As a youngster, Bryant Moniz, like many of the kids in his Wahiawa neighborhood, often struck a Heisman Trophy pose.

"Of course," Moniz said. "When you’re a kid running around, that’s what you do. That’s what you see on TV."

Moniz, who will be a senior, said he never imagined he would one day be part of the conversation surrounding an award that is to honor "the most outstanding college football player in the United States," according to its website.

But heismanpundit.com — a monitor and analyst of the Heisman Trophy process — has named the UH quarterback as one of 22 players on its Heisman Trophy watch list.

"It’s cool, I guess," Moniz said. "It doesn’t change much for me. It doesn’t matter what you are before the season. I keep that in mind."

In 2010, Moniz led the nation in passing yards per game (360) and total offense (367.29). He is the only player from teams that will be in the Western Athletic Conference in 2011 to make the list, and he is one of 14 quarterbacks.

UH sports information director Derek Inouchi said the school will be backing Moniz’s bid. "We’ll be doing a campaign for him," Inouchi said. "We haven’t decided what approach we’ll take yet, but we’ve talked about doing something and are exploring some options."

UH quarterback Colt Brennan finished third in the 2007 Heisman balloting, the highest by a Warrior.

The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner will be announced Dec. 10 in New York. The award recognizes the nation’s best college football player.

UH offense most explosive

It is official: The UH football team had the most "explosive" offense in the nation last season.

An ESPN study listed the Warriors as No. 1 in "explosion plays" — defined as offensive plays of 20 yards or more — in the 2010 season.

UH had 103 of them, according to the ESPN study, far outpacing national champion Auburn, which was second at 86.

"I figured we were one of the top teams, I just didn’t have all the stats," said Nick Rolovich, UH offensive coordinator.

Tulsa (85), Boise State (83) and Oregon (82) rounded out the top five.

In official NCAA statistics, UH was first in passing offense (394.29 yards per game), sixth in total offense (500.64) and 10th in scoring offense (39.57 points).