Inoke Funaki will be available as a quarterback in an emergency situation when the Hawai'i football team plays Fresno State Saturday at Aloha Stadium.

Bryant Moniz, a sophomore walk-on, will be the Warriors' starting quarterback in place of Greg Alexander, who underwent season-ending surgery this past weekend.

Alexander, a senior, was diagnosed with tears to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and meniscus in his left knee.

Shane Austin, a third-year sophomore, will be Moniz's immediate backup.

"We're going to miss Greg, because he means a lot to our team, but I have complete confidence in Bryant and Shane," head coach Greg McMackin said. "They're good quarterbacks."

During a lengthy coaches' meeting yesterday, it was decided that Funaki, a senior who moved to running back in spring training, will be available as a quarterback on an emergency basis.

But McMackin said Funaki will practice with the running backs this week, as well as continue to work on the wildcat package, in which the running back takes the direct snap.

Funaki was the starting quarterback when the Warriors defeated Fresno State last season. Last year, he completed 100 of 173 passes for 1,184 yards and seven touchdowns.

Funaki said he has not taken a snap as a quarterback since the 2008 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. In that game, he completed all five passes, including one for a touchdown.

The decision enables the Warriors to continue to redshirt freshman quarterbacks David Graves, Cayman Shutter and Corey Nielsen.

Those three are bracketed — "we haven't been able to evaluate them," McMackin said — and each takes an equal amount of reps while working with the scout team.

"We try to split it up fairly," Shutter said. "It's something we decided."

The Warriors are wishful that Brent Rausch might be available for Saturday's game.

Rausch, a fourth-year junior, was the No. 2 quarterback when he suffered a fracture in the right pinkie of his throwing hand during a practice 3 1/2 weeks ago.

At the time, Rausch said, he was told the recovery period would be "eight to 10 weeks."

Since then, the doctors have been optimistic about an earlier return.

Rausch said he has 75-percent flexibility in the finger.

"It feels good," Rausch said.

Rausch said he has a doctor's appointment this morning, at which time he will learn when he can resume throwing.

He has taken mental reps during the Warriors' home practices.

Of the possibility of being available to play this weekend, Rausch said, "I'm going to try."

McMackin said: "We're going to wait on (the doctor's evaluation). We hope Brent will be back soon."

Rausch said he considers himself to be a quick healer. He said he has "broken all of his fingers" in other activities through the years.

McMackin said he also is hopeful that defensive tackle Vaughn Meatoga will be able to participate in all of the drills this week.

Meatoga suffered a badly sprained right ankle against Nevada-Las Vegas Sept. 20, and was limited to five plays in the past Wednesday's 27-6 loss to Louisiana Tech.

Defensive end Fetaiagogo Fonoti, who was limping noticeably during Saturday's unsupervised players-only practice, also should be ready.

The Warriors have re-arranged today's practice schedule.

On a typical Monday, the team will watch videos of special teams for an hour, then participate in conditioning drills and a weight-lifting session.

Today, after watching special-team videos, there will be separate meetings for the offense and defense. The Warriors will have a 90-minute practice this afternoon.

"We want to change it up a little bit," McMackin said.

FONOTI'S FAMILY IS OK

Fonoti said he was relieved to learn that his mother and brother were not harmed during the American Samoa disaster last week.

He said his brother often drives on the road that was struck by the tsunami. But his brother had completed his delivery earlier in the day, and was "far away when the tsunami hit."

Fonoti said he was not able to reach his mother or brother before Wednesday's game.

"It was hard planning and thinking (during the game)," Fonoti said. "It was very emotional. It was a big relief to find out they were safe."