2011 Hawaii Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The Hawaii Warriors ended last year’s season with a surprising 35-62 loss to Tulsa in the Hawaii Bowl. The Warriors went 10-3 in the regular season, and tied for the WAC Title with a 7-1 conference mark. The Warriors did their damage with an offensive attack that averaged 39.6 ppg. That offense returns senior quarterback Bryant Moniz, but he is just one of three starters that are back on that side of the ball. Head coach Greg McMackin has just nine starters back total in 2011. To give you a better idea of what the Warriors will look like this season, here is a quick breakdown of both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where they will finish in the WAC.

Offense:

The Warriors might have just three starters back on offense, but the return of Moniz should allow this unit to remain one of the more potent attacks in the WAC. Moniz had a field day against opposing quarterbacks as a junior, throwing for 5,040 yards with 39 touchdowns to just 15 interceptions. We will find out just how good Moniz this season, as will have to deal with the loss of his top two receiving threats, starting running back Alex Green, and four starters on the offensive line.

In 2010 wide outs Greg Salas and Kealoha Pilares both finished in the top 10 in receiving yards. Salas led the NCAA with 1,889 yards, and Pilares was No. 7 with 1,306. The only starter back is senior Royce Pollard, who finished the year with 64 catches for 901 yards and seven touchdowns. Pollard should see a big increase in production this season, but for the offense to keep rolling the Warriors will need a couple other guys to step up. The leading candidates are juniors Jeremiah Ostrowski and Darius Bright and sophomore Billy Ray Stutzmann.

The Warriors don’t run the ball a ton, but when they did Green got the job done last year. He finished with 1,199 yards 15 touchdowns. Backup Chizzy Dimude finished second on the team with 258, but he too is not back for this season. Junior Sterling Jackson and true freshman Will Gregory.

The only starter back on the offensive line is senior Austin Hansen. While this would be detrimental to a lot of teams, Hawaii believes it has some players who are capable of stepping in and getting the job done. Senior guard Brett Leonard is one player who should have no trouble making his way to the starting lineup. If this unit can produce at close to the same production as last year’s, Hawaii should have no trouble scoring plenty of points.

Defense:

While the offense may be down a notch, I like the Warriors to pick it up on the defensive side of the ball with a ton of talent coming back to the front seven. On the defensive line they bring back the defensive tackle duo of Vaughn Meatoga and Kaniela Tuipulotu, who will make it very difficult for teams to run inside. They do lose both starting defensive end, but senior Liko Satele and junior Paipai Falemalu have both contributed as starters and should be able to step in and play well.

At linebacker the Warriors bring back seniors Aaron Brown and Corey Paredes, and both know how to get to the football. Paredes led the team with 151 tackles, had four tackles for loss, and was second on the team with four interceptions. Brown had 83 tackles, five sacks, and added three interceptions. Junior Brenden Daley is expected to take over on the outside, and should only benefit from playing next to Paredes and Brown.

In the secondary the Warriors lose talented free safety Mana Silva, and starting corner Jeramy Bryant. Silva was outstanding last year with 85 tackles and a team leading eight interceptions. Replacing Silva will not be easy. Hawaii brings back senior strong safety Richard Torres and sophomore corner John Hardy-Tuliau. Junior Brandon Leslie will have the difficult task of stepping in for Silva, while sophomore Mike Edwards appears to be the next in line to start in place of Bryant. This unit isn’t as talented as it was in 2010, but will be better than expected with the strong play expected from the front seven.

2011 Prediction: 2nd WAC – If the Warriors would have had a few more players back on offense, I think they would have been the team to beat in the WAC this season. Still, the offense should put up a ton of points, and the defense has the potential to really be good. The Warriors do have to play four road games inside the conference, but I think Moniz is ready to lead this team to another 10 win season.

Most Recent WAC Football Predictions by Team
Nevada Football Predictions	Hawaii Football Predictions
Fresno State Football Predictions	Louisiana Tech Football Predictions
Idaho Football Predictions	Utah State Football Predictions
San Jose State Football Predictions	New Mexico State Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

Comments

Got something to say?