Reaffirming his commitment to academics, University of Hawai'i head coach Greg McMackin has awarded football scholarships to safety Mana Silva, wideout Royce Pollard and cornerback Ryan Perry.

Of the three, only Silva is listed No. 1 on the depth chart.

McMackin said they were rewarded for strong performances in the classroom.

"We take academics very seriously," McMackin said. "They earned the scholarships because they take academics seriously."

Perry is not listed on the depth chart. He is not even a starter on special teams.

But Perry, a senior, has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.7, and he has never missed a team meeting.

Perry is the son of former National Football League cornerback Rod Perry.

Pollard, a second-year freshman, is listed No. 2 on the depth chart at right wideout, behind Malcolm Lane. With Lane recovering from nagging ailments, Pollard has received extensive work in training camp.

Pollard has a 3.39 cumulative grade-point average.

Last year, Silva transferred to UH after spending a season at Oregon State.

Silva was a quarterback at Kamehameha-Hawai'i.

He is married and has a child. During the spring semester, he commuted on weekends to the Big Island, where his wife is a student in the nursing program.

Silva, who is projected to start at strong safety, has impressed coaches with his range, football IQ and aggressiveness.

Silva, who is a pre-med major, also caught their attention with his 3.04 cumulative GPA.

McMackin praised the Warriors' walk-on program, which has produced six players currently on NFL rosters — running back Reagan Mauia, wideout Ashley Lelie, punter Mat McBriar, defensive ends Ikaika Alama-Francis and Travis LaBoy, and offensive tackle Wayne Hunter. That list does not include Colt Brennan, who was a walk-on during the 2005 season but went on scholarship in January 2006. Brennan joined UH with the understanding he would receive a scholarship.

"We're proud of our walk-on program," McMackin said. "We think it's the best in the country. The best example is Rich Miano."

Miano, who is the associate head coach, joined UH initially as a walk-on. He played 11 seasons in the NFL. He now coordinates UH's walk-on program.

REPUTATIONS ON THE LINE

Football games, it has been said, are won in practice.

Reputations, it seems, are made in one-on-one drills.

"That's a big-pride drill," McMackin said of the no-toetag, no-foul battles between offensive and defensive linemen. "That's the fundamentals of the game right there."

With teammates ringing the turf-war area, the participants cannot escape scrutiny. Yesterday's first one-on-one drills of the five-day-old training camp had bragging — and ragging — rights at stake.

"Everybody wants to see it," offensive lineman Raphael Ieru said. "It's an awesome drill."

Defensive tackle Josh Leonard set the tone by speed-rushing past center Matagisila Lefiti to touch the tackling dummy, which served as the finish line.

Right tackle Keoni Steinhoff and defensive left end David Veikune dueled for four seconds.

The most animated matchup was between left tackle Laupepa Letuli and defensive right end Elliott Purcell. They refused to disengage, and then when they did, both came out swinging.

McMackin intervened, sending both to timeout corners. Although McMackin appeared to be agitated, he later revealed a grin.

"We've got a bunch of tough mothers," he said, smiling. "That's who you want to go to battle with. We had a couple of little skirmishes. I like that. Right now I'd rather pull them apart than have to push them the other way. We've got some emotional players and some passionate players, and I like that. That's why I like coaching here."

Letuli, who is competing for the starting left tackle's job, said: "You have to do your best. If you want that starting spot, you have to do what it takes to get it. You can't say it. You have to show it by action."

Even the established players use the one-on-one drills to make statements. The Warriors' best offensive lineman, center John Estes, entered spring training with a badly pulled hamstring.

"During spring, I got my ass kicked," Estes said. "I didn't squat. I couldn't run. I don't even know why I did spring ball. ... In spring ball, honestly, when I was getting beat, my confidence was shot. This whole offseason it made me train harder to get my hamstring better. It's so important. I didn't realize how important it was until I was getting beat on one-on-ones so badly. Now that I have my leg back, I'm feeling really good, and I got my confidence back."

Estes blocked well against two of the toughest interior pass-rushers — defensive tackles Keala "Walrus" Watson and Tuika Tufaga.

McMackin, the defensive coordinator last season, said he hopes to instill an aggressive attitude on the offensive side.

"I'm going to let my personality drift over to the offense," McMackin said. "We have to be a bunch of tough mothers. I'll try to stay away from the quarterbacks. They have their own personality."

TEAM PRACTICES FGS

The Warriors yesterday worked on field-goal attempts for the first time this camp. Linebacker Brashton Satele and safety Viliami Nauahi were the wings — the perimeter blockers.

Nauahi's assignment shows confidence in his surgically repaired left elbow. Nauahi underwent the so-called Tommy John surgery. A ligament from his left wrist was transplanted into his left elbow.

Nauahi said backup center Austin Hansen offered some tips on blocking. But there is little to prepare for the pick-your-poison option of facing both speedy Ryan Mouton and or hard-hitting Blaze Soares in practice.

"We've got Blaze coming through my gap, (and) I'm like, 'Oh,' " Nauahi said. "And we've got Ryan Mouton coming off the side, so it's like, 'hoo.' It's a challenge. Blaze is tough. Blaze's middle name is 'Impact.' "

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.