliai, drafted in the fourth round last weekend, is from Pago Pago, American Samoa.

While Esera and Satele patiently explained to reporters the differences between being Hawaiian, Polynesian and Samoan, Mauia spent most of his free time between two-a-days explaining why he decided to run through a wall while in Scottsdale, Ariz., training for the NFL combine. The incident can be found on YouTube.com.

"My trainer was expanding his training facility and he was breaking down the wall," Mauia said. "We had some down time so he just let me go through the wall. We were throwing baseballs through it; medicine balls through it. Tala put his head through it, so I was like, 'I've got to do more than that. I've got to make it look good.' "

Said Esera: "It was just for fun. It felt good. It was just drywall."

Mauia, who has lost more than 100 pounds after coming to Hawai'i as a lineman, said adjusting to the speed of the NFL will take time.

"There was a lot to take in but that's usually how the first day is," Mauia said. "You just have to open your eyes and ears and be a sponge and take it all in. As for me, I've got to get used to the tempo."

Dolphins head coach Cam Cameron is excited about having three players from UH in camp. He made it clear yesterday that it was not a coincidence.

"What we've seen in these guys is that spirit of enthusiasm and that pride," Cameron said. "When they step onto the football field they know they represent someone bigger than themselves. And that's important. We believe in that. We believe you play for something bigger than yourself, obviously the team. I think they play for family and have a lot of pride."