The University of Hawai'i football team was picked 9th in the Mountain West Preseason Poll released Wednesday on the opening day of the league's media days held at the Circa Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the second season of the non-divisional format for the conference, the Rainbow Warriors received 214 points to place 9th among the 12 teams.
For a 14th consecutive season, the defending conference champions of Boise State was the preseason favorite, receiving 38 of the 46 first place votes and 543 total points.
The top two teams with the highest conference winning percentage will compete in the MW Football Championship Game on Friday, December 6 hosted by the team with the highest winning percentage in MW play. The game will be televised oi FOX, KHON2 locally at 3:00 pm HST.
In addition, the preseason all-conference team and awards were announced on Wednesday and no players from the UH program were selected.
UH quarterback Brayden Schager, safety Peter Manuma, and head coach Timmy Chang are in Las Vegas representing UH at the two-day Mountain West Media Days. The student-athletes are under the spotlight on day one, with Chang and the other conference coaches taking center stage on Thursday.
The Rainbow Warriors will open training camp on July 24 ahead of their August 24 season opener against Delaware State.
UH, is coming off of a 5-8 season, in which they won three of their final four games.
Across offense, defense, and special teams - the Rainbow Warriors return more than 25 players with starting experience.
Stay with KHON2 Sports on-air and online for continuing coverage of the MW Football Media Days.
2024 Mountain West Predicted Order of Finish:
1.Boise State (38) 543
2.UNLV (4) 471
3.Fresno State (4) 460
4.Air Force 384
5.Colorado State 337
6.Wyoming 296
7.Utah State 285
8.San Diego State 251
9.Hawai’i 214
10.San José State 185
11.New Mexico 85
12.Nevada 77
2024 MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Offense
QB Mikey Keene Jr. Fresno State
WR Tory Horton* Gr. Colorado State
WR Ricky White III* Sr. UNLV
WR Jalen Royals Sr. Utah State RB Ashton Jeanty Jr. Boise State
RB Malik Sherrod Sr. Fresno State
OL Kage Casey So. Boise State OL Jacob Gardner Gr. Colorado State
OL Mose Vavao* Sr. Fresno State OL Tiger Shanks Sr. UNLV
OL Jack Walsh Jr. Wyoming
TE John Michael Gyllenborg Jr. Wyoming
Defense
DL Ahmed Hassanein* Sr. Boise State
DL Devo Bridges** Sr. Fresno State
DL Soane Toia Sr. San José State DL Jordan Bertagnole Gr. Wyoming
LB Andrew Simpson Jr. Boise State LB Chase Wilson Sr. Colorado State
LB Jordan Pollard Jr. San José State
LB Jackson Woodard* Sr. UNLV
DB A'Marion McCoy Sr. Boise State
DB Jack Howell* Sr. Colorado State
DB Cameron Oliver** Sr. UNLV
DB Ike Larsen* Jr. Utah State
Specialists
P James Ferguson-Reynolds Jr. Boise State PK Jonah Dalmas* Gr. Boise State
PR Jacob De Jesus* Sr. UNLV
KR Jacob De Jesus* Sr. UNLV
Offensive Player of the Year: Ashton Jeanty, Jr., RB, Boise State
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmed Hassanein, Sr., DL, Boise State
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Jackson Woodard, Sr., LB, UNLV
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jacob De Jesus, Sr., PR/KR, UNLV
* member of the 2023 All-MW first team
** member of the 2023 All-MW second team
