Hawaii Warriors Football

The Hawaii football team finished up its first full week of practice with a high energy level, according to recently named team captain linebacker Corey Paredes.

"It's good considering how much time we practice and the weather and stuff. Considering the elements, guys are pretty optimistic, guys want to play, and we're excited for the season," Paredes said after Friday's practice.

"It's not the hottest place on earth but it's pretty hot, we're sweating out here, it's pretty humid."

Hawaii's two projected starters at slot receiver, Jeremiah Ostrowski and Billy Ray Stutzmann, have been held out of full participation since practice began Aug. 4 due to lingering hamstring issues.

Stutzmann hopes to be able to practice sometime this week. No word yet on Ostrowski.

Offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich said everything is looking good for the Warriors three weeks away from their season opener against Colorado with one condition: "We just need to get healthy."

Four players have been elected to serve the team as permanent captains, Paredes being voted in by his teammates for the second year in a row.

"It feels great to know that I have the respect from the other players and they feel that I could lead the team," Paredes said. "I was a captain last year and that surprised me because I was only a junior. And it feels good again to be picked this year and be able to be a leader on the team."

Joining him are quarterback Bryant Moniz, wide receiver Royce Pollard and strong safety Richard Torres.

For each game the team will name a different fifth captain.

Asked if there are any differences between this year's captains and last year's, Paredes said, "Yeah definitely. Last year there was more defensive captains, now it's split in half, two on defense, two on offense.

"It's good because we got leaders on both sides of the ball, so I think the team acknowledged that.

"There's a lot of guys that deserve to be captain on the team. It was a tough decision for the players to make, we have plenty of leaders, not only the four. That's why coach made the honorary captain every week."

With the season-opener against the Colorado Buffaloes only 24 days away, the University of Hawaiʻi football team is scheduled to begin two-a-day practices today.

The Warriors will practice two hours in the morning and reconvene later in the afternoon for a 90-minute practice.

Hawaiʻi coach Greg McMackin has to prepare his team for two Pac-12 schools to begin their season. After hosting the Buffaloes on Sept. 3, McMackin and the Warriors will head to Seattle where they will face the University of Washington at Huskies Stadium.

Last season Colorado finished with a record of 5-7, their last season in the Big 12 before switching over to the Pac-12.

Washington had a record of 7-6 last year and finished their season with a 19-7 victory over Nebraska in the Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl.

When Colorado comes to town for the nationally-televised (ESPN2) season-opener, it will mark the first game played at the "Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium."

According to KHON2 News, the new playing surface is "UBU Speed Series S5-M turf (the newest generation of synthetic turf), and will provide more padding with 2-1/2-inch "grass" blades, improved durability, and better drainage."

The 36-year-old stadium's new turf is part of a sponsorship agreement announced last week between Aloha Sports Properties, the Stadium’s exclusive advertising representative, and Hawaiian Airlines.

"Having a high-quality field is important for our local athletes, and for attracting high-profile events that benefit the community and showcase Hawaiʻi," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines' president and CEO.

"We are pleased to use funds from our marketing budget to contribute to these much needed improvements and increasing our support of the home team at UH."

Follow me on Twitter @KevinARiley

Email me at kevriley15@hotmail.com

Ohana.

Translated literally from the Hawaiian language to English it means "family."

Translated in a more practical sense, the word ʻohana  means everyone that you care about; or have a deep affection for.

For Hawaiʻi's Royce Pollard, his Warriors football team is his ʻohana.

More specifically, it's his fellow receivers. And for the fifth-year senior from University City High School in San Diego, Calif., he's the daddy.

Heading into the 2011 season, Pollard is the only returning starter from a receiving corp that helped Hawaiʻi lead the nation in passing yards.

Last season, Pollard tallied 901 yards and seven touchdowns. This year, he has been selected to the watch list of the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top receiver.

Tasting success now, Pollard is cognizant of how he got here.

When Pollard first came to Hawaiʻi in 2007, he says it was the older guys that took him in and showed him the ropes, guys like Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullen, Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares.

"The guys before me that I looked up to, they taught me, they did all they could to help me improve and help me develop," Pollard said after Hawaiʻi's first day of practice last Thursday.

"So I'm just going to repay my respects to them and help the younger guys, and continue to improve, and be that leader that we need to have.

"We know what we need to improve on, we know what we need to work with, and that's what we're going to do. We're going to take those steps to get better and develop day by day."

Giving back what one has been given.

That is the practice of ʻohana.

Royce Pollard could not be happier to do it.

When Salas and Pilares finished their Hawaiʻi careers last season and went on to be selected in the NFL draft, Pollard decided that it would be in his best interest—and in the team's best interest—if he stayed put in Hawai'i.

A year ago he went back to San Diego for part of the summer.

This year he stayed to work out and "develop those bonds."

"I've been here all summer," Pollard said.

"To get that team, and family relationship and camaraderie. So that we can keep moving forward and go out to the field and lay it all on the line together.

"Everybody's been training hard, working hard, it feels good to have the team out here together and the guys are all motivated to get it moving."

And how does it feel knowing that he is the top receiver now?

"It's exciting, I feel blessed."

Follow me on Twitter @KevinARiley

E-mail me at kevriley15@hotmail.com

Thursday's schedule was posted on the doors of two dance studios that are converted into the training-camp living quarters for University of Hawai'i football players every year at this time.

The morning consisted of meetings, breakfast and more meetings. The afternoon read something like, 12:00-1:00 Lunch, 1:00-1:30 Get Taped/Dressed, 2:00-4:30 Practice.

When two o'clock finally rolled around on this breezy summer day players were already littered clear across Clarence T.C. Ching Field, immersed in both a healthy sweat and an earful of instructions from their position coaches.

Suffice it to say, head coach Greg McMackin and his Warriors couldn't wait to get the 2011 season started.

"It's real exciting to get back out here and just watch where the guys are physically and mentally, I'm really proud of these guys and the coaches," McMackin said after the first day of practice.

"There's a great attitude out here, there's great leadership, I thought it was a good first practice. We've improved our speed and I think we've improved our depth.

"So for the first day, we're going in the right direction."

2010 brought Hawai'i a WAC Co-Championship with Nevada and Boise State.

This year could be better.

Boise State is now playing in the Mountain West Conference, and Nevada is playing with a first-year starter at quarterback. Hawai'i actually is the only school in the conference who is not playing this season with a first-year starter at quarterback.

And they have a good one.

Last year Bryant Moniz threw for 5,040 yards—10th all-time in NCAA history—and 39 touchdowns. This year he is going to have to find some new targets.

Greg Salas (1,889 yds, 14 td)  and Kealoha Pilares (1,306 yds, 15 td) are now in the NFL. Royce Pollard (901 yds, 7 td) is the only starter returning for an offense that constantly runs four-receiver sets.

"It's rough you know, there's another number one jersey (Salas' old number) out there and we made some jokes today, "That's a big jersey to fill," " Moniz replied about his first day of practice without his old receiving duo.

"But it's just the way the game goes, guys graduate and new guys come in. But it's happened before and they've learned."

Who are the early favorites to replace Salas and Pilares?

Moniz declared, "Everybody. That's the thing about this offense, when all four guys work together then the receivers will be successful."

In addition to finding new receivers, McMackin and offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich are also tasked with finding a new starting running back and four offensive lineman.

Only left tackle Austin Hansen is returning up front.

The 2011 Warriors' defense will be returning six starters.

McMackin believes that it will be his best defensive unit since taking over the head coaching job from June Jones in 2008.

Follow me on Twitter @KevinARiley

Email me at kevriley15@hotmail.com

Fresh off a two-day trip to Las Vegas last week, University of Hawai'i head football coach Greg McMackin and star quarterback Bryant Moniz know exactly where they stand in the eyes of their peers and they look to get started on the right foot today, their first official day of practice.

Crowned the preseason favorites to win the Western Athletic Conference in both the media and coaches polls during WAC Media Day, McMackin isn't phased by the lofty accolades being dealt to his team a month out from their season opener against the Colorado Buffaloes.

"I don't put a lot of faith in rankings," McMackin said last week in Las Vegas. "Last year we were ranked from fifth to eighth and I feel the same way as far as being ranked first...it might be a compliment to the program, but I don't put a great deal of thought to it."

More concerned with "playing one game at a time" and counting up wins and losses at the end of the season, McMackin is remindful of the reason they keep score. All of these predictions will mean nothing if Hawai'i is not standing on top when the season is over.

"We're excited to compete for the WAC championship," McMackin said. "There are several schools that can win it. I think Fresno, Nevada, Louisiana Tech are all tough football teams."

Moniz, meanwhile, continues to shoulder the load for one of the most dynamic offenses in college football. Quarterbacking Hawai'i to 7,009 total yards last year, the second highest total in the nation, Moniz was selected pre-season WAC player of the year by the media.

"It's exciting to get the recognition from the teams across the WAC," Moniz said at WAC Media Day. "But it also puts a bigger target on our back. We're going to have to prepare a lot more and work that much harder.

"Every award that I get or am nominated for it's all a result of our offense, it's really not much of my play," Moniz said.

"It's a credit to the offensive line for giving me time to throw, the running back for blocking and running, the receivers for catching the balls. I got the easy job I think. I just throw it to them, they do all the work."

Work begins today for the defending WAC Co-Champions. Their season opener against Colorado at Aloha Stadium is 31 days away.

Follow me on Twitter @KevinARiley

Email me at kevriley15@hotmail.com

As the NFL Draft nears, different general managers tend to notice different things about different players and each looks for different characteristics in an individual before making an investment in him.

One thing all general managers would agree on is that dedication and the willingness to go the extra mile appeal to every NFL club.

When you talk dedication and the willingness to go the extra mile, you are talking about Hawaii safety Mana Silva.

For a while, Silva went the extra mile every day, 200 of them in fact.

After signing with Oregon State as a quarterback out of high school, he moved to wide receiver and redshirted his freshman year. The Hawaiian native then transferred to Hawaii to be closer to his family.

He made the successful switch to safety and made some sacrifices along the way, including driving 200 miles each way initially to juggle family time along with classes and football.

“It was very tough to do, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make,” Silva said.

Another sacrifice Silva made was switching to safety, knowing it was his quickest way to the field. Once he made the switch, Silva worked diligently to perfect his craft. He’s done that and is on the verge of being selected by a NFL club.

“I saw playing safety as a better fit for me,” he said. "I was happy with my college career. Things seemed to start out pretty well and just got better from there.”

In his two years as a starter for the Warriors, Silva turned himself into a ball hawking safety that plays sideline to sideline.

“Going to the ball well is one of my strengths,” added Silva.  “I love to play this game and I love to be in on every play.”

If you watch Hawaii play, you come away using one word to describe Silva. That’s playmaker. Silva plays the run well and plays the pass just as effectively, picking off 14 passes the past two seasons, something that starting out as a quarterback has helped him do.

“I loved being a quarterback, but I have taken some of what I learned there over to the defensive side of the ball,” said Silva. “It’s helped me understand route combinations better and read the quarterbacks eyes.”

You also come away from a Hawaii game drawing a comparison of Silva to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu.

While Silva may not be as big or fast as Polamalu, there are a ton of similarities in the way the approach the game. Starting with being from Samoan descent and even wearing Polamalu’s No. 43, Silva strives to be as good as Polamalu currently is.

On the field, both guys fly to the ball and are smart players. When their teams need a play made on defense, they are usually the guys to get it done.

“If I modeled my game after anyone, I’d say it would be Polamalu,” said Silva. “He’s the best and I think we do some similar things on the field, but it’s an honor just to be mentioned with a guy like that.”

Silva may get the chance one day to be on the same field as Polamalu.

No team can have too many play makers on the defensive side of the ball, and Silva fits that bill.

Silva is projected to go in the middle rounds of the draft, but could increase his stock during his pro day on March 31. He’s currently been training in Arizona for the past six weeks working on his speed.

“I’m focused and have been working hard,” added Silva. “I’d like to get my 40 time into the 4.4 range and then have an impressive pro day.”

One thing is for sure, if Silva has dedicated himself to a goal, he likely will accomplish it.

The next step is determining if there will be football to play in the upcoming year, but Silva hasn’t let that bother him.

“There’s no looking at that,” said Silva. “I am focused on what I have to do to achieve a dream. I don’t worry about something that’s not in my hands, I just have to worry about the things I can control.”

This much is certain. We know Silva will go the extra mile to achieve his dream.

Here are some key college fantasy football questions to ponder as the WAC embarks on spring ball.

FRESNO STATE

* Running back Robbie Rouse is back, but quarterback Ryan Cobourn and wide receiver Jamel Hamler are gone.   Can Derek Carr (brother of former Bulldog QB Derek Carr) make an impact in his first year as a starter?

HAWAII

* Quarterback Bryant Moniz is one of only three returning offensive starters.  Can the Rainbow Warriors put the pieces in place on the offensive line and at receiver quickly enough for next season?  Keep an eye on practice reports for Darius Bright and Royce Pollard at wideout.

IDAHO

* Can the Vandals replace veteran quarterback Nathan Enderle?  Brian Reader would seem to be next in line, but he could get a push from Taylor Davis and Logan Bushnell.

* Can Arizona State transfer Ryan Bass step in and make an early impact at running back?

LOUISIANA TECH

* This is one quarterback battle to watch as the coaching staff does have the track record for putting together potent offenses. Last year was a mess.  Can they find someone to get the job done?  There are many names to watch this offseason: Tarik Hakmi, Colby Cameron, Zach Griffith, true freshman Nick Isham and redshirt freshman Taylor Burch.

NEVADA

* Is senior quarterback Tyler Lantrip ready to fill the shoes of perhaps the greatest player in school history (Colin Kaepernick)?  He's served as Kaep's backup for the past few seasons so at the very least he should have a good working knowledge of the Pistol offense.  If Lantrip struggles, keep an eye on rising redshirt freshman Cody Fajardo.  He's the program's quarterback of the future.

* With Vai Taua off to play on Sundays, who will get the lion's share of carries in the Wolfpack's run-heavy attack?  Mike Ball and Lampford Mark figure to be the two top options, but how will the carries be divvied out?  And will Mark be ready to play in spring ball after suffering a late-season injury?

UTAH STATE

* The Aggies are going to miss dangerous playmaking QB Diondre Borel.  They'll have a trio fighting for the starting job in Alex Hart, Jeremy Higgins and JUCO transfer Adam Kennedy.

Todd DeVries is the founder of CollegeFootballGeek.com, the nation's foremost authority on college fantasy football.  Prolific and deadly accurate.

As I was watching Tulsa tear apart Hawaii in this year's Hawaii Bowl, a couple of players stuck out to me: Greg Salas, G.J. Kinne and Damaris Johnson to name a few.

There was one player, though, who seemed to me to have a lot of draft-worthy potential, and that player is Hawaii safety Mana Silva.

After seeing Silva in on some great plays, including a delayed blitz and a fantastic run recognition and sideline pursuit, I started to do some digging on this guy, and guess what I found?

Nothing.

Even Scouts Inc., usually the most reliable source for player information, had no profile on the senior safety from Hilo, Hawaii.

Part of that is understandable, as there are a couple knocks against Silva:

1. Tweener Size: At 6'1", 210 lbs., Mana Silva is a little big for a defensive back. He could still play back there, but his size could become a hindrance. Some say that he could potentially move to outside linebacker, but that would require him to gain some more weight, and he'd still be a little undersized.
2. Lack of Speed: The best 40-yard dash estimate that I could find for Silva was 4.65, a good .2 seconds slower than a top end defensive back should be.
3. Hawaii Does Not Play Well Against the Pass: The Warriors may have ranked No. 43 this year in scoring defense, but they still struggled big time against pass-oriented teams, and that tends to reflect poorly on the defensive backfield.

On the other side of things, there is a lot to like about Silva:

1. Numbers: Despite missing a couple of games due to injury during his career, Silva ended his two-year starting career with 155 tackles and 14 interceptions. He also showed steady improvement in that tally, posting six of the interceptions in 2009 and eight in 2010.
2. Sideline-to-Sideline Pursuit: If there was one thing that really stuck out to me about Mana Silva, it was his ability to pursue along the line of scrimmage. He has a lot of patience when it comes to turning into the backfield. This is key, since patience is always the first thing rookies must learn.
3. Sticky Hands: Just look at his interception numbers. For a safety, he has quite an ability to get to the ball, and not just against slack teams. Silva posted two interceptions on Kellen Moore this year, as well as one on Colin Kaepernick. He has the ability to play with the best.

Ultimately, Silva may only be a low-round choice at best, but he's definitely worth picking up for a team that has the ability to take a chance on a 22-year-old safety. He has shown that he has the ability to learn and build on success, he has a lot going for him, and a lot of what he has against him can be fixed with hard physical training.

Expect someone to pick him up as an undrafted free agent at the least.

Like the article? Then follow me on Twitter @chriseggemeyer

Teams that win postseason bowl games do not suffer from memory loss. They know who they are. They know how they got there. They know the meaning of the word "execution" and apply their achievements in the regular season to the offseason down pat.

They know how to limit turnovers. They know how to run their offenses and make stops. And they know how to adjust. These are program-defining wins that let a country know who it is.

On Friday, Dec. 24, the University of Hawaii Warrior football team made the biggest mistake it could ever make this season: forgetting who they were in the 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

Their forgetfulness and lapses in carrying out the game plan set the stage for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to utilize their power of self-actualization en route to a 62-35 blowout win at Aloha Stadium.

Wasn't this the same Warrior team that earned a share of the WAC title and finished the regular season with a 10-3 record?

Wasn't this the same Warrior team that was touted by many prognosticators across the country to prevail over Tulsa through quarterback Bryant Moniz, wide receiver Greg Salas, tailback Alex Green and its defense?

Wasn't this the same Warrior team that was nationally ranked coming in?

For goodness sakes, wasn't this the same Warrior team that knew who it was for most of the entire year? We all thought so.

But if that were the case, the question must be asked: Why did it pick the worse time to suffer from gridiron amnesia in front of a partisan Hawaii crowd with just a smattering of visitors from Oklahoma?

Good question. Perhaps the only viable answer to that is...it just did.

It ran into a lamppost in the form of the ball-hawking and blitz-happy Golden Hurricane defense and special teams, who forced five interceptions and one muffed punt, while making Hawaii's offensive linemen seem like overgrown Pop Warner rejects. Oh, the shame.

Even worse, it got seduced by an unassuming witch doctor in the form of Dr. G.J. Kinne and his right-hand man, Mr. Damaris Johnson.

Kinne, a relentless gunslinger in his own right, passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson ran for 100 yards and a touchdown and also caught four passes for 101 yards and a score. Johnson had 326 all-purpose yards on Friday.

And as a result of forgetting how to deliver and adjust on both sides of the ball against Tulsa, Hawaii became its own worst enemy by forgetting who it was.

If one were to picture the 2010 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl as an audition for the 2012 Mountain West Conference football season with Hawaii on the hot seat a la American Idol, it would be a certainty that Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson would not give the Warriors any sympathy—because they don't deserve it.

If current Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan were to consider giving coach Greg McMackin a contract extension, he would be wise to do one of two things: the minimum (hey, they earned a championship in a sinking conference, so that has to factor in, right?) of one year, or not extension until the current contract ends and the Warriors actually spare themselves another case of amnesia and win the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

The last thing Donovan should do is give "Coach Mack" a full extension. It should not happen.

No, not with such a blasphemous display as this.

No, not with mistakes after mistakes piling on top of each other.

No, not after letting the powerful winds of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane make a well-deserved mockery of your national ranking.

And certainly not after committing that most atrocious of sins: Hawaii Warrior football forgetting itself on Christmas Eve.