In a quarterback sneak, the Hawai'i football team yesterday capped a three-week recruiting spree by signing a prolific passer.

Greg Alexander of Santa Rosa (Calif.) Junior College sealed a stealth courtship when he signed a national letter of intent yesterday, the first day recruits could put their commitments in writing.

"What can I say? It's Hawai'i," Alexander said. "I love the offense. That's a big part of why I decided to go there."

Of the 21 recruits who made their UH commitments official yesterday, Alexander's pledge was the biggest public surprise.

Noticing that several schools appeared to chase players the Warriors were recruiting, UH coaches took special care to hide Alexander's name from recruiting services and message boards.

But by late yesterday morning, Alexander had signed his letter of intent. UH received a faxed copy, which is recognized by the NCAA as a binding agreement.

Alexander said he is 6 feet 5 and 240 pounds. He has been timed running 40 yards in 4.65 seconds.

Last season, he threw for 3,876 yards — second most among California community college quarterbacks — and 43 touchdowns.

Alexander was not UH's original target. The coaches were recruiting a Santa Rosa wide receiver. But while reviewing Santa Rosa videos, the UH coaches were impressed with Alexander's arm strength. They were told that Alexander had received tepid interest, mostly because he had only two years to play two seasons.

Alexander said he received offers from five Division I-AA schools. He met with Bowling Green officials, but did not receive an offer. Then this past Saturday, Alexander received a call from Nick Rolovich, UH's new quarterbacks coach. Rolovich, a former UH quarterback, was an assistant coach at City College of San Francisco in 2006 and 2007. CCSF and Santa Rosa compete in the same conference.

"I had good talks with Rolovich on Saturday and again on Sunday," Alexander said.

Sunday night, Alexander received a hush-hush offer from the Warriors. Alexander accepted.

Alexander said Santa Rosa ran a four-wide offense that has many similarities to the run-and-shoot attack the Warriors will use.

Alexander said he will earn his associate degree in May, then move to Hawai'i.

Alexander is the second quarterback in this UH recruiting class. Brent Rausch of College of the Desert also signed yesterday. Rausch, who visited UH this past weekend, received 11th-hour interest from Southern Methodist.

The Warriors received a scare when Ryan Henry, a speedy slotback from West Los Angeles College, received a late offer from Washington State yesterday.

Henry acknowledged the Cougars "tried to get me over there. I'm committing to Hawai'i. Put that down. I'm a man of my word."

Other than that, there were no glitches.

Running back Jake Heun, who played at CCSF last season, provided the least drama, having enrolled at UH three weeks ago.

Kahuku High linebacker Paipai Falemalu, who was pressed by Oregon State the past few days, signed without incident.

Damien Memorial School safety Christian Vasconcellos and defensive end Haku Correa participated in a signing ceremony yesterday morning. In the afternoon, they hand-delivered their signed letters to the UH coaches.

The next-to-last signing came from wideout Mike Tinoco of Saddleback Community College. He had waited for his parents to co-sign.

"I am a Warrior," Tinoco said. "That's pretty sweet."

BROWN BACK ON BOARD

Former UH linebacker Chris Brown is officially re-joining the Warriors as a student manager. Brown is enrolled at UH this semester.

"It's good to be back around the team," Brown said. "I can do my part helping coach Mel (deLaura, the strength and conditioning coach) in the weight room and helping where I can."

Brown, who was one of the Baltimore Ravens' final cuts in 2003, said he does not miss playing.

"Coaching relieves a lot of that need," he said. "I think I'm a better coach than player."

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

After the Warriors' first Super Games competition, the leader is a team with zero points.

That's because points are deducted when a team member misses a class or is tardy. There are 10 teams composed of UH football players in the competition, in which points are awarded — or deducted — for academic performance, workout improvements and victories in Super Games. The activities include no-rules basketball and arm wrestling.

Yesterday, assistant head coach George Lumpkin read off the names of the players who had earned demerits for their teams. "I knew we didn't have anybody on that list," team captain David Farmer said. Although his team did not win any contests yesterday, it was the only one not to have points deducted.

"No points, but first place," Farmer said. "Perfect attendance is the key. We're leading the pack with zero points."

Yesterday, the teams competed in arm-wrestling and wall sitting, in which a participant is in a sitting position, with his back square against the wall, as if he is on an imaginary chair. A 45-pound plate is placed on the lap.

Backup linebacker R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane, who held the sitting position for nearly 5 minutes, won one competition.

"I sit on the bench all of the time," Kiesel-Kauhane said. "It comes natural. Nah, it takes strong legs and a strong heart."

Visit Tsai's blog at www.HawaiiWarriorBeat.com.