After suffering a painful beginning to his University of Hawai'i football career, linebacker Brashton Satele is ready for his chance.

Slowed by a pulled left hamstring in his first two seasons with the Warriors, he is feeling confident about his play and happy he's finally able to get a shot at some playing time.

"It's really sweet, I feel really good right now," Satele said. "Because I might actually get on the field and run with the ones. I've been waiting three years."

With two of the starting linebackers out because of injury, Satele is practicing at middle linebacker with the first team.

"(My career has) been up and down, with injuries and practicing hard but never seeing the field," Satele said. "But now I'm reaping the rewards of my hard work, so I'm happy right now."

Leftside linebacker Blaze Soares has been diagnosed with a torn gastrocnemius, a calf muscle in his left leg, and rightside linebacker Adam Leonard is out with a tight hamstring, which caused coaches to rearrange the line-up at linebacker.

R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane is on the left side, with Satele in the middle and Solomon Elimimian on the right after moving from the middle.

"I feel bad for Adam and Blaze, who are injured right now, but we're going to keep on practicing and working for Florida (in the season opener)," Satele said.

UH defensive coordinator Cal Lee said coaches decided to move Elimimian, the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, to the outside because "I think Solly can cover better playing outside. And Brashton would be a better inside guy than an outside guy."

A middle linebacker is typically "big and physical and strong and you have to make the calls, you have to be smart," Lee said. "You have to go from sideline to sideline."

Satele came into the program with the proper bloodlines to be a Warrior.

His father, Alvis Satele, was a former UH and San Diego Chargers linebacker and his mother Lee Ann (Pestana) played volleyball for the Rainbow Wahine.

"With my dad them, Samson (Satele), Hercules (Satele) Amani (Purcell), Mel (Purcell), there's a lot of pressure but I think I can live up to it, because I have two more years to play," Brashton Satele said.

Last season, he played in 12 games mostly on special teams. As a redshirt freshman in 2006, he played in nine games.

Satele started his football career at center in high school while playing for Pac-Five as a Word of Life student. But when he was moved up to the varsity, he was too small to play on the offensive line and switched to linebacker, which he likes more because it allows for "more glory."

But various injuries, including the hamstring, kept him from shining and fulfilling the potential coaches saw in him when he was being recruited.

"Maturity and experience, he's grown up," Lee said. "He's become the player we always thought he was. ... A complete player that can run, hit, he's smart, being a leader, all of that. He's showing leadership just by his performance, and to me that's huge.

Satele said it was a "really bad feeling" because his body wasn't cooperating with his desire to get on the field. To prevent that this season, he included running on the beach to strengthen his legs.

Satele's emergence as a capable back-up provides depth at linebacker.

"With football, you have injuries, and sometimes things happen," Lee said. "People fall down, get hurt, can't play for whatever reason. We feel very comfortable with (Satele) coming in and playing. And you can never have enough depth. For instance, for the case we are in now. Adam is not here and Blaze is not here, for a guy like Brashton, I feel comfortable with what he can do."

Lee said the biggest change for Satele is his maturity through the years.

"I saw progress from day one, and day two, and now that it's his fourth year, he progressed," Lee said.

Satele, whose birthday is Nov. 8, entered UH as a 17-year-old.

"I was really young coming in. ... and I'm 20 now, so I'm kind of more mature," he said.