Colt Mania / Captains / NoCo / Bullseye

Jason Kaneshiro writes about all the press Colt has been getting in the national media. Nonetheless, his teammates are keeping him grounded.

"They do a good job of making sure whoever's getting a lot of the publicity during a certain time, they usually attack them, make fun of them, bring them right back down to humility," Brennan said.

"We have fun. We call him Mr. Heisman, Mr. ESPN," said receiver Davone Bess. "It comes with the territory."

Dave Reardon writes about the new captains, with June Jones praising all three.

"It was such a close vote," Jones said. "And Herc also has the respect of his teammates and is a great leader."

"Colt has all the intangibles. He's very competitive, and the players play for him," Jones said. "Michael works as hard as anyone and does a great job with everything. He's a coach on the field."

Some praise from the captains, in this Stephen Tsai article. From Colt:

I see a lot of guys who don't get the credit, but come to practice every day no matter if they're fourth team or second team. It doesn't matter. They all deserve respect."

From Lafaele:

"I treat all of these guys like they're my family," he said. "They have a special place in my heart. I try my best to take care of each one of them."

The Warriors got some great leaders.

Tsai writes about defensive back Jameel Dowling, who transferred from Oregon.

Dowling, who is 6 feet 3 and 202 pounds, played 11 games for Oregon last season after transferring from Butte College.

This summer, he underwent surgery to remove scar tissue in his left ankle. Two days after he stopped wearing a medical boot, Dowling claimed, he was "pressured" to practice.

Annoyed at the request, he opted to ask for a release from his football scholarship.

"I didn't want to lose my senior year like that," Dowling said.

After receiving his release, he contacted several schools. He said the most interest came from Rich Miano, who coaches the UH defensive backs.

"I liked what he was talking about," Dowling said.

Right on. Also from ST's article:

• Keenan Jones has ascended to top backup to Myron Newberry at right corner.


• Blaze is likely out for Saturday.


• Grad assistant Terry Duffield has officially joined the UH staff.

Dave Reardon writes that Northern Colorado QB Dominic Breazeale looks forward to playing UH and taking on Colt.

But Breazeale doesn't mind dreaming of outdoing Brennan and leading his team -- a 59-point underdog in some corners -- to a huge upset.

"I don't want to say I'll upset his (Heisman) candidacy, but I would like to have an effect on it," Breazeale said in a teleconference yesterday.

59 points! Also from DR's article:

• Blaze holds out hope.


• More from Duff.


• Some key players on the NoCo defense are out for this game. Uh oh.

Ferd Lewis writes about how UH will have a big bullseye on its back this season because of the hype, the ranking, the expectations.

Brennan, for one, embraces the challenge. "You can do two things with it," he said. "You can falter under pressure or you can rise above it."

Brennan — and the Warriors — leave no doubt which path they want to follow. "There are a lot of teams out there gunning for us," he said. "And, we're ready for whoever wants to challenge us."

And finally, Dave Reardon continues his opponent preview series with a look at Boise State.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Star-Bulletin's excellent UH football preview, Warriors Report.