Apparently, coaches like the Hawaii Warriors football team more than reporters do. Coaches give UH
some respect
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comUH (7-2, 6-1 Western Athletic Conference) is third this week among "others receiving votes" in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll with 34 voting points.
Hawaii did not receive any votes in the Associated Press media poll.
Boise State (9-1, 6-0) finally cracked the Top 25 in the coaches poll, checking in at No. 23. The Broncos are first among "others receiving votes" in the AP poll.
If you're looking for a reason WAC teams appear to get more respect in the coaches poll, this could be it: Five conference coaches are among the 61 voters. They are Jack Bicknell (Louisiana Tech), Keith Burns (Tulsa), Pat Hill (Fresno State), Gary Nord (Texas-El Paso) and Chris Tormey (Nevada).
Rankings don't mean much to Hawaii coach June Jones -- not yet, anyway.
"Not until the last one," Jones said. "But I'm glad to see Boise State is ranked. They deserve it."
Players of the week: Nevada wide receiver Nate Burleson, San Jose State safety C.J. Arnold and Boise State punt returner Tim Gilligan were named the WAC's players of the week.
Burleson caught a school-record 19 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in the Wolf Pack's 23-17 victory over UTEP. With 117 receptions this season, he has broken the conference record of 109 by Wyoming's Marcus Harris in 1996.
Arnold was in on 10 tackles and intercepted a pass which he returned 38 yards for a touchdown as the Spartans beat Louisiana Tech 42-30.
Gilligan returned three punts for 96 yards as the Broncos trounced Rice 49-7.
More homecoming: Add special teams coordinator Tyson Helton to the long list of Warriors with Houston connections. Helton played quarterback at that other UH, the University of Houston, where his father, Kim, coached.
Helton won't be saying "Hi, Mom" in person, because his parents have moved to Virginia; his father is on Steve Spurrier's Washington Redskins staff.
"But I've still got a lot of friends and a few family members there," Helton said. "It will be fun because we're going to practice at the University of Houston, the old alma mater."
And, of course, Jones is familiar with the Houston area, having been an assistant for the NFL's old Oilers and the Houston Gamblers of the USFL.
Defensive line coach Vantz Singletary, graduate assistant Rinda Brooks, freshman offensive lineman Brandon Eaton and freshman defensive back Omega Hogan all also have family in Houston.
Short yardage: Yes, that was volleyball player Delano Thomas with a helmet on at the grass practice field last month. Thomas spent some informal time working out with some of the football players, seeing if he could learn to block kicks. The experiment didn't go very far, though, and Thomas is concentrating on getting ready to help the Warriors defend their national championship in volleyball. ... Hawaii's road record in four seasons under Jones is 7-7.
WAC standings
CONFERENCE OVERALL W L Pct W L Pct Boise State 6 0 1.000 9 1 .900 Hawaii 6 1 .857 7 2 .778 Nevada 4 2 .667 5 5 .500 Fresno State 3 2 .600 5 5 .500 San Jose State 3 3 .500 5 6 .455 Rice 3 4 .429 4 6 .400 LaTech 2 2 .500 3 5 .375 UTEP 1 5 .167 2 8 .200 Tulsa 1 5 .167 1 9 .100 SMU 1 5 .167 1 9 .100 Saturday
Louisiana Tech at Boise State
Hawaii at Rice (KFVE)
SJSU at Tulsa
SMU at UTEP
Nevada at Fresno State