Brent Rausch yesterday took his first step as leader of the University of Hawai'i football team.

Then he braced for the 10-meter fall.

"No big deal," Rausch said of the jump off the high platform at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

No first-year UH player is exempt from the rite-of-Warrior tradition — and certainly not the newly anointed No. 1 quarterback.

"I'm not special," Rausch said. "It was just a little jump. It was cool with me."

Rausch also jumped into the fire that is the most scrutinized position on the state's only Division I-A football team.

His predecessors — Colt Brennan (2005-2007) and Tim Chang (2000-2004) — can be found in the NCAA record book.

Rausch, a third-year sophomore who transferred from College of the Desert, acknowledged the importance of his new role. Still, he said, "I don't want to compare myself to either one of those great quarterbacks. I want to play my game, and see what I can do. I have to keep my head up."

Rausch out-played fourth-year junior Inoke Funaki and junior-college transfer Greg Alexander to earn the start in the Aug. 30 season opener against fifth-ranked Florida.

"He still has a long way to go," said quarterback coach Nick Rolovich, who charts and evaluates every pass of training camp. "He can't get complacent."

Rolovich offers his UH background as testimony. In 2000, Rolovich, also a junior-college transfer, beat out Chang for the starting job. Two games later, he was holding the clipboard on the sideline.

"I didn't do it right," Rolovich said. "I wasn't close to where I should have been. (Rausch) needs to enjoy it, but he still has to work."

Head coach Greg McMackin said Alexander and Funaki are the co-No. 2 quarterbacks. Alexander did not practice yesterday morning because of an in-grown toenail on his right foot and a tender left ankle. McMackin said Alexander's ailments are not considered to be serious.

McMackin said Rausch needs "to keep improving because our (No. 2) guys are going to keep forcing him. It's like any other position. As you're competing, if you fall off, there's somebody else there to take your place. Our other quarterbacks are going to push him into greatness."

Rausch played 11-on-11 football only one season in the past six years. His high school team competed in an 8-on-8 league. He did not play his first year at College of the Desert because he worked in construction to pay for his school and living expenses.

The Roadrunners were 1-9 in 2006. Last season, with Rausch at the controls, they went 9-1 and qualified for the playoffs.

"He's a winner," McMackin said.

Rausch was third on the depth chart after the first five days of training camp. But since the past Saturday, he has earned the highest ratings every day in a detailed formula that measures decision-making to eye movements.

The coaches were impressed with Rausch's passes, accuracy and form.

"He's not really a double-clutcher," Rolovich said of Rausch's throwing motion. "He comes over the top with it. He controls the nose (of the football). He knows where the ball is going. It's on that plane."

Most of all, Rolovich said, "He's a competitor. He's got some fire. He's responded when we put him in (difficult) situations."

Rausch is used to the heat, having grown up in the deceptively named Palm Springs, Calif.

"What? Does it sound like it's all palm trees?" he said, smiling. "It's not like that. It's straight desert. It's hot. Sometimes it gets to 120. But I was cool with that. I had dirt bikes. I had an off-road truck. I could live with it. It was good."

In contrast, Rausch said of Hawai'i's tradewinds, "this is awesome. This is winter back in Palm Springs."

Rausch was told of his selection during a closed-door meeting Thursday with McMackin, Alexander and Funaki.

He called his parents, who already had learned of the news from Internet reports.

"My family found out before I did," Rausch said. "My pops was crying. My mom was crying."

Rausch justified the coaches' decision with another dazzling performance yesterday morning. He was particularly sharp on red-zone drills.

When the defense went to the Okie scheme — three linebackers, five defensive backs — to create a 5-on-8 matchup, Rausch still managed to find the open receiver.

"We've evaluated him a lot, and it was a tough decision, but he knows we believe in him," McMackin said. "We're going with him. The more positive reps he can get with the guys against the No. 1 defense, that helps him."

Rausch also earned good-teammate points with his successful jump off the 10-meter board.

All of the first-year Warriors made it, although some went at their own pace.

Cornerback Jameel Dowling, who does not know how to swim, wore orange flotation bracelets.

"It was crazy," Dowling said. "I was scared when I looked down, but I got it done."

Slotback Dustin Blount took three running starts before coming to screeching halts. But on the third attempt, "I was trying to stop, but I built up too much momentum," Blount said.

He somersaulted once during his descent.

"I didn't even try to flip," he said. "It just happened."

Safety Mana Silva, a graduate of Kamehameha-Hawai'i, was the last newcomer to jump.

"I surf and stuff, but when it comes to jumping into a pool, I get scared," Silva said. "They thought I could jump off like nothing. I never rode a rollercoaster before. Every time we go to an adventure park, I'd have to wait for my family until after they rode the roller-coaster."

But after some coaxing, Silva jumped.

And then got out of the pool, and climbed the three flights of stairs to the high platform.

He jumped again.

"I had to do it again," he said. "I had to break the fear."

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