Despite a sore right knee, University of Hawai'i free safety Leonard Peters vowed to play in Saturday's football game against Louisiana Tech.

Peters, who is one of three team captains, yesterday underwent a magnetic resonance imaging after experiencing "tightness" and discomfort in his right knee. There was concern after Peters missed all but one game of the 2005 season because of a torn medial collateral ligament in the same knee.

This time, the MRI did not show any apparent tearing.

"The doctor thinks I just tweaked it," Peters said. "No matter what he said, I was going to play, anyway. Nothing was going to stop me from playing."

Peters said he suffered the injury during Saturday's 63-10 road victory over Utah State. He said a teammate inadvertently "rolled" into his right knee.

"If the game (were) today, I would not be able to go," Peters said. "I can't hardly jog. ... I tried to jog, and I couldn't."

He said he probably will rest "for a couple of days, and we'll see. But if it's up to me, I'm going to play."

Strong safety Jake Patek has been told he will move to free safety in Peters' absence. Dane Porlas and Mike Malala also will play there.

"We'll try to get the best 11 out there," defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville said.

Patek said of Peters: "He's a great leader on defense. He's someone we really need out there. If he's not going to be out there, hopefully I can step it up."

Meanwhile, there might be a change at left cornerback. Rich Miano, who coaches the defensive secondary, said Ryan Keomaka will practice as the first-team left cornerback today.

"That's the plan," Miano said.

For Keomaka to start, Miano said, "he has to have a good week of practice."

The Warriors have started four different players at left cornerback this season. A.J. Martinez, who started against Utah State, is suffering from a possible sprained knee. He underwent an MRI yesterday.

That opens the way for Keomaka, who has an interception in each of the past two games.

"He makes plays, he's confident in his speed, and he tackles well," Miano said.

Of the possibility of starting, Keomaka said, "I'm stoked. Every corner has a chance to start."

Keomaka said his greatest challenge is gaining weight. "I'm 170, I think," he said. "I can lose weight, but I can't gain. We run a lot."

As for his height, Keomaka said, "I'm 5-10; 5-11 with shoes on; 6-1 with shoes and a helmet."

ANSWERING THE CALL

Running back Siave Seti and offensive linemen Larry Sauafea and Adrian Thomas yesterday auditioned on the depleted defensive line. "It was open casting call," defensive line coach Jeff Reinebold said.

Five defensive ends were lost to injuries in the past two games.

That forced Glanville to request help from the offense. Seti and Sauafea began their UH careers as defensive linemen.

"I'm just trying to help out my team," Seti said. "They're trying me at end and nose."

At 5-11 and 280 pounds, Seti does not fit the image of a UH defensive end. UH's starters are 6-6 Ikaika Alama-Francis and 6-5 Melila Purcell III.

"No, (Seti) doesn't look like an end, but a lot of our ends don't look like ends," Glanville said. "What I like is Seti has a championship motor."

After two weeks, the UH coaches listened to starting nose tackle Michael Lafaele's suggestion to move Sauafea.

Lafaele said he told the coaches: "Bring Larry over. I think he's a better defensive lineman than offensive lineman. He's a tough kid. You can see him making plays. Guaranteed."

After yesterday's 30-minute conditioning drills, Reinebold spent another 45 minutes tutoring the defensive linemen.

"You could see, obviously, that Larry has played there before," Reinebold said.

Thomas was scheduled to redshirt this season, but head coach June Jones said, "If he can help us, he'll play (this year)."

Thomas said he was taught where to line up in some of the defensive fronts. "I think I'm still redshirting," he said.

"I think the jury's out on that," Reinebold said. "Adrian has no earthly idea what he's doing (on defense). But he's big (6-5, 305) and he's got some athletic ability. ... It's worth, during this time when he is going to redshirt, to invest some time to see if he can do it."

Fale Laeli, a defensive end who has missed five games because of knee injuries, is expected to play this week.

"Everything is good," Laeli said. "I'm still waiting for my custom-made brace to come in. I'll play with that. I took measurements on Friday."

Glanville said: "If we can get him ready to go, that's a big, big plus. When he left, he was playing at a very high level."

WAC HONORS BRENNAN

Another week, another honor for quarterback Colt Brennan.

Yesterday, he was named the Western Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season. He threw for 413 yards and six touchdowns against Utah State.

"I think it's great for the team that we're getting notoriety," Brennan said. "We need as much attention as we can get. We want to take the program to that level. We've got a good football team. We want a lot of good things to start happening for us."