A popular guessing game — "Who Wants to be a Starting Quarterback?" — is going into overtime.

Hawai'i football coach Greg McMackin said another day of evaluation is needed, and he will delay selecting the Warriors' starting quarterback until at least tomorrow.

"It's their fault," quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said of fourth-year junior Inoke Funaki, and junior-college transfers Greg Alexander and Brent Rausch. "They're making it tough on us. They played great today. It was their best day against our defense."

McMackin said: "We want to look one more day. We don't want to rush into it. They're competing, and we don't want to take that competitiveness away from them. We'll make a decision within the next couple of days, probably by Thursday."

Through the first seven days of training camp, those three quarterbacks rotated after every two snaps in 7-on-7 and team drills. Yesterday, they were allowed to take up to eight snaps each before rotating.

"We changed it up on them," McMackin said. "We wanted to try some different things."

Rolovich said: "All three made good throws. We need to make a decision to get this team to follow a leader. I told them to make it tough. It would be easier on me if they didn't. Now we have to go with the guy who we think will be the guy."

Shane Austin and Jake Santos also have played well.

"They haven't gotten a lot of reps, but they're knowledgeable about the offense," Rolovich said of Austin and Santos. "Both have the swagger. Even though we don't have a No. 1, we're very deep."

The competition extended to playtime. After practice, Rolovich set up four trash bins. From 40 yards away, the quarterbacks had to place passes into the bins.

"We put in a new format this year: the four-bucket rule," Rolovich said. "The middle bucket is eight points. The outside bucket is three points. Any contact is one point."

The team of Austin, Rausch and Steele Jantz earned a 13-5 victory over the team of Funaki, Alexander and Santos.

"They pretty much kicked our ass," Alexander said.

JANTZ WILL BE 'TEBOW'

During Monday's afternoon practice, Jantz received a package during a special ceremony. It was a red No. 15 jersey with the name "Tebow" on the back.

For the next two weeks, Jantz will portray Florida's Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow in drills.

"I see it as an opportunity, a big deal," Jantz said. "I have the responsibility of getting the defense ready. I'm going to give them the best look I can."

Jantz has immersed himself in the role, watching hours of Tebow's videos. Some teammates have nicknamed him "Steele-Bow."

"They have a fun time with it," Jantz said. "It's a fun thing, but it also gets serious."

'ICEMAN' ON THE MONEY

With 30 minutes remaining in a scheduled three-hour practice, it was time to put the freeze on the self-styled "Iceman."

McMackin gathered the team, then announced that practice would end early if Dan Kelly converted a field-goal attempt from 53 yards.

There were two obstacles for the Iceman: he would kick against the wind and his long-snapper, Jake Ingram, had left to take a final exam.

Running back David Farmer filled in for Ingram, delivering a perfectly placed long-snap to holder Tim Grasso. Kelly's kick was true.

"It was deep, and (against) the wind, and he comes through like he always does," Grasso said.

"Everyone on this team can operate," Kelly said. "You take out the best snapper in the country in Jake, and you put in Farmer, who's still a damn good snapper, and we get the job done. It's a testament to how much talent there is on this team that nobody really takes into consideration."

While Kelly has shown deep range, the summer's goal was to work on consistency.

"I'd rather be known as a consistent 45-yards-and-in kind of guy than a long, hit-or-miss kind of guy," Kelly said. "That's what I worked on."

LEFITI WORKS AT CENTER

Yesterday's No. 1 center does not believe in shortcuts, especially with his first name. Matagisila Lefiti said he prefers that his name not be shortened to "Sila."

Lefiti is making a name as a diligent worker on and off the field.

Lefiti, a 2007 graduate of Mater Dei High School, met the NCAA requirements but not UH's entry standards. He was granted conditional acceptance last year if he agreed to redshirt and earn at least a 2.5 grade-point average. He met the challenge. His cumulative GPA is 3.0.

He also is earning high marks as the primary backup to center John Estes.

At Mater Dei — Colt Brennan's alma mater — Lefiti was an offensive guard and defensive tackle. UH offensive line coach Brian Smith felt Lefiti had the skill and football IQ to play center.

Estes suffered a pulled hamstring and practiced sparingly during spring training. Lefiti and Austin Hansen received most of the work at center.

Estes has missed the last two practices because of soreness in his right shoulder. Lefiti earned the promotion.

"He's come a long way," Smith said. "He's learned a lot. He's got pretty good balance. He anchors well. He's pretty stout for a young guy. He's doing well. He's been a nice surprise."

Lefiti said: "I wasn't used to the center spot. I worked hard with the (strength) coaches, Tommy (Heffernan) and Mel (deLaura). They helped me get into shape. Brian Smith really helped me with the (line) calls, and showed me what was going on in the (defensive) packages, which I'm really happy for."

Lefiti, who is 6 feet and 290, can squat-lift 475 pounds.

CADIZ IS A HANDYMAN

Running back Joey Cadiz wanted to be a Warrior so much he was willing to do mop-up duty.

In the spring, Cadiz was a volunteer janitor in the UH weight room, a position that allowed him to watch spring practices and plead daily for a tryout.

"It was my dream," said Cadiz, a 2007 Mililani High graduate who attended Humboldt State last fall.

He qualified for the 105-player training-camp roster even though he is not eligible to play this season because of NCAA transfer rules.

McMackin said: "We were looking for a running back to give us a look when we got to scout teams. He wants to be on this football team. He's a full-speed, 100 percent guy. I know he'll have his heart and soul into making us better."