College Football Nation: Bryant Moniz

Non-AQ Players of the Week

September, 13, 2010
Sep 13
5:44
PM ET
Here are your non-AQ players of the week:

Conference USA

Offense: Bryce Beall, RB, Houston. Ran for a career-high 195 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdown runs in a 54-24 win over UTEP.

Defense: Vinny Curry, DE, Marshall. Had 11 tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles in a loss to West Virginia on Friday night.

Special Teams: Kevin Fitzpatrick, K, Tulsa. Tied a career-best when he made four-of-four field goals, including two in each half.

MAC
East Division

Offense: Thomas Merriweather, RB, Miami. Ran for 100 yards for the second time in his career, getting 105 yards on 15 carries and tied his career high with three touchdowns in a win over Eastern Michigan.

Defense: Muhammad Wilkerson, DT, Temple. Had six tackles, a career-high two sacks, a career-high three tackles for loss and one forced fumble in a 13-10 overtime win over Central Michigan last Thursday.

Special Teams: Freddy Cortez, K, Kent State. Made field goals from 45 and 41 yards in a 26-13 loss at Boston College. It was the first time in his career Cortez has made two field goals of 40-plus yards.

West Division

Offense: Alex Carder, QB, Western Michigan. Completed a career-high 24-of-33 passing for 298 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-14 win over Nicholls State. Carder became the sixth Bronco quarterback with five passing touchdowns in a game and the first since Oct. 8, 2005.

Defense: Dan Molls, LB, Toledo. Had a career-high 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack and two interceptions in a 20-13 win at Ohio.

Special Teams: Jay Karutz, P, Eastern Michigan. Set a school record with a 49.5 punt average against Miami with three of the four inside the 20-yard line, including two that were downed inside the 1. His fourth punt was a 56 yarder that went out of bounds.

Mountain West

Offense: Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego State. Rushed for 150 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-21 victory over New Mexico State. The four rushing touchdowns set a conference freshman single-game high and are the most by a San Diego State player since Larry Ned had four touchdowns against Wyoming in 2001.

Defense: Alex Ibiloye, S, TCU. Forced three fumbles and added a team-high tying nine tackles in a 62-7 win over Tennessee Tech. Ibiloye became the first Horned Frog to force more than one fumble in a game since Jerry Hughes forced two against BYU in 2008.

Special teams: Shaky Smithson, WR/PR, Utah. Returned five punts for 128 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown, to help Utah beat UNLV 38-10. He is the first Utah player to return a punt for a touchdown since 2007.

Sun Belt

Offense: Ryan Aplin, QB, Arkansas State. Threw for a single-game school record 438 yards in a loss to Louisiana. That is the highest total for an FBS player this season. He currently has the second-most passing yards in the country with 716.

Co-Defense: Maurice Rolle, DB, Louisiana; Jonathan Massaquoi, DE, Troy. Rolle had a key interception of Aplin with 1:59 remaining to secure the win. Massaquoi had eight total tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and fumble recovery in a loss to Oklahoma State.

Special Teams: Jerrel Jernigan, KR, Troy. Became the fourth player in league history to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in a loss to Oklahoma State. Jernigan finished the game with 277 all-purpose yards and moved past former Middle Tennessee star Desmond Gee into fifth place on the SBC career list with 4,362 career all-purpose yards.

WAC

Offense: Bryant Moniz, QB, Hawaii. Completed 25 of 36 passes for 343 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-28 win at Army. Moniz led the Warriors to touchdowns in three of their first four possessions.

Defense: James-Michael Johnson, LB, Nevada. Had a team and career-high nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks in a 51-6 win at Colorado State. Nevada notched its first shutout since 2006.

Special teams: Anthony Martinez, K, Nevada. Made all three of his field goal attempts and six extra point in the win over Colorado State. The field goal attempts were the first of his college career, while the 15 points he scored in the game are tied for the third most of any kicker in the nation in a game this year.

Non-AQ Helmet Stickers: Week 2

September, 12, 2010
Sep 12
1:30
AM ET
Time to give out helmet stickers for some of the best Week 2 performances among the non-AQs.

Bryce Beall, Houston. Beall set a career-high with 195 yards rushing in a 54-24 win over UTEP on Friday night. Beall also tied his career high with three touchdown runs, and averaged 10.3 yards per carry as the Cougars racked up 308 yards on the ground.

Alex Carder, Western Michigan. Carder went 24-for-33 for 298 yards and five touchdowns in the Broncos’ 49-14 win over Nicholls State. Carder became the first Western Michigan quarterback to throw for five touchdowns since Tim Hiller in 2005. Carder threw his five TDs to four different receivers: Jordan White (two), Dallas Walker, Blake Hammond Ansel Ponder once each.

Alex Ibiloye, TCU. The safety forced three fumbles in No. 4 TCU’s 62-7 win over Tennessee Tech. Nobody forced more than two fumbles for the entire 2009 season. Ibiloye totaled a team-high nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

Colin Kaepernick, Nevada. Kaepernick turned in one of his classic performances, with 402 yards of total offense in a 51-6 win over Colorado State. Once again, Kaepernick led the team through the air and on the ground, going 21-of-29 for 241 yards and a touchdown, with 11 carries for 161 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground. He has gone over 100 yards passing and rushing for the 11th time of his career.

Bryant Moniz, Hawaii. Moniz took a hard hit in a loss to USC last week and missed several days of practice, but he looked good as new in a 31-28 win over Army. Moniz went 25-of-36 for 343 yards and three touchdowns. He got off to a particularly fast start, going 17-of-22 for 239 yards and threw all his touchdown passes to give the Warriors a 21-0 lead.

Non-AQ news and notes roundup

September, 9, 2010
Sep 9
4:08
PM ET
News and notes from the non-AQ schools:

"BYU freshman wide receiver Ross Apo dislocated his left index finger during practice Wednesday and had surgery. He is expected to be out about six weeks. Apo did not have a catch in the opener against Washington last week.

"ULM will start Jyruss Edwards at running back when the Warhawks open their season Saturday night against No. 14 Arkansas. Edwards had been listed as the No. 2 running back behind Frank Goodin throughout the fall. But Goodin's snaps have been limited in practice because of an undisclosed injury, so he will come into the game off the bench. Goodin is 874 yards away from setting the school's all-time rushing record.

"Hawaii will start Bryant Moniz at quarterback on Saturday against Army. Moniz took a hard hit against USC in the third quarter last week and missed the rest of the game. He sat out several practices earlier in the week, but has been cleared to play.

"UTEP welcomes back receiver Evan Davis, punt/kickoff returner Marlon McClure and cornerback Travaun Nixon for the game against Houston on Friday. Nixon and McClure missed the season opener, serving a suspension for violating team rules. Davis sat out following his arrest in a domestic situation with his girlfriend.

"Louisiana Tech will start Colby Cameron at quarterback against Texas A&M, marking his first career start. Cameron replaces Ross Jenkins, who struggled in the opener against Grambling State. Cameron also played in the 20-6 win.

In other Bulldogs news, receiver Tim Molton was reinstated to the football team, but R.P. Stuart, Kiamni Washington and Cruz Williams have been dismissed from the team. All four had been serving suspensions for violating team rules. In addition, defensive lineman Jared Barron has quit the team.

"Navy receiver Mike Schupp tore the ACL in his right knee, and right tackle Matt Molloy suffered a concussion in the game against Maryland. Coach Ken Niumatalolo said it was possible Schupp could return in time for the Dec. 11 game against Army, and in the bowl game if Navy is eligible. Molloy has suffered concussions in the past, and must decide whether he wants to continue playing football.

What to Watch among non-AQs: Week 2

September, 9, 2010
Sep 9
10:15
AM ET
Week 2 is almost here! With that, here are 10 storylines to watch among the non-AQ teams:

1. Can Air Force put pressure on BYU’s two quarterbacks? Part of the reason Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps were so successful last week against Washington was because their offensive line protected them so well, giving up no sacks. Air Force has experience up front, led by defensive end Rick Ricketts. If they can get to the young quarterbacks, the Falcons have a shot of breaking their six-game losing streak to BYU.

2. How does Wyoming handle the tragedy of this week against Texas? The Cowboys were facing a hard enough game as it was, but now they go into Austin after the tragic death of a teammate. Ruben Narcisse was killed in a car accident and three players were injured. The team has tried to maintain its normal routine, but coach Dave Christensen has no idea what to expect at kickoff. They will wear decals on their helmets with Narcisse’s initials.

[+] EnlargeJordan Wynn
Paul Jasienski/US PresswireJordan Wynn's status for Saturday's remains uncertain.
3. Does Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn play against UNLV? Wynn is listed as day to day with a sprained thumb on his throwing hand and could be a game-time decision for the Utes. He got hurt early in the opener last week against Pittsburgh but still threw for 283 yards. Backup Terrance Cain is capable, having started the first eight games of last season. Cain had a good day against UNLV last season, going 17-of-24 for 174 yards with two touchdown passes.

4. Can Tulane pull a Jacksonville State? Ole Miss is going to go into its game against Tulane looking to make up for an embarrassing home loss to Jacksonville State last week. Tulane was one of the worst teams in Conference USA last season and was not overly impressive in its opener. Southeastern Louisiana had more total yards (266-252) and more first downs (17-15) and Tulane had three turnovers but still won. Chances for an upset are unlikely, but hey, there is always Jacksonville State for inspiration.

5. How is New Mexico going to respond after losing 72-0 to Oregon last week? Coach Mike Locksley said his team isn’t dwelling on the terrible loss in which New Mexico gave up 720 yards of total offense and had five turnovers. But it’s not as if the Lobos get a break this week with a high-powered passing offense in Texas Tech coming to town.

6. Hawaii has a mighty looooong road trip. Hawaii is playing in the Eastern time zone for just the sixth time when it faces Army on Saturday. How will the Warriors respond when the game kicks off at 6 a.m. Hawaii time? The Warriors have been on the mainland since Wednesday to get used to the time change. Though they gave USC fits last week, Army can run the ball, and Hawaii had a hard time slowing down the ground game against the Trojans. But will Army slow down a passing attack that will have Bryant Moniz behind center?

7. Will UTEP RB Donald Buckram play against Houston? Buckram missed the season opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff after bruising his knee in practice, and coach Mike Price doesn’t know whether his starting running back will be available this week. Without him last week, UTEP used Joe Banyard and Vernon Frazier, who combined for 183 yards rushing. Buckram gashed Houston for 262 yards rushing last year in the upset win.

8. Can Colorado State beat Nevada for the second straight year? The last time the Rams won a game was nearly a year ago, against Nevada last Sept. 19. They were able to slow down Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick, holding him to 24 yards on the ground, and forcing him into three turnovers. But this year, they go to Reno with freshman starting quarterback Pete Thomas. The Wolf Pack are improved, but it’s unclear whether the Rams are after losing to Colorado last week.

9. Can Eastern Michigan win a road game? The Eagles go to Miami (Ohio) this week looking for their first road win since Oct. 4, 2008, a 24-21 win at Bowling Green. They played a good game against Army, losing with 38 seconds to play. Running back Dwayne Priest and quarterback Alex Gillett both ran for more than 100 yards, the first time two Eagles backs went over 100 yards since 2005. Miami played it very close to the Gators last week and presents a more balanced attack than Army.

10. Are we in store for another close game between Arkansas State and Louisiana? This is the first conference matchup in the Sun Belt between teams that have played it pretty close the past few years. Eight of the last 10 meetings have been decided by six points or fewer, including the last two. Last year, Arkansas State rallied to within three after trailing 21-3, but ended up losing in the final minutes. The Red Wolves haven’t won at Louisiana in 18 years, but their new offense put up 26 points last week against Auburn, their second-highest point total against a Top-25 opponent since 2002.

Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz expected to play

September, 6, 2010
Sep 6
3:41
PM ET
Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz took a vicious hit late in the third quarter against USC last week, but is expected to play Saturday against Army, coach Greg McMackin said.

Moniz was hit by linebacker Michael Morgan after a 13-yard scramble down to the USC 5 yard-line and looked woozy when he got up Thursday night. He missed the remainder of the game, and also sat out practice Saturday. No penalty was called on the play, as it appeared Morgan did not intentionally try to hit him in the head. But McMackin sent tape of the hit into the league office for an explanation about why no flag was thrown.

"I don’t think the USC kid did it intentionally. He’s just playing football," McMakin said on the WAC conference call. "We just want to get things, we’d like to understand how the officials saw it."

As for Moniz, he was having a terrific game before he went out, going 18-of-36 for 269 yards and a touchdown. McMackin said Moniz showed no concussion symptoms afterward, but doctors have been monitoring him.

"I see him playing," McMackin said. "The doctors are looking at him every day. His health is really important to us ... they’ve been watching him."

Even with Moniz out of the game, his backups picked up right where he left off. Shane Austin went 6-of-9 for 141 yards and two touchdowns, and Brent Rausch was 3-of-4 for 49 yards.

Hawaii faces the start of a 13-day cross-country road trip starting this week as it heads to West Point, the farthest game east for the Warriors in school history. The team will leave for the East Coast on Tuesday night and arrive in New Jersey on Wednesday morning. The Warriors will then practice there before doing a walk-through at Army. When the teams kick off Saturday, it will be 6 a.m. Hawaii time.

After the game, Hawaii heads to Las Vegas, where it will stay for the week before playing at Colorado on Sept. 18. The entire trip will cover more than 11,000 miles.

McMackin is not too concerned, considering his team practices in the morning.

"We're used to traveling," McMackin said. "Our guys, they’re very disciplined and they do a very good job of it. It’s a challenge we’ll just have to take care of."

Non-AQ Weekend Rewind

September, 6, 2010
Sep 6
2:00
PM ET
Let's take a look at the good, the bad and the incredible in a nearly complete Week 1.

The good: The Mountain West and WAC were the only two conferences to win games against AQ opponents. The Mountain West had the best record against teams from those automatic qualifying conferences, going 3-3 with big wins from TCU, BYU and Utah. Fresno State had the lone WAC win, over Cincinnati. Of course, there is still one WAC team yet to play. The other conference records against other AQ schools:

[+] EnlargeUtah Celebration
AP Photo/Steve C. WilsonUtah's upset of No. 15 Pitt was just one reason for Non AQs to celebrate in Week 1.
Conference USA: 0-5; 0-6 against all FBS opponents.

MAC: 0-5; 0-7 against all FBS opponents.

Sun Belt: 0-5; 2-5 against all FBS opponents.

The bad: Nobody could possibly have had a worse weekend than New Mexico, which lost 72-0 to Oregon. This is the perfect example of why many people believe the Mountain West should not get an automatic qualifying bid into the BCS. The league is so top heavy it gets weighed down with the teams at the bottom that simply cannot compete. Show me a team at the bottom of any AQ conferences that could lose as badly as this. Not even Duke, Vanderbilt or Syracuse qualifies.

The incredible: You probably have all seen the highlights, but it bears repeating that East Carolina's last-second win over Tulsa is why fans of the sport love it so much. Time winding down, hopes all but gone, and then a ball dropped from the heavens right into the arms of the 6-foot-8 Justin Jones. "That was the greatest experience of my life," quarterback Dominique Davis said after the game. "There was probably people in the stands -- our fans -- who probably thought the game was over. But I told the team, 'Just trust.' As soon as I let it go, I knew he was going to catch it."

The new: Several new starters at quarterback seemed to do all right for themselves on opening weekend. Jake Heaps of BYU, Corey Robinson of Troy and Logan Kilgore of Middle Tennessee all had decent outings. So did Ryan Radcliff of Central Michigan and Jerry Davis of Buffalo.

A few more helmet stickers: Belated helmet stickers to Davis of East Carolina, who went 27-of-46 for 383 yards with five touchdown passes. He also had a score on the ground. Also, much was made of the way Hawaii was able to hang around USC. The offense looked great, even after starting quarterback Bryant Moniz took a hit to the helmet and was forced to leave the game. Kealoha Pilares had five catches for 176 yards and 3 TDs in the win. Two of his touchdowns went for over 50 yards.

A few injury items to note: UTEP running back Donald Buckram missed the opener against Arkansas Pine-Bluff after bruising his knee in practice. A MRI on his knee was negative, and he clearly was not needed in the win over an FCS team. Hawaii's Moniz didn't practice Saturday but said he expects to play this week against Army. Air Force cornerback Reggie Rembert was carted off the field with a neck injury in the opener against Northwestern State, and it's unlikely that he plays this weekend against BYU. Tests on his neck were negative.

Week 2 look ahead: There are several in-conference games scheduled for this week, the biggest being BYU at Air Force. On Thursday night, Central Michigan plays Temple in the MAC; UTEP is at Houston on Friday night in a big divisional game. You can bet the Miners will need Buckram in this game. FIU, New Mexico State and Louisiana-Monroe were the only three idle teams in the country Week 1. They play their first games this weekend.

Instant analysis: USC 49, Hawaii 36

September, 3, 2010
Sep 3
3:12
AM ET
USC's 49-36 win at Hawaii probably wasn't terribly comforting for USC fans. The offense looked great. The defense? Spineless.

Lane Kiffin and his offense get an "A." Monte Kiffin and Ed Orgeron and their defense get an "F."

How the game was won: The Warriors couldn't stop the Trojans offense.

Turning point: It never really seemed like USC was in real danger, but the Trojans' effortless four-play, 79-yard drive to go up 42-23 late in the third quarter made it clear that no matter how many points the Warriors scored, the Trojans would end up with more.

Turning point II: When Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz was knocked out of the game near the USC goal line in the third quarter, the Warriors' chances seemed as if they were severely damaged. But the Warriors kept rolling up yards and points even with their backups.

Second-guessing: Let's make something clear: USC linebacker Michael Morgan's hit that knocked out Moniz in the third was clean. It wasn't a head shot, and that was clear from replays. It shouldn't have been a penalty. Morgan delivered a blow with his chest and INSIDE of his arms. Just want to make sure everyone understands what happened.

Stat of the game: The Warriors outgained USC 588 to 525.

In case that wasn't clear: 588!

Notable number: USC made a bunch of stupid penalties, mostly on defense. The final tally -- 11 for 100 -- included three offsides penalties, as well as a fourth that was declined, in large part because the Warriors converted on a third-and-26 from their 7-yard line.

Player of the game: Trojans quarterback Matt Barkley was brilliant. He threw five touchdown passes, completing 18 of 23 throws for 257 yards.

Player of the game II: USC receiver Ronald Johnson caught three of Barkley's TD passes. He also returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown.

Player who deserves note: Moniz is a heck of a player. Sort of reminded me of a guy we used to see in the Pac-10 last year who's moved to Mississippi. He had the Trojans D completely out of sync, both running and throwing.

What it means: Some -- who, me? -- thought USC would come out and stomp the Warriors. You know: Send a message. The foundation of that predicted stomping -- and it feels absurd now -- was expected to be the Trojans defense, particularly the defensive line. But the defensive line was terrible. They, however, looked good compared to the secondary, which couldn't cover or tackle worth a lick. There are some positives to take away for USC, but they are entirely on offense. Other Pac-10 offensive coordinators who stayed up late to watch this one -- it ended around 3 a.m. EST -- are probably grinning.
Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

The last time Boise State traveled to Hawaii, it ruined the Broncos season.

At that point, the Broncos were challenging for the WAC title and a possible BCS bowl berth. But Hawaii was angling for the same goals and bested the Broncos 39-27. The Warriors went on to win the WAC and play against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Don’t expect the same result this weekend.

Boise State travels to Hawaii for a game that important in keeping the Broncos as the highest ranked non-AQ team and in a tie in the quest for the WAC title. A few weeks ago, this might have been a trap game, but the Hawaii defense has been ravaged by injury and the offense lost starting quarterback Greg Alexander. The Warriors are in the midst of a tough four-game losing streak, which includes losses to three conference opponents.

Hawaii struggles could be Boise State’s gain.

Since Boise State’s close 28-21 win over Tulsa last week, there’s been talk that the Broncos need to work on its style points to compensate for its weaker schedule. The Broncos have struggled to really dominate its opponents in the past two games and some voters and BCS gurus claim that might come back to haunt them in the future.

Hawaii gives Boise State an opportunity for a convincing win on national television, but coach Chris Petersen said he’s not interested in running up the score. All he cares about is winning that game and that’s all he’s encouraging his team to do.

“I know there’s a lot of talk about [style points] out there, but it’s something that we really don’t even kind of concern ourselves with,” Petersen said. “We’re just trying to win the game and I think that that’s evident in how we played last game in the fourth quarter. We did some things that in a lot of people’s view was more conservative, but in our view it’s what we had to do to win the game. That’s always going to be our priority. We’re not going to go the other direction and we just have faith that it will work out how it’s supposed to.”

In the last four games, Hawaii has allowed an average of 34.5 points, but it’s only lost by an average of 15 points. Boise State’s defense clamped down against Tulsa, getting to quarterback G.J. Kinne several times and disrupting his ability to get the ball downfield, and they’ll have to do the same this week to keep quarterback Bryant Moniz in check. Moniz has steadily gotten better in each of his games. He’s averaging 250 yards per game, he’s thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for a score. Last week, he threw for 360 yards against Idaho.

History, however, is on the Broncos side. Boise State is 7-1 against Hawaii this decade and Petersen said he doesn’t think his team will be too enamored with its ranking to lose focus on the Warriors.

“We’ve had the talk all year [about rankings] and it’s just something that we deal with and hopefully we’re a mature enough to know that it really doesn’t mean anything right now,” Petersen said. “We’ve got seven games left and we’ve got a very tough trip coming up here to play Hawaii, and that’s where all out focus and energy needs to be.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson


Fresno State has made a season exploiting teams with their rushing game and this weekend it might actually notch the Bulldogs a win.

Fresno State brings its No. 3 nationally ranked rushing offense to Hawaii this week to face a Warriors team that allowed 352 rushing yards in a 27-6 loss to Louisiana Tech last weekend.

Hawaii ranks 102nd in rushing defense this season with 183.00 yards per game. That’s just 35 fewer yards than Fresno State star running back Ryan Mathews is averaging himself this season.

“We weren’t attacked inside like we were last week,” Hawaii coach Greg McMackin said. “We’re going to be facing some good running backs and [Mathews] is one of the best if not the best that we’re going to see in the next four or five games.”

Hawaii’s defense has shown holes all season mostly because of inexperience. The Warriors returned just two starters from last year and star linebacker Brashton Satele suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during camp.

Up until last week, the Hawaii offense was able to keep the team in games despite the defense. But with starting quarterback Greg Alexander lost for the season with a knee injury and sophomore Bryant Moniz, who was originally the third-string quarterback, starting his first FBS game, the Warriors could be in for a long night.

Fresno State, which has opened the season 1-3 because of a brutal schedule, needs this win to have a shot at bowl eligibility. Coach Pat Hill didn’t mince words when talking about the importance of the game.

“We’ve always had great games with the University of Hawaii,” Hill said. “We’re looking forward to playing this football game. We’ve had a tough September as far as wins and losses. Our team has played very competitively, but we’re 1-3. This is a must-win for us in conference as I’d imagine it is for Hawaii.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson


Bryant Moniz came to Hawaii as a longshot to start at quarterback when he transferred from Fresno City College. But just a year later, circumstances have forced him into the starting role.

Moniz, who transferred to Hawaii after the 2007 season, walked-on and sat out last year, was named the starting quarterback for this week’s game against Fresno State after former starter Greg Alexander suffered a season-ending knee injury against Louisiana Tech.

“He’s got a good feel for the game, he’s very athletic, he’s got a very accurate arm, very smart,” McMackin said. “We just have to see where he is when he gets in the game. He’s been in a few games and done very well and quite honestly, you know how some players have ‘It’? He’s worked his way up and all the way we’ve said, ‘Shoot, he’s got It.’ So, we’ll find out now.”

Moniz moved into the backup spot the week before the Washington State game after Brent Rausch suffered a broken pinkie. He saw garbage time in that game, completing his only pass for 36 yards and rushing twice for four yards. After Alexander went down against Louisiana Tech, Moniz completed 5-of-11 passes for 109 yards.

At Fresno City College, Moniz threw for 2,268 yards and 18 touchdowns as a freshman. According to a story in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Moniz returned to Hawaii because he has a young daughter there. When he returned, he was invited to walk on to the team.

Sophomore Shane Austin will be the immediate backup and former quarterback turned running back Inoke Funaki will be available as a quarterback in an emergency situation.

“Our third and fourth-team quarterback are better than our quarterbacks were last year,” McMackin said of Moniz and Austin.

Alexander had surgery on Saturday and McMackin said the procedure went well. Because Alexander was a transfer, he had just two years to play two seasons. Alexander was the team’s starter at the end of last season and had helped the Warriors to a 2-1 record prior to the Louisiana Tech loss.

“His operation was very good,” McMackin said. “I talked to the surgeon, Greg’s mom and to Greg and the surgeon feels that he can play later on, but it won’t be for us because he’s had two to play two.

“We all feel terrible about what happened because he’s brought so much to this program and worked so hard to get where he was.”
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