It was last season, but Hawaii middle linebacker George Daily-Lyles still remembered the bitter taste left in his mouth.
"It burned," Daily-Lyles said of his first soda in several years.
Since then, Daily-Lyles filled his plate with leafy greens, cut in half his meat intake, stopped drinking soda and found methods — some painful — to mold his body "into a college body."
He followed UH strength coach Tommy Heffernan’s offseason workout program. For a month this summer, he was back home in Long Beach, Calif., training under unforgiving Greg Washington.
Daily-Lyles ran, lifted weights, kick-boxed and competed in muay thai.
"It’s ridiculously hard," he said of the Thailand-based martial arts. "I got kicked in the head a couple of times. I took a couple of body shots. It was all in good fun."
The good times will continue to roll when Daily-Lyles is in the starting lineup when the Warriors host Colorado on Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
Daily-Lyles practiced with the first team the past week while Corey Paredes recovered from tight quadriceps. With Aaron Brown’s suspension, Paredes will move to weak-side linebacker, and Daily-Lyles will move into the No. 1 rotation.
"If you look at this spring and this fall camp, he’s probably played better than anyone we’ve got," defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said of Daily-Lyles. "I’m proud of his progress."
Head coach Greg McMackin said: "He’s more serious. You look at him now, he’s grown up. He’s really improved."
Daily-Lyles conceded his fun-loving personality belied his grittiness.
"I guess that’s what the coach thought of me," Daily-Lyles said. "Maybe I wasn’t ready for the college atmosphere when I first got here. But I bought into the system."
Daily-Lyles redshirted in 2009 because of a hamstring injury. In the 2010 opener, Daily-Lyles started against his favorite childhood team, Southern California.
"I had big-eyes syndrome," said Daily-Lyles, who was pulled early.
He played well the following week, but soon after, the Warriors traded the 4-3 scheme for the 45 defense featuring five defensive backs. Daily-Lyles was replaced by a nickelback.
The past offseason, he worked on becoming an every-down player. He improved his stamina enough that the trek up Koko Crater is considered "a hike." He lost 9 pounds and now weighs 226. And in practices, he started making plays.
"I know my role," he said. "Football is not about being angry. It’s see the man with the ball, tackle the man with the ball."
Aranda said: "George is a bright guy, really driven. Football is important to him. He spends a lot of time studying it. You tell him something one time, he gets it. It’s good to have guys you can rely on, and we can rely on George."
Faaumu gets reps at right guard
Andrew Faaumu, the backup left guard, practiced as the No. 1 right guard Monday.
Chauncy Winchester-Makainai was suffering from flu-like symptoms and was sent to the UH student health center. Backup right guard David Lefotu, who has a sore left knee, is expected to be cleared to practice today.
"In the summertime, I was working at left and right guard, just in case," Faaumu said. "I was ready."
Backup center Kody Afusia also practiced at right guard.
