All-WAC, Awards, Next Season

All-WAC teams have been announced. UH players on the first team are John Estes, Blaze Soares and Greg Salas. Aaron Kia was named to the second team.

In addition, Alex Dunnachie has been named the WAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Dunnachie, a freshman from Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia (Marcellin College), punted six times for a 49.2-yard average in the game against Hawai‘i. He had four punts of at least 55 yards including a season-best 66-yarder in the first quarter. Two of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line and three were returned for a total of just eight yards.

At last night's banquet, John Estes was named the Warriors' MVP.

The Hawai'i football team's ironman — center John Estes — yesterday was named winner of the Alec Waterhouse award as the Warriors' most valuable player for 2009.

Estes started all 54 games of a UH career that ended with Saturday's 51-10 loss to Wisconsin. In a study by UH's sports information department, Estes' streak is the longest in NCAA Division I-A history.

Blaze Soares was named the Ben Yee Most Inspirational Award. Here are the rest:

Left slotback Greg Salas was named UH's top offensive player, and safety/nickelback Spencer Smith was selected as the top defender. Salas and Smith are juniors.

Corey Paredes, a linebacker who was placed on scholarship in August, was named the top special-teams player.

Other awards:

Captain's Award: R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane.

Scout Team Award: Brett Leonard.

Scholar-Athlete Award: Mana Silva.

Most Improved Player: Jon Medeiros.

Warrior Club: Rocky Savaiigaea.

Congrats to all!

Dave Reardon reviews five key plays from the Wisconsin game.

Jason Kaneshiro looks ahead to next season.

With the departure of 10 senior starters, the Warriors have some holes to fill, particularly on the offensive line, where four seniors ended their careers.

The Warriors will have a new starter at center for the first time since 2007 with the departure of John Estes, who received the Alec Waterhouse most valuable player award at the banquet.

Salas, the Warriors' most outstanding offensive player, returns along with most of the receiver corps. Salas finished fourth in the country in receiving with 122.3 yards per game. His 106 receptions and 1,590 yards were the second-highest single-season totals in school history.

Kealoha Pilares and Jovonte Taylor are also juniors. Rodney Bradley is starting his rehab from a broken leg.

Safety Spencer Smith was named the most outstanding defensive player and is part of secondary that didn't have a senior this season. Mana Silva, winner of the scholar-athlete award, also returns as the Western Athletic Conference's leader in interceptions.

Linebacker Corey Paredes, winner of the special teams award, and Jake Heun figure to help fill the void left by Soares and senior captain R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane. Aaron Brown showed some of his play-making potential before a hamstring injury led to a redshirt year.

Stephen Tsai writes that graduate assistant Mike Smith will likely not return next season.

Word on the street is Mike Smith will not return as graduate assistant next season. Smith, a former linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens and Texas Tech, was instrumental in scouting, crafting strategy and helping to refine Blaze Soares' skills. Smith might have a couple of opportunities with NFL teams.

However, contrary to rumors, defensive coordinator Cal Lee will be returning.

Dave Reardon doesn't seem too optimistic about next season.

The worst part about not making the Hawaii Bowl is that the matchup would've been perfect for various reasons.

And don't forget that Jim Donovan should be participating in a First and 10 chat on SportsHawaii.com this morning.