In the first setback of the University of Hawaii football team’s fall camp, freshman quarterback Kevin Spain confirmed he will need season-ending surgery on his throwing shoulder.

"I tore a little ligament in my (right) shoulder," said Spain, a graduate of Paradise Valley High in Arizona.

He said he would like to have surgery "as soon as possible."

"I’ll definitely be back by spring," Spain added. "That’s the good side of it. I’m going to miss all of fall. That kind of sucks since I came all the way out here (early)."

The likelihood was Spain would have redshirted this season, anyway, to further learn the four-wide offense.

"For the most part, we were leaning that way, and he was aware of that," offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said. "But we really wanted to get a look at him throwing (in training camp). We didn’t really get that."

Spain, who arrived in June, took two three-credit classes in the newly created "bridge term" that ran through last week. That allowed him to participate in unsupervised offseason workouts, which included 11-on-11 passing drills.

A couple of weeks ago, Spain noticed, he "started losing a whole bunch of power (and) accuracy. My (passes) were all over the place. I wanted to get it checked out."

He said medical tests showed the slight tear.

Corey Nielsen, a second-year freshman, will replace Spain on the Warriors’ 105-player roster. Nielsen was set to join the Warriors Aug. 23, the first day of the fall semester, when NCAA-mandated roster limits are lifted. Instead, Nielsen, who had been working out in California, will report tomorrow.

"It’ll give (Nielsen) more chances to throw the ball around," Rolovich said. "I heard he’s had a good summer working out in California. We want to see where he’s at."

As promised, the top-tier quarterbacks—Bryant Moniz, Shane Austin, Brent Rausch and David Graves—received a relatively equal number of snaps in passing drills.

Moniz, who has worked mostly with the first team, is widely believed to be the favorite to be the No. 1 quarterback when the tier is whittled in the next week.

"He has a good understanding of the offense," Rolovich said of Moniz, who started eight games in 2009. "He’s the type of kid if you say it once, he knows what you’re talking about. You don’t have to draw it up. You don’t have to show it on film. You can verbally explain things to him, and he understands."

Rolovich said that Austin is throwing well.

"Shane always throws the ball well," Rolovich said.

Rolovich said Rausch, a fifth-year senior who didn’t take a snap in 2009 because of a broken finger, has been impressive during the first two practices.

"He’s lost a little bit of the nervousness in the pocket," Rolovich said. "He understands what he needs to do."

Meanwhile, Siaki Cravens, who was recruited as an outside linebacker, has moved to defensive end.

"There’s a feeling he could help us with our pass rush," defensive coordinator Dave Aranda said.

Cravens welcomed a return to a position he played at Long Beach City College in 2009.

Cravens said he is 6 feet 3, 235 pounds, and capable of running 40 yards in 4.5 seconds. He can bench press 370 pounds.

The one adjustment to moving to rush end?

"I have to eat like a D-lineman," he said, smiling. "I think I’m doing that, anyway. At least that’s what my mom always says."

Aranda praised Cravens’ athletic ability. Cravens was recruited as a tight end to Utah, where he played as a freshman.

In the base 4-3 scheme, Cravens will line up as a defensive end. But in other packages, he might be used as the "joker"—a stand-up pass-rusher who can align on the line or in coverage.

"He’s a hybrid guy who gives us a lot of flexibility," Aranda said.