RENO, Nevada >> Though Fresno State will open the season with Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin, members of the Western Athletic Conference media believe the Bulldogs will survive this run to dominate the league race. UH picked to finish
fourth in WACBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comFresno State received 18 of a possible 23 first-place votes to garner 223 points. Texas-El Paso received four first-place votes and 190 total points for second. New conference member and Humanitarian Bowl defending champion Boise State was picked third with one first-place vote and 151 points.
As expected, the University of Hawaii was chosen fourth with 128 points, edging out San Jose State, which had 125 points.
"It's not surprising because people don't know what to expect from us coming off last year," UH wideout Ashley Lelie said yesterday. "But we have a lot of confidence in ourselves. We think we're going to be as good a team as we had in 1999. We just have to prove it on the field."
UH associate head coach George Lumpkin doesn't put much stock in polls. He prefers to settle those matters on the football field.
"We struggled a little bit last year, but we were in a lot of those games we lost," Lumpkin said. "You can see why Fresno State and UTEP are up there because they played well last year and have a lot of guys back. But preseason polls don't mean that much to me."
UH head coach June Jones said the poll results don't bother him, either.
"A couple years ago they picked us eighth and we won the league, so that shows you how much you can believe them," said Jones, who remained in Honolulu this week.
The media also voted on preseason players of the year. San Jose State running back Deonce Whitaker, who still has to pass a class this summer to be eligible for his senior season, was voted the offensive player of the year. Fresno State tackle Alan Harper was selected the defensive player of the year.
Whitaker was a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award after rushing for a school record 1,577 yards. He was a Proposition 42 athlete out of high school and could earn an extra season of eligibility if he graduates in August. His average of 158 yards a game on the ground was fourth nationally.
Harper is a two-time first team All-WAC honoree. He had 16 tackles for loss and led the Bulldogs with 14 quarterback hurries. He finished with three sacks.
"It's an honor to be selected as the top defensive player," Harper said. "But you still have to go out on the field and get the job done. We want to do some big things this year as a team, including winning a WAC title and a bowl game."
Where's Manuwai?: If you're going to promote what you believe is your top offensive lineman for the Outland Trophy, it would stand to reason you would bring him to the WAC media day meetings to have him introduced all the way around.
Not that UH sports information director Lois Manin didn't think of that. But she was unable to arrange bringing two athletes over for the two-day meetings.
"What also makes it tough to get Vince's name out there is there aren't any real stats for offensive linemen," Manin said. "We want to promote all our guys the best we can."
Manuwai, quarterback Tim Chang and wideout Ashley Lelie are also being promoted for All-America honors. Lelie was the UH representative for media day.
Wideout corner: Lelie wasn't the only wide receiver taking part in WAC media day. First-team All-WAC performers Lee Mays of UTEP and Donald Shoals of Tulsa were here, proving once again there are some high-flying receivers on teams around the league.
Last year, Lelie caught 74 passes for 1,110 yards and 11 touchdowns. By comparison, Mays led the country in touchdown receptions with 15. The All-America candidate caught 70 passes for 1,098 yards.
"You look around this room and I see three of the top receivers in the country," Mays said. "This is my senior year, so I want to go out big. We had a great year last season and hopefully, we can win the WAC again."
Shoals is also a senior on a mission. Last year, he caught 80 passes for 1,195 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned two punts for scores, including one against Hawaii.
"You always want to go out on top as a senior," Shoals said. "We did a lot of things right last year (en route to a 5-7 finish). We just didn't win a couple of key matchups to put us over the top."
Thompson's shot: Running back Afatia Thompson's petition for an additional season of eligibility has not been addressed by the NCAA yet, Jones said.
Jones said he met with UH compliance officer Daniel Arakaki yesterday, and Arakaki told him that the NCAA committee that will decide on the matter meets today or tomorrow.
"It's not done," Jones said yesterday. "The decision hasn't been made."
Thompson rushed for 609 yards with three touchdowns from 1998 to 2000, including 102 yards on 31 carries in seven games last year. He was a partial qualifier as a freshman in 1997 and did not play.
Reporter Dave Reardon contributed to this story.