2010 Preview, UH Offense, The O-Line, USC

The soon-to-be GoDaddy landing page, i.e. WACsports.com, has an extensive preview of the Warriors season. UPDATE: It looks like it's just a compilation of HawaiiAthletics.com's recent position-by-position previews.

Stephen Tsai writes that the offense did well in their Aloha Stadium practice.

The offense was particularly sharp, especially during red-zone drills. In those situations, Moniz completed seven of nine passes, including scoring throws of 18, 16 and 10 yards.

"I feel like a million bucks," Moniz said after practice.

The drawback? Moniz, who lives in Wahiawa, had to return to Manoa to drop off his equipment.

"Other than that, it's fun to play in this stadium," Moniz said. "You don't know how many more games you get to play here. Our offense is looking crisp. We're going to put up some numbers this year. It's going to be good."

Three players who had been out with injury -- Alex Green, Laupepa Letuli and Aaron Brown -- also made their returns.

Dave Reardon writes about expressing his concerns regarding the offensive line to Greg McMackin.

And, now -- with USC coming to town in six days -- it's become apparent that the performance of the O-line will go a long way toward determining the fate of the 2010 Warriors.

Yes, that's true every year. The difference this time is that more than ever many who have watched practices in the spring and fall camps have cast doubts that the group is ready.

I said some words to that effect, half-expecting McMackin to spring out of the chair and get in my face. But I guess it came out politely. He didn't even lose his smile.

"That's a fair statement," he said. "But with the exception of center, the guys we've got out there have started, but at different times."

The OC Register has some highlights from Greg McMackin's conference call with reporters.

(on facing USC’s defensive front)

“We played Georgia, and we played Florida. These are very similar type people. They’re great athletes. … There’s no better guy to guys up the football field than (Ed Orgeron). Even with a four-man rush, it’s going to be a real challenge for us.”

And Gary Klein of the LA Times that it's tough to get a read on USC.

Again playing what amounted to touch football in an effort to avoid injuries, the first-team offense and defense did not overpower the scout team.

The running game remains a mystery, and Coach Lane Kiffin won't know if his defense can tackle until the Trojans play next Thursday at Hawaii.

The passing game also is far from sharp.

Barkley passed for three touchdowns, but he had two passes intercepted, one that walk-on linebacker Will Andrew returned 25 yards for a touchdown. It was the second consecutive scrimmage that a Barkley interception was returned for a touchdown.