STEPHEN TSAI

STAR-ADVERTISER SPORTS REPORTER
Although LeBron James did his best to prove otherwise, the team with the best players usually wins. For the coming Western Athletic Conference football season, the Warriors have the league’s two best players — quarterback Bryant Moniz and defensive tackle Kaniela Tuipulotu — and, so, the prediction here is they will win a lot. How much? They will at least win six of seven WAC games. (The November game in Reno, Nev., is a coin flip.)

They also should be competitive in all of their nonconference games. Moniz is that good. He can make all of the throws in the four-wide offense. He has a high football IQ. And he’s strong and tough, having bench pressed 345 pounds and trained as a boxer the past summer.

Most of all, this is Greg McMackin’s fourth of a five-year contract. His system is in place, and he’s recruited to fill specific needs. Thing is, he has yet to receive a contract extension. There’s a lot riding on a 10-victory season.

DAVE REARDON

STAR-ADVERTISER SPORTS COLUMNIST
Hawaii should win between nine and 11 games this year and contend for the WAC championship. The addition of Dick Tomey brings even more experience to the coaching staff that already includes elder statesmen Greg McMackin, Mouse Davis and Cal Lee (but young coordinators in Nick Rolovich and Dave Aranda). Special teams were not a strength last year, and the Warriors won 10 games and a share of the conference title anyway. Look for a Tomey-led kicking game to be ultra-aggressive … and UH has a great kick-blocking weapon in John Hardy-Tuliau. A hard-nosed, experienced defense plus aggressive and competent special teams should see Hawaii through the early part of the season as a youthful offense coalesces. The coaches prefer he doesn’t run, but quarterback Bryant Moniz’s scrambling skills will come in handy in September with nine new offensive starters around him.

FERD LEWIS

STAR-ADVERTISER SPORTS COLUMNIST
Yes, the Warriors have to restock their starting offensive line.

Sure, they need to replace some dynamic receivers.

In most years that would be enough to keep the Warriors out of the championship picture in the Western Athletic Conference. But this isn’t most years. With that annual bully, Boise State, no longer around, never has there been a weaker, more abuser-friendly WAC in UH’s 33 years of membership.

If quarterback Bryant Moniz is healthy and the defense snarls again like it did last year, the conference is the Warriors’ for the taking in this, their last WAC go-around.

JASON KANESHIRO

STAR-ADVERTISER SPORTS REPORTER
Before Hawaii bids farewell to the Western Athletic Conference after more than three decades of membership, the Warriors appear equipped to contend for a fifth league crown.

Offense generally drives preseason hype, but this year’s expectations are also based on the return of key playmakers to a defense that led the country in takeaways. The defensive front is stacked with an experienced group of tackles led by Vaughn Meatoga and Kaniela Tuipulotu as its hub. Linebacker Corey Paredes has developed into a leader and safety Richard Torres’ experience should help stabilize a rebuilding secondary.

Quarterback Bryant Moniz’s proficiency in the run-and-shoot spawned a Heisman campaign and earned him mentions on various “watch lists” this summer. Even with his return, the offense’s production will hinge largely on how quickly a group of nine new starters surrounding him translate their potential in practice to production on game nights.

MIKE CHERRY

HAWAII NEWS NOW SPORTS ANCHOR
If there’s any time to drink the Kool-Aid regarding a team’s promise, this would be it for the Warrior football team.

Despite returning eight starters on offense and defense, things are set up quite nicely for the Warriors to make a run at perfection in 2011. Am I dreaming? Maybe, but it all begins with Bryant Moniz at quarterback.

The senior out of Leilehua High School is healthy and focused on redeeming a disappointing end to an otherwise successful 2010 campaign. And while UH lost a ton of talent on offense, a lot of potential is in the fold with new starting receivers Miah Ostrowski, Billy Ray Stutzman and Darius Bright. An experienced defense may have to pick up some of the slack while the offense jells, but don’t forget, of the 12 Division I opponents on Hawaii’s schedule, only New Mexico State and BYU return quarterbacks with significant starting experience.