From reporters, Lametrius Davis' brief Hawai'i football career has received good ink.

The rest of his life is told in ink.

"These tattoos," said Davis, a junior cornerback, "are my life story, my map."

He was 16 when his body first became a canvas, with "Lord Knows," etched on his right arm.

He added an image of his father, a member of the Crips who was gunned down when Davis was 2.

An image of his grandfather, who died when Davis was a college freshman, is across his heart.

On his stomach are two Bible verses — Isaiah 54:17 ("No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you) and Philippians 3:13-14 ("... Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead ...").

"Basically, it's my life," Davis said of the scriptures. "Everything is put into the verses."

On his right arm is "No sacrifice," on his left is "No reward." On his left leg is "Only the strong survive."

"I don't remember much about my dad," Davis said. "I was only 2. It was pretty hard. I had to grow up pretty fast."

When he was 6, he began to babysit his younger sister.

"My mom worked," he said. "She was a single parent."

His new tattoo, scrawled across his chest, reads: "My Sister's Keeper."

"Because we grew up without a father, I was a brother and a father figure," Davis said.

He said receiving responsibility early "made me a better person. I didn't want to let my family down. Everything I do, I do for my family."

Davis, who was raised in Portland, Ore., attended Butte Community College in California. He redshirted in 2006, and played cornerback in 2007 and 2008. He accumulated 64 credits to earn an associate degree and more than the 48 transferrable credits needed to enroll at UH in January.

"In Division I, you have people in your face to get (school work) done," Davis said. "When you're in (junior college), if you want to do good, you do good. If you want to do bad, you do bad. There's nobody in your face, really. It comes down to working hard and getting your school work done."

At Butte, Davis was a cornerback in a man-to-man system. In UH's spring practice in April, Davis alternated between cornerback and safety. He was moved to cornerback entering training camp.

With Tank Hopkins sidelined because of an injured hip flexor, Davis has been the No. 1 left cornerback. He is expected to start against Central Arkansas.

"I'm just trying to make a living," Davis said. "I'm going to try to keep getting better every day."

The Warriors often play zone coverages with their defensive secondary. Davis said the scheme allows him to take more chances, knowing a safety can slide over as insurance.

Then again, Davis tries to make the right choices.

"I don't want to fail," Davis said. "Everything I do goes back to my family. They're relying on me. And I don't want to let down anybody, like the coaches or my teammates. The coaches put a lot of trust into recruiting me."

Associate head coach Rich Miano, who coaches the cornerbacks, said: "Physically, Lametrius is what we're looking for. He's big, strong, fast. We expect big things out of him."

ESTES A PRESEASON PICK

Center John Estes has been named to the CBSSports.com's 2009 Preseason All-America second team.

"It's an honor, I guess," Estes said. "It's good to be on. But I want to be on it at the end of the season, not before the season."

Estes said he believes he was chosen as a "carryover from last year. But we gave up a lot of sacks last year, and I was the center of the offensive line."

Estes credits his success to past line coaches Dennis McKnight, now with Southern Methodist, and Brian Smith, who is coaching the running backs this season.

Estes said McKnight "helped me progress from a good player to a pretty good player."

Of Smith, Estes said, "Smitty taught me about the coverages, things I didn't know before. That just added to my repertoire."

Estes said he has bonded with Gordy Shaw, who was named offensive line coach in February. Shaw coached at Minnesota for 15 years.

"Gordy is the man," Estes said. "He's a smart guy, too. He puts in some plays that are nice for me. He was in the Big Ten forever. He's seen a lot of football and tapes — what a guy on defense can or cannot do. He helps out with angles and leverage."