Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jordan Murph University of Hawai‘i wide receiver Ryan Grice-Mullins celebrates with wide receiver C.J. Hawthorne after scoring the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies at Aloha Stadium.

After a season engraved with a perfect 12-0 mark, a Western Athletic Conference title and a bid to the Bowl Championship Series Allstate Sugar Bowl, the University of Hawai‘i Warriors' acclamations did not end there. Earlier this week, several players on the Warriors squad were given WAC honors, including head coach June Jones and senior quarterback Colt Brennan.

"It (WAC coach of the year) is an honor. It comes with winning and it is a team thing," Jones said. "I see a lot of Hawai‘i guys on the list - the kids deserve it - but it comes with winning."

On Monday, Jones and Brennan were named WAC coach and offensive player of the year, respectively. It is the second year in a row that both Jones and Brennan won the awards.

Brennan is third in the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 166.3. He has thrown for 4,174 yards and 38 touchdowns this season. Brennan has also rushed for eight touchdowns to rank fourth in the nation in points responsible for with 25.1 per game. Earlier this year, he became the NCAA all-time leader in touchdown passes and currently has 131 in his three seasons.

"It did not surprise me that Colt (Brennan) was the offensive player of the year," Jones said. "He has had a pretty good run for three years and capped it off (with this). He rolled the dice, took a chance by coming back for his last year and it paid off."

A special award was also created to recognize the WAC's offensive unit of the year, which was presented to Brennan and his four main receivers - juniors Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullins, and seniors C.J. Hawthorne and Jason Rivers.

The receiving corps, along with the entire offensive squad, has racked up a total of 6,351 offensive yards this season. Hawai‘i leads the nation in scoring with 46.2 points per game and has set a number of NCAA, WAC and school records.

Bess, now a three-time first-team all-WAC honoree, was joined by Grice-Mullins (WR), John Estes (OL) and Hercules Satele (OL) on the first-team offense.

On defense, junior defensive linemen David Veikune and senior Michael Lafaele, and junior linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard, accompanied senior defensive back Myron Newberry on the all-WAC first team defense. On special teams, junior place kicker Dan Kelly was the lone UH representative.

"I'm glad to see Myron (Newberry) on there as well," Jones said. "We thought David (Veikune) played as well as any defensive lineman we had, and he wasn't a starter. He has the motor and makes a lot of plays."

Rivers was the only Warrior with second-team honors.

"Jason Rivers definitely deserved to be on the first team too," Jones said. "But we can't get everyone on the first team."

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