Last year was a dream season for Hawaii and their fans. QB Colt Brennan led an explosive attack with 4343 yards passing and 46 total touchdowns, and the Warriors finished with a 12-1 record and won the WAC title with a perfect 8-0 mark. After finishing the regular season at 12-0, the Warriors were rewarded with a BCS matchup against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, but their hopes for perfection were dashed by a 41-10 blowout loss at the hands of the Bulldogs.

This season, the Warriors will not only be breaking in a lot of new starters, but they’ll also be breaking in a ‘new’ coaching staff. Can new coach Greg McMackin pick up where June Jones left off and keep the success going?

Hawaii Warriors

Coach: Greg McMackin (1st year at Hawaii, 0-0)

2007 Record: 12-1, 8-0 WAC

Starters Returning: 8 (4 offense, 4 defense)

Top Returnees: SB Kealoha Pilares, RB Leon Wright-Jackson, WR Malcolm Lane, C John Estes, LG Keith AhSoon, K Dan Kelly, DE David Veikune, DT Fale Laeli, LB Adam Leonard, MLB Solomon Elimimian

Key Losses: QB Colt Brennan, HC June Jones, WR Ryan Grice-Mullen, WR Davone Bess, WR Jason Rivers, WR CJ Hawthorne, LG Hercules Satele, RG Larry Sauafea, DT Michael Lafaele, DE Amani Purcell, DE Karl Noa, LB Brad Kalilimoku, CB Myron Newberry, CB Gerard Lewis, SS Jacob Patek

2008 Schedule

Aug. 30 @ Florida

Sept. 6 Weber St

Sept. 13 @ Oregon St

Sept. 27 San Jose St

Oct. 4 @ Fresno St

Oct. 11 Louisiana Tech

Oct. 17 @ Boise St

Oct. 25 Nevada

Nov. 1 @ Utah St

Nov. 8 @ New Mexico St

Nov. 22 Idaho

Nov. 29 Washington St

Dec. 6 Cincinnati

Key Game: Oct. 25 vs. Nevada. Hawaii has big games sprinkled throughout the entire season. They have to play Florida, Oregon State, Fresno State and Boise State all on the road this year, but they’ll be hard-pressed to come out on top in any of those games. The Warriors will be fighting all season long with the Wolf Pack (and possibly Louisiana Tech) for third place and likely a guaranteed bowl berth.

2008 Outlook

2008 marks the beginning of a new era in Hawaii football. June Jones spearheaded a major turnaround at Hawaii from 1999-2007, turning a team that was 0-12 in 1998 into a consistent winner, but after the Sugar Bowl run, Jones left to take on another rebuilding job at SMU. Hawaii decided to promote within the program, as former defensive coordinator Greg McMackin is now the man in charge.

McMackin, who returned to Hawaii as defensive coordinator last season after a previous stint in the same position in Jones’ first season in 1999, has had a lot of experience as a defensive coordinator in the collegiate ranks and in the NFL, and he was also the head coach at Oregon Tech from 1986-90. There are more familiar faces on the ‘new’ coaching staff, as Ron Lee, who spent the last nine seasons as wide receivers coach, is now the offensive coordinator, his brother Cal moves from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator, and secondary coach Rich Miano is now an associate head coach along with George Lumpkin, who has been involved with the program in some capacity for nearly four decades.

While there is some familiarity on the coaching staff and on the roster, there are going to be a lot of new names penciled into the starting lineup, starting with the prolific offense.

Star QB Brennan, owner of 31 NCAA records and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting last year, was drafted by the Washington Redskins. Along with Brennan, his record-breaking receiving trio of Jason Rivers, Davone Bess, and Ryan Grice-Mullen are all gone. All told, Hawaii has only four starters returning on offense.

QB Tyler Graunke gets his chance to start after being stuck behind Brennan for the last three seasons. Graunke threw for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns as the backup last season, though he started two games when Brennan had some injury issues. However, the senior will have competition behind him as third-string QB Inoke Funaki returns, along with the addition of two very good JUCO recruits, including Greg Alexander, who lit up the California junior college ranks over the last two seasons.

The new starting receiving corps will have their work cut out for them as they will have to replace the best receivers in Hawaii football history. WR Malcolm Lane is the top returning receiver (270 yards, 2 touchdowns, 19.3 yards per catch) and joining him in trying to replace Rivers, Bess, and Grice-Mullen is a very inexperienced cast, which includes speedster Michael Washington and Cal transfer Daniel Lofton, son of Hall of Fame receiver James Lofton.

While the pass is the focus of the offense, the backfield is the most veteran unit on offense and will take some load off of the revamped passing attack. Kealoha Pilares (388 yards rushing, 249 yards receiving and 4 total touchdowns) is a great blocking back and should only improve in just his sophomore season. Leon Wright-Jackson also returns, and the highly-regarded junior looks to make a huge impact this season after rushing averaging 6.6 yards per carry in limited touches last season.

One area that isn’t a concern is the offensive line, which should be sturdy in 2008, as the unit as a whole is more experienced. They lose First-Team All-American LG Hercules Satele and starting RG Larry Sauafea. However, First-Team All-WAC C John Estes returns, along with LG Keith AhSoon.

The defense will also look different as just four starters return to that side of the ball. The D-Line and Secondary seem to be hurt the most by the loss of starting talent. The defensive line loses three starters in First-Team All-WAC DT Michael Lafaele, DE Amani Purcell, and DE Karl Noa. The only returning starter is DT Fale Laeli (25 tackles, 2 sacks), but DE David Veikune (34 tackles, 7 sacks) was named a First-Team All-WAC honoree last season despite starting in just one game and returns to help anchor the front line.

In the secondary, the Warriors lose First-Team All-WAC CB Myron Newberry, CB Gerard Lewis, and SS Jacob Patek. The only players with starting experience that return are SS Keao Monteilh (19 tackles, 2 interceptions) and FS Desmond Thomas (56 tackles) who split time at the Free Safety spot last season. CB Ryan Mouton (26 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4.3 speed) is described by defensive backs coach Miano as the best corner that Hawaii has had in nine years, and he could prove to be one of the top defensive backs in the WAC this season.

Linebacker is the strength of Hawaii’s defense, as the Warriors have two of the top linebackers in the conference in Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard, Elimimian led the team with 141 tackles last season, and he was a First-Team All-WAC member, along with Leonard, who had an excellent season (105 tackles, 11.5 for loss, 2 sacks, 4 INT) despite having injury issues last season. Both players will have to come up huge once again if the Warriors are to be solid defensively. Also watch out for is Blaze Soares, who had 28 tackles (7 for loss) and two sacks in a reserve role last season.

Warriors’ fans will have to be patient this season, as the team returns the fewest returning starters in the WAC. With several tough conference and non-conference games on the schedule, Hawaii will have a serious fight on their hands to make a return to the postseason, but with a lot of familiar faces and some new characters ready to step in and step up, a sixth bowl game in seven seasons is within reach.