RENO, Nev. — At the end of yesterday's walk-through practice in Mackay Stadium, head coach Greg McMackin gathered his players at midfield.

McMackin then summoned sportscaster Robert Kekaula to stand in the middle of the 64-player huddle. In a loud voice, McMackin explained that Kekaula had a secret play to use against Nevada, the Warriors' opponent today.

Soon after, Kekaula was asked to lead the team in a yell.

Thing was, the incident was a ruse, something to give Nevada spies a fitful night of scrambling.

Maybe it's paranoia, but when practicing at another team's home facility, it is assumed that the place is bugged. And the Warriors, who had finalized their game plan in a sequestered practice at a Reno high school Thursday, put detailed planning into even sending out false scents.

But one thing is certain: all of the schemes and upset dreams — and the Warriors are 28 1/2-point underdogs — revolve around containing Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick is the brightest in a Western Athletic Conference of few stars. Kaepernick is 6 feet 6, capable of running 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, and hurls a baseball 94 mph.

Kaepernick is so multi-talented that the Warriors have used three scout quarterbacks to emulate his different skills in drills against the first-team defense.

"He's like David Blaine," UH associate head coach Rich Miano said. "He's like a street magician. You'll be rushing him, and he won't see you, but he'll feel you, and he'll spin out of there like he's 5-foot-3. Nobody can sack the guy. Nobody can contain the guy. When he gets going, nobody can catch him."

The knock on tall athletes is that their long strides impede their first-step quickness. Miano said 6-foot-5 Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, changed that widely regarded perception.

"No, I'm not saying (Kaepernick) is a Usain Bolt, but he gets up to top speed very quickly," Miano said. "And he can maneuver. A lot of tall guys don't have a low center of gravity. They can't change directions quickly. This guy can."

Kaepernick's skills were on display during an incompletion against Idaho last week. Kaepernick pirouetted away from a would-be sacker, out-raced a three-player manhunt toward the left sideline, then threw, across his body, a pass to a receiver near the right hashmark. The pass was not completed, but coaches were frozen with amazement.

"Not too many quarterbacks can do that," Miano said. "That's NFL stuff. He has big-time arm strength. You combine his arm strength with his running ability, and you have a guy who's a football freak. I mean that in a good way. There aren't that many people in that category."

The Warriors, meanwhile, were happy to settle on a starting quarterback. Bryant Moniz, who started the previous three games, suffered a first-quarter concussion against Boise State last week. Shane Austin was UH's quarterback for the final three periods of that game.

On Monday, Brent Rausch also was medically cleared to practice.

Moniz is set to start today. Rausch and Austin are considered to be co-No. 2 quarterbacks.

"We've had a good week of practice, McMackin said. "Now we have to go out and play."