UH’s Colt gets the votes

The Warriors senior is voted the AT&T player of the week

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HOUSTON » Maybe it doesn't matter that many of Colt Brennan's games are on really late at night. Enough fans knew of his achievements last week to get him the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award, the only major college football award chosen exclusively by fans.

Hawaii (1-0) at Louisiana Tech (1-0) Tomorrow, 1:05 p.m. Where: Ruston, La. TV: PPV 255, live; KFVE, 9:30 p.m., tomorrow; 10 a.m., Sunday Radio: KKEA 1420-AM

Brennan (416 yards, six touchdowns in one half against Northern Colorado) received 45 percent of the votes to beat out Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards (37 percent), UCLA quarterback Ben Olson (10 percent) and Rutgers wide receiver Tiquan Underwood (8 percent).

"It's a tremendous honor to be recognized among that group of guys," Brennan said.

The Warriors began their 12-day, two-game road trip with a muggy three-hour practice at Rice Stadium.

"It was good," coach June Jones said. "We got a lot done."

After late night meetings and another practice at Rice this morning, the Warriors moved on to Monroe, La. Tomorrow they play at Louisiana Tech in nearby Ruston. If Brennan and No. 20 UH have a big game, people will know sooner, since this game won't end at 3 a.m. Eastern Time.

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HOUSTON » Jason Rivers has achieved something none of his Hawaii football teammates have done -- something they hope to accomplish tomorrow, with his help.

Rivers was part of a UH squad that came out of Ruston, La., with a 44-41 win over Louisiana Tech in 2003.

"I'll always remember it because it was a great game, an emotional game, and the first game that I got a lot of snaps," said Rivers, who played as a true freshman and caught four passes for 82 yards. "I hurt my hamstring, but I'll always remember Chad (Owens) making that play for the winning score."

The fifth-year senior wideout spoke after a three-hour practice at Rice Stadium last night, as the No. 20 Warriors (1-0) prepped for their Western Athletic Conference opener at LaTech (1-0). After meetings going past midnight, UH was to practice again this morning at Rice before heading east to Louisiana.

Rivers caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against Northern Colorado last week, playing just the first half of a 63-6 blowout. He knows toying with a fledgling Division I-AA team at home is a lot different than crossing four time zones to take on a Western Athletic Conference rival -- even if you are a 28-point favorite.

Rivers was not in school in 2005, the last time UH played at LaTech. The Bulldogs whipped the Warriors 46-14 that time. Since then, UH has been 4-3 on the road, including wins in the last three away games last year.

What does it take to go into a hostile environment and come out with the victory?

"The key is being unified as a team and everybody doing their job. All the slack is picked up and there are no gaps," Rivers said. "We have a lot to play for."

With last week's performance, Rivers moved past Ashley Lelie into third-place on UH's career receptions list (198) and is closing in on fourth-place Walter Murray's 2,865 receiving yards (2,703).

"He played well last week, and he was focused all through training camp," UH coach June Jones said. "He's ready to be The Guy. He's worked hard."

Rivers always seems to have memorable games against Louisiana Tech. In 2004 he caught a touchdown pass from Tim Chang that gave Chang the career passing yardage record. Last year he caught four passes for 113 yards in a 61-17 rout of LaTech at Aloha Stadium.

Cox limping

Running back Mario Cox's right hamstring acted up again, and by the end of practice it was bandaged up to mummy-like proportions.

But Cox, who caught two passes for 15 yards in the second half last week, said he would be ready to play tomorrow.

Starting center John Estes participated fully in practice a day after sitting out with an infected cut on his right leg.

Drop everything

Reserve safety B.J. Fruean said he was called an hour before Wednesday's charter flight departure as a replacement for backup defensive end John Fonoti, who did not practice that day.

"I just grabbed what was in my locker, which wasn't much," Fruean said. "I have to go shopping Sunday."

Fruean did not suit up last week. He has made the travel roster before, as a freshman special teams player in 2005.

Short yardage

True freshmen safety Le'Marcus Gibson and running back Korey Reynolds are on the trip. ... Three-year starting offensive lineman Brandon Eaton, who lives in Houston and played his last season for UH in 2005, attended practice. He has signed a contract to play for Grand Rapids of the Arena Football League next season. ... The last time the Warriors were at Rice Stadium was in 2004 when UH lost 41-29 to the Owls. The surface then was AstroTurf. It has been changed to FieldTurf. ... Backup quarterback Tyler Graunke threw the ball well in team session.