BRANDON EATON

Hometown: Houston.

High school: Worthing High.

Height: 6-2.

Weight: 295 pounds.

Bench press: 225 pounds 27 times.

Maximum bench: 415 pounds.

40 time: "5.19 (seconds), something like that."

Non-football talent: "Basketball. I can still dunk. I may be fat, but I can still jump."

USC ties: "I used to live in California. I was in the shadows of USC. As long as I can remember, I always wanted to go there. I ended up here, playing against them."

USC pet peeve: "Their cockiness. They've been cocky since forever. I don't like that."

Mom's special dish: "Her chicken. Ask anybody. They love it. (Uperesa) loves it. She brings it to every single road trip. The secret is she makes it with love."

Fumble recovery or pancake block: "Pancake. After you pancake somebody, you can look them in the face and say, 'Damn.' "

Why guard is better. "You're in the middle; you're fighting. It's almost like a fist fight. (At tackle) it's punch, grab and sit down. There's a little more thinking to playing guard."

DANE UPERESA

Hometown: Hau'ula.

High school: Punahou School.

Height: 6-5 1/2.

Weight: 315 pounds.

Bench press: 225 pounds 29 times.

Maximum bench: 450 pounds.

40 time: "5.2 (seconds). That's my estimate." Non-football talent: Poker. "I know Hercules (Satele, a guard) said he's the bracelet winner (for UH poker players), but I won the main event. We have little tournaments in camp. He won the little circuit events."

USC ties: Uncle Keith Uperesa was a USC assistant coach.

USC pet peeve: "Their band. It's cool when you first hear ("Fight On!"), but they play it after what seems like every first down. It gets irritating."

Mom's special dish: Fried chicken. Ours is the Hawaiian version with garlic salt to sweeten it."

Fumble recovery or pancake: "If you can pick up (a fumble), that's better. If you just lie on it, I'd say, 'pancake.' If you lie on it, you get a pile on you."

Why tackle is better: "You have to be athletic. At guard, you can sit around and block the guy in front of you."

Overcoming obstacles at the start of their careers, guard Brandon Eaton, who suffered a broken arm as a freshman, and right tackle Dane Uperesa, who was benched after the 2003 opener, have found a home on the offensive line's right side.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.