Never mind the University of Hawai'i football newcomers' reaction yesterday to the first practice at Aloha Stadium this training camp.

Or the aggressive play of the Warrior defenders in a no-toetag, no-foul scrimmage.

The hot topic was the weather.

"The heat was blazing," freshman wideout Michael Washington said. "From the sideline, you could see the heat rising. It hits you in the nose."

A groundskeeper measured the FieldTurf temperature at more than 100 degrees. Media relations director Lois Manin's right sneaker separated because of the heat.

"You feel the heat from above you and you feel the heat from beneath you," wideout Ian Sample said. "It's definitely hot. ... You have to make sure everyone stays really hydrated. That's the most important thing."

The only player unfazed was quarterback Tyler Graunke, who was raised in Arizona.

"Your feet get really hot, but it was OK," Graunke said. "It was fine for me. We'll see how everybody adjusts on Sept. 3."

Graunke was referring to the season opener against two-time defending national champion Southern California — and the reason the Warriors moved their workouts from their on-campus grass practice field. UH coach June Jones said he wanted the first-year Warriors to experience playing in Aloha Stadium.

"It's always good for the kids who hadn't been there before," Jones said.

Forty-eight Warriors on the training-camp roster have never played a game in Aloha Stadium, a list that includes quarterback Colt Brennan and Washington.

But Brennan said the University of Colorado, where he was a freshman two years ago, had the same type of FieldTurf.

"It's my favorite type of surface to play on, besides grass," Brennan said. "When you get hit, you fall down really nice. You don't have to worry, like you do with AstroTurf, the stuff they used to have here. AstroTurf is rough. People hated that."

The only concern, Brennan said, is the rubber granules in the base of the FieldTurf. "They can get into your eyes," he said.

Washington said: "It was amazing to practice there. It was my first time on that turf. I was slipping a little bit, but it was a good experience."

The 2 1/2-hour practice ended at 12:30 p.m. The opener is scheduled to kick off at 1:05 p.m.

"We're used to practicing in the heat," Graunke said. "I don't think USC will be ready for the heat."

For now, the Warriors are focusing on their own development. Left slotback Jason Ferguson (strained back), right slotback Ryan Grice-Mullen (strained right shoulder) and left tackle Tala Esera (sore left knee) did not compete yesterday. In the 51-play scrimmage, running back Chris Cole suffered a strained left shoulder, and slotback Patrick Olchovy injured his back when he was slammed to the turf.

"We're low on bodies right now," Jones said. "We have to get well."

Competing against the second-string defense, Graunke completed 4 of 6 passes for 61 yards, and Brennan was 6 of 7 for 75 yards. Neither was intercepted. Inoke Funaki was 3 of 6 for 29 yards against the first-team defense.

The defenders, meanwhile, were rebels without a pause. Of the 29 pass plays, five resulted in sacks.

"The intensity was there on defense," Graunke said. "That was good for (the offense). That's how it has to be for us to get prepared, because there's going to be no mercy from USC. They're the best team in the country."

Defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville declined to offer his assessment of the defensive play.

"I never believed in grading scrimmages," he said. "For us, it was strictly an evaluation of people, hopefully to see who played hard physically. We have to improve some. We're not where we want to be."

But Glanville praised the leadership of the experienced players, noting their work is "not only important to them, it may be passionate to them. That's what you really need. I can see where it becomes important to another guy every day. I can see where it becomes passionate to a different person some days. When it becomes passionate to 11 players, you're different from the rest of the teams. We're trying to get in that direction."

The Warriors will conclude training camp on campus with this afternoon's practice, which was rescheduled from Friday. A power outage Friday canceled the Warriors' two practices totaling 4 1/2 hours, team meetings and a video-review sessions.

Quarterback Kainoa Akina, kicker Nolan Miranda and running back Jazen Anderson join the team tomorrow, the first day of the UH fall semester, when the roster is allowed to expand.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.