HONOLULU — Hawaii coach June Jones was named Western Athletic Coach of the year Monday for the first time since 1999, when he turned around the struggling program.
Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan was voted the WAC offensive player of the year by the league's nine head coaches, becoming the first Hawaii player to earn the honor. The junior was among nine Warriors on the All-WAC first-team, which was the most of any school.
The resurgent Warriors (10-3, 7-1 WAC) had a nine-game winning streak and broke into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 1992 before losing to Oregon State 35-32 on Saturday night. They finished second in the WAC to No. 9 Boise State.
Utah State linebacker Paul Igboeli was named the WAC freshman of the year, while OL Malik Cin and DE Ben Calderwood received honors as second-teamers.
Hawaii led the nation in scoring (47.3 points a game), passing (432.2 yards) and total offense (549.9 yards) and could finish with a school record 11 wins if it beats Arizona State in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl.
Brennan, who leads the nation in total offense, passing efficiency and TD passes, has completed 72 percent of his passes for 4,990 yards and 53 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He also has rushed for 351 yards and five TDs.
He is one TD pass shy of tying the NCAA record of 54 set by Houston's David Klingler in 1990 and is 198 passing yards short of tying the WAC's single-season record of 5,188 set by BYU's Ty Detmer in 1990.
Other Hawaii players named to the first team were receiver Davone Bess, running back Nate Ilaoa, offensive linemen Tala Esera and Samson Satele, defensive linemen Ikaika Alama-Francis and Melila Purcell, safety Leonard Peters and returner Ross Dickerson.
Broncos linebacker Korey Hall was picked as the WAC defensive player of the year and made the first team for the third year. But Boise State could also make a strong case for coach and offensive player of the year. First-year coach Chris Petersen led the Broncos to a fifth straight WAC championship and a berth to face No. 7 Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, becoming just the second non-BCS school to earn an invite to a big-money postseason game.