Davone Bess, a former Hawai'i football receiver now with the Miami Dolphins, has this message for Warrior Nation:

"Why would you let Greg Salas break my record?" Bess said, laughing.

Despite playing on a sprained right ankle, Salas caught a school-record 16 passes in the Warriors' 24-6 victory over New Mexico State, surpassing Bess' 15 receptions in a 2007 game against Boise State. After that season, his junior year, Bess applied for entry into the National Football League.

"I'm happy for Greg," Bess said, "but I'm thinking about coming back to get my record back. I think I have another year (of eligibility). Maybe not. I do have an agent now."

Salas hopes to get another chance to build on his NCAA Division I-A lead in receiving yards. He averages 136.0 yards per game.

X-rays yesterday showed that Salas has a sprained right foot. There is no significant damage.

Asked if he will be available for Saturday's road game against San Jose State, Salas said, "I'm going to try. We'll see how it feels."

Salas yesterday was on crutches, although he was using them largely as a fashion accessory. He was not applying much weight on the crutches.

"It's just a sprain," Salas said.

Head coach Greg McMackin is so confident about Salas' full recovery that there is no contingency plan.

"He's a tough guy," McMackin said.

Bess also expects Salas to play.

"He's a competitor," Bess said. "He's always been real talented. He has great hands and great size."

Bess recalled Salas' first year at UH, in 2006, when Salas was redshirting.

"We used to get on him a little bit because he didn't want to get into the weight room," Bess said.

Salas agreed, saying: "I was too busy having fun here."

But that was soon to change.

"Once I realized my time was going to be coming, I got serious about it," Salas said.

Bess and Salas remain close friends. In spring training, when Salas moved from left wideout to left slotback — Bess' UH position — Salas studied videos of the Warriors' 2006 and 2007 seasons.

"I wanted to see how they got open," Salas said of Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins.

Bess said he offers this advice to Salas: "Be a hard worker. It'll pay off. It'll make your game that much easier."

Salas said: "He always tells me to work hard. If you can do that, you can do anything you want. I take that information. It's good information. He works hard every day. He's a good person to watch and learn from."

MONIZ HAS BRUISED RIBS

X-rays confirmed that quarterback Bryant Moniz does not have any broken ribs.

Moniz suffered bruised ribs in the first quarter of the past Saturday's game, but then played through the third quarter.

While his right side is sore, he did not believe he suffered a serious injury. He underwent X-rays as a precaution.

Moniz was excused from participating in yesterday afternoon's light workout. He is expected to compete in this morning's practice.

NO FANS AT PRACTICES

McMackin said practices this week and next week will be closed to the public.

The Warriors practice here through Thursday, then depart for the road game against San Jose State. The following week, the Warriors play Navy.

Dick Tomey, a former UH head coach, is San Jose State's coach.

McMackin said he does not want to make UH's practices accessible to Spartan supporters who might want to pass on information.

"I'm not accusing (Tomey) of that," McMackin said. "I just know there are a lot of people who like Dick Tomey here."

McMackin said Navy also has a lot of supporters in the Islands.

Accredited media still will be allowed to attend UH's practices.

UH is the only Western Athletic Conference football team that allows the public to attend its practices.

Most WAC schools allow the media only limited access. Reporters covering Boise State, for instance, are allowed to attend only the first few minutes of practice.

Boise State and Nevada do not allow their players to be interviewed by media from an upcoming opponent's area.

"I'm pretty liberal," McMackin said. "I want the press to have free access."

But for the next two weeks, McMackin said, "I don't want anybody else there. These two games are too important to take any chances."

CB BRYANT 'HEALING UP'

Right cornerback Jeramy Bryant will learn today whether he will be available to play against San Jose State.

Bryant has missed the past three games because of a partial tear to his left biceps.

He was scheduled to undergo an MRI last night.

Bryant said his arm is not 100 percent, but "it's healing up." He said he can flex without difficulty.

There is a 3-point scale for measuring such injuries. Bryant said he originally was diagnosed with a high 2.

"It was a little past 'moderate,'" he said.

Kawika Ornellas has been starting at Bryant's position.