How do you measure hope for the University of Hawaii football team this season?

The preseason college football magazines tell us it weighs in at 6-feet, 4 inches and 240 pounds in the form of the much-anticipated quarterback Max Wittek.

After four consecutive losing seasons, Phil Steele’s College Football Preview proclaims "There is hope for UH fans in USC transfer QB Max Wittek."

"Hawaii is probably headed for another losing season unless USC transfer Max Wittek decides to wake up and become the superstar he was in high school," GamePlan pointedly predicts.

"Hawaii hopes USC transfer Max Wittek is the answer under center…" says Athlon College Football. Lindy’s Football touts Wittek as UH’s "top newcomer."

Everybody, it seems, sees the owner of jersey No. 13 as holding off 2014 starter Ikaika Woolsey and having a chance to be UH’s lucky number this season.

Never mind that Wittek has yet to throw a pass in a game for UH — and will not have authored one for anybody in more than 20 months when UH opens the season Sept. 3, the magazines cast the redshirt senior as the Rainbow Warriors’ best chance to make something out of this season.

Steele is the highest on Wittek, listing him as the preseason pick for All-Mountain West Conference quarterback, and rating UH’s quarterbacks No.2 as a unit in the 12-team conference, both significantly higher than any other publication.

But, then, Steele has historically had some off-the-wall preseason picks hit the target, witness picking the 1999 ‘Bows to be the nation’s most improved team.

And this one isn’t all that far-fetched, given the state of the MWC, if Wittek is up to the task. The conference is pitifully short on quality returning QBs and the top player, Chuckie Keeton of Utah State, is coming off two knee injuries.

The West Division, overall, could be as weak as last year when it was won by a Fresno State team that went on to a 6-8 finish.

So, quarterback is a position that could quickly elevate UH above a fifth-place pick, the consensus of the magazines, if Wittek and his playmakers survive the early Ohio State, Wisconsin and Boise State gauntlet.

"Wittek has NFL-type talent," trumpets GamePlan magazine. "NFL prototype, (a) big strong arm," Steele gushes.

Wittek has a notable pedigree and the highest profile of any quarterback welcomed to Manoa. Coming out of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), the high school that produced Colt Brennan, Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley, Wittek was an UnderArmour, SuperPrep and PrepStar All-American and four- and five-star prospect.

But that was awhile ago. Wittek redshirted at UH in 2014 and was sparingly used in 2013 (completing 14 of 26 passes for 212 yards) at USC, and will be shaking off cobwebs. The majority of his game time came in 2012 as a redshirt freshman when he appeared in eight games, including two starts, for the Trojans.

One other thing the magazines find agreement on is that head coach Norm Chow is firmly on the hot seat.

Whether Wittek turns out to, indeed, be UH’s hope — or preseason hype — will have a lot to say about that.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com.