Quarterback Colt Brennan turned 24 yesterday, and his University of Hawai'i teammates celebrated with a birthday splash.

In what has become an annual tradition, UH head coach June Jones cut short practice by more than an hour to give the players a pool day at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

There's one catch: each of the newcomers was asked to jump from the 10-meter-high board.

"Let me tell you, that's very high," said defensive end Francis Maka, a transfer from College of San Mateo. "Everyone said when you look up, it won't be high. But it was. I kept walking up those stairs. I didn't think those stairs would end."

Maka and offensive tackle Ray Hisatake, a San Mateo teammate, nervously paced on the board.

"We're both scared of heights," Maka said. "It was like, 'I'll jump if you jump.' We jumped together."

Cornerback Ryan Mouton, who was cleared to join the team Monday, probably wished he had waited another few days.

"It hurt," said Mouton, who was part of a five-man jump that included running back Leon Wright-Jackson. "Leon pulled me to the side."

Wright-Jackson, who last played at Nebraska, admitted to being a novice swimmer.

"It was crazy," he said. "I barely learned how to swim before I got out here (last month). I don't even know how to tread."

But several teammates — led by linebackers Brashton Satele and Timo Paepule and safety Spencer Smith — volunteered to serve as lifeguards. They waited in the water, holding on to kick boards.

"I trust my teammates," Wright-Jackson said. "They knew how to save me. But when I landed, I pushed them away because I was panicking."

Satele said: "He was trying to drown me. We pulled him to the side. That's part of helping out a teammate."

Wright-Jackson added: "We didn't do this in Nebraska."

Some newcomers tried the nice-'n'-easy approach. Wideout Jett Jasper, failing to live up to the phonetic definition of his name, had a simple feet-first jump.

"I didn't want to do anything too crazy," said Jasper, who was raised on the Garden Island. "We had a lot of high stuff to jump off on Kaua'i. I didn't want to do double-back flips and get hurt."

Instead, he was booed.

The loudest cheers were for long-snapper Jake Ingram, who was participating in his third pool day, and defensive end Josh Leonard.

Ingram had a near-flawless gainer — a back-flip he perfected the hard way. During his first pool day two years ago, Ingram splashed awkwardly 12 times.

"I kept hitting my side," Ingram said. "I was going like this or like that instead of going straight back. On the 13th time, I got it right, and I never missed it since."

Leonard wowed his teammates with a triple flip. With his back and shoulders a canvas of tattoos, Leonard resembled a colorful spinning top.

"Me and my brothers used to sneak into places like this at night and do front flips," Leonard said. "I told all of the guys I was going to do that. They hadn't seen a rookie do that."

Jones said he had scheduled the pool day three months ago, but kept the plans a secret. Each year, a pool-day practice ends when a kicker fulfills a field-goal-on-demand request.

During yesterday's practice, punter/kicker Briton Forester whispered to kicker Dan Kelly: "Get ready. We're going to the pool today."

"He said he had a feeling," Kelly recalled.

Forester said: "I heard it through the grapevine. I've got my sources."

After punting drills, Jones told Kelly to line up for a field-goal attempt from 40 yards. Make the kick, and practice is over.

Kelly's kick was true.

"It's another field goal," Kelly said. "It doesn't matter if it's the pool or not. I try to make all of my field goals. As we learned last year, one field goal can make a difference between a win and a loss."

Kelly's field goal triggered a wild celebration — for most. Freshman Le'Marcus Gibson and defensive tackle Chris Leatigaga were less than enthusiastic.

Gibson said he does not know how to swim.

"They told me they were going to be down in the pool to save me," Gibson said. "I figured I might as well go and get it over with.

"I went up on the board, said a little prayer and hopped off. I felt I was never going to hit the water. I was thinking: 'When am I going to hit the water?' Man, I'm glad it's over."

After about 20 minutes, it appeared all of the newcomers had jumped. Then someone spotted Leatigaga, who realized why 6-foot-4, 272-pound linemen rarely win in hide-and-seek.

"I was hoping they'd forget about me," Leatigaga said.

As the acrophobic Leatigaga ascended the stairs, the players chanted: "Chris! ... Chris! ..."

"I'm afraid of heights," Leatigaga said.

The chants then turned to: "Wimp! ... Wimp! ..."

"I was really scared," Leatigaga said.

And then: "Jump! ... Jump! ..."

And he did, spiraling into the pool.

"That was hard," Leatigaga said. "The best thing is I'll never have to do that again."

A few minutes later, Brennan arrived, having completed an interview for the upcoming "June Jones Show." He removed his cleats, socks, jersey and shoulder pads, climbed the stairs and jumped — yet another accurate completion.

"It was awesome," Brennan said.

A few months ago, Brennan was the featured guest at the Legislature. During the ceremony he received a proclamation noting that Aug. 16 would be known as "Colt Brennan Day."

Brennan kept the paper, although state employees still had to work yesterday.

"I guess today's just another day," Brennan said.

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