He clapped his hands and threw his head back, shouting in frustration. Then, after brief instruction from associate head coach Rich Miano, nodded his understanding.

Junior cornerback Jeramy Bryant has slowly made his way up the depth chart, aided by his willingness to learn the Hawai'i defense.

"He's very conscientious," said assistant head coach/cornerbacks coach George Lumpkin. "He's a pretty intelligent kid and he picks up things if he understands totally what it is that you're asking from him.

"With his desire to want to be the best he can be, which I think he does, he works hard. He focuses well and that helps him to grow as fast as he's grown."

Bryant constantly patrols the sideline consulting someone about something, eager to soak up advice from his teammates and coaches.

It has been that way since he arrived in June after two seasons at Los Angeles Harbor College and began offseason workouts with the team.

"I felt like it would be good to get to know the defense, get to know the coaches, and get to know the teammates," Bryant said. "I just worked every day. I tried to get with the veterans as much as I could, and a lot of the veterans were really helpful. It not only helped me out by knowing my stuff, but it helped me by not being afraid to ask the vets (in fall camp) because I already knew them."

Although it can take a transfer up to a year to adjust to a new defense, Bryant takes guidance from those who made a similar transition.

"It's taking me kind of a long time, but people like Calvin (Roberts), (Ryan) Mouton, Jameel (Dowling), everybody helping me out, it should take me half the time, if that, because they know exactly what it's like to be in my shoes and exactly what I need to learn," Bryant said.

Lumpkin said Bryant has "come a great distance when you compare him to some of the guys who have been here," and credits the development to Bryant's decision to come to Hawai'i early and work out with his future teammates.

"Our team has a lot of aloha for each other, and they helped," Lumpkin said. "They told him what he was supposed to do in this coverage, what you are supposed to play in that coverage, how you are supposed to align, so he has come along because of the others and because he was here the whole summer."

Bryant is not afraid to consult with his teammates, making sure his coverages and alignment are en point.

"Sometimes you can't see things when you are playing and other people looking in are seeing things," he said. "I don't just ask the starters, I ask everybody."

He doesn't need to be the one to approach the coaches, who are on him with even the slightest correction.

"For a DB, even a small mistake is a big mistake, because they are the last line of defense," said Lumpkin, who spent part of Tuesday's practice at Aloha Stadium providing Bryant with almost one-on-one instruction.

"When you coach a secondary guy you have to make sure you coach every little thing because one step can be the difference between knocking the ball down, an interception, or a touchdown, Lumpkin said. "So sometimes in players' eyes, they thought they were in pretty good position, but in actuality they weren't because of where they were and how they got to where they were. And if it happens again, they are going to be beat."

Bryant said the coaches are "a big help" and they "keep it real."

"They tell you straight up if you had a good day or had a terrible day," he said.

Bryant had visited Hawai'i once before, when he was 5, so he is still adjusting to the Island lifestyle. Having his wife, Keshauna, and 2-year-old daughter Jayana with him helps.

"Things are a lot different from back home," said Bryant, who is from Carson, Calif. "Back home things are a lot faster. Here, it's not slower, but it's more mellow and chill. But I'm starting to get used to it. When you have great people around you, it makes it all that much better."