#1 / Bill Walsh

Kalani Simpson writes how the Warriors will have to handle the pressure now that they're preseason #1 in the WAC.

It's mental toughness, a grind. It's a unique pressure, and how Hawaii handles it will probably have a lot to do with the cues the guys take from Colt Brennan. Brennan seems born for this stuff, shrugging off the hype and taking all this Heisman craziness in stride. He is the great star who shows you his humility -- his best leadership decision may be that he is smart enough to have the linemen run the team.

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June Jones, Elroy Chong and Keith Amemiya remember Bill Walsh and the impact he had on athletics in Hawaii, from this Dave Reardon article:

"He did a lot to change the game," Jones said. "And he had a real unique group of guys who cared about him a lot and played hard for him. He was committed to them not just as football players but as people, helping many of them get set up in things after they were done playing."

Walsh waived his $25,000 speaking fee several times for engagements in Hawaii. Most recently, he was the keynote speaker at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association's annual banquet in 2006.

He also conducted a well-attended workshop for Hawaii high school football coaches in 2005.

"He had a huge impact on Hawaii high school football," HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya said. "The workshop here was a great success, and many of our coaches also attended his events on the mainland.

More from June as well as Jesse Sapolu in this Liz Chun article.

"We always talk offense when he came. We'd sit down go to dinner, play golf," Jones said. "The thing that I think listening to his players talk about him that impressed me is that he was really concerned about their lives and make them better people when they were done with the game. I think for the most part in San Francisco the runs that he had, pretty much all the people will say the same thing. He was quite a man."