The third practice of the Hawai'i football team's training camp yielded the first grade.

"The defense won the day," said Nick Rolovich, who coaches the quarterbacks.

But for the first practice involving 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, the outcome was expected.

Several new plays were implemented, and the defense, which is projected to be the best in the Western Athletic Conference, was particularly feisty yesterday.

And it rained.

The three quarterbacks contending for the starting job — fourth-year junior Inoke Funaki and junior-college transfers Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch — were a combined 10 of 19 in the 11-on-11 drills.

"So much is going through their minds as far as reads and progressions," Rolovich said. "And then you throw the (pass) rush in, and it kind of threw them off. There's a lot of good stuff for the film (to be studied)."

To be sure, the challengers to succeed Colt Brennan also had some bright moments. Funaki, who is first in the rotation, lasered a pass to slotback Michael Washington that went for the 30-play segment's only touchdown.

Alexander, who has lost 20 pounds since moving to Hawai'i in late May, is displaying better agility.

And Rausch has improved in identifying defensive coverages during his pre-snap reads.

"I'm feeling more comfortable out there," Rausch said. "I did a lot better than the first day."

The defense has the advantage of being familiar with the offensive plays. Early in the 11-on-11 session, some defenders tried to use the quarterback's cadence to anticipate the snap.

"We have such a good defense," Funaki said. "If we can compete and be consistent while moving the ball against our own defense, it should make things a lot easier when we play against other teams that are less familiar with our offense."

Rolovich has set a goal of the offense trying to be best at every practice.

"I take it off my experience playing this offense," said Rolovich, a UH quarterback in 2000 and 2001. "When you can beat your own defense, which knows your plays, and beat them every day, then we can beat anybody in the country. That's where we need to get, to beat these guys every day."

The original plan was to narrow the quarterback competition down to three early in training camp, then after that, to set a depth chart. But with Tyler Graunke, who started two games last season, withheld from team activities until he resolves academic issues, "it gives us a little leeway with our initial plan," Rolovich said.

Rolovich said those three quarterbacks received an equal number of snaps in the first two practices. Those workouts involved "the simplest of plays" and were not against defenders.

Rolovich said "some tough" plays were added to yesterday's drills. He said the same menu of plays will be used today.

"We got better from the first to the second day," Rolovich said. "We had new plays in the third, so we'll be better" in the fourth.

Rolovich said the quarterbacks know "the language" of the entire playbook. Now it is a matter of field work.

He said head coach Greg McMackin and offensive coordinator Ron Lee plan to add "10 to 15 percent" more plays every two practices.

Most helpful, Alexander said, is "we've got a good defense. We're always going to get a good look from them. It's good for us to go against them. They're going to be one of the better defenses we face this season."

It was the defense that set the tone on the first play of 7-on-7 drills. Leftside linebacker Blaze Soares soared to intercept Funaki's pass.

Last season, Soares endured a stinger and shoulder injury that made it impossible to raise his left arm.

"My arm feels better," Soares said.

He added: "I'm trying to get into a little better shape. I feel I'm in good shape, but it's always good to be in better shape. You don't ever want to be satisfied.

SLOTBACK TAYLOR ARRIVES

One of the prized recruits, slotback Jovonte Taylor, arrived in town Tuesday afternoon, and attended yesterday's practice as a spectator.

Taylor was delayed while he completed a class at Los Angeles Southwest College. He has been accepted into UH, but cannot practice until his associate degree is posted. That should happen today.

Taylor won the California Community College 100-meter championship in 2007, completing the distance in 10.4 seconds. It was remarkable considering that he had a tight hamstring and that "track is not really my thing. I did it to get ready for football."

Taylor had received offers from Oregon, Kansas State and Nevada-Las Vegas. USC offered him a track scholarship.

But he chose UH because of its four-wide offense and faith that he would earn a degree by this summer.

The Warriors' offense "fits me better," Taylor said. "They run a spread offense, and I'm a slot receiver. They throw the ball a lot. That's what I'm looking for."

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