We’re going to start and end with positives today.

First, Bryant Moniz’s passing. The University of Hawaii’s starting quarterback looked very sharp in the drills I saw yesterday. His many on-the-money throws included a perfect long one to Royce Pollard who caught it in full stride.

He was also strong in a red-zone drill, snapping off TD passes on three of five tosses. All five throws were right there; one of the two incompletions was a drop, and the other was due to a good defensive play.

This level of efficiency will be more difficult when Moniz is not operating against defensive scouts. Still, his accuracy and the zip on his passes seem better than last year.

If UH is to improve from the 6-7 mark of 2009, Moniz and a well-stocked posse of playmakers can’t be negated by an offensive line lacking in experience and cohesion. The starting front five is not firmly in place less than two weeks away from opening the season against a defensive front as good as that of USC. Is that alarming to anyone else?

The defense is much deeper than last year, especially up front. It’s a given that defensive linemen will get injured, and the teams that have eight or nine capable of doing the job are much more likely to win.

The biggest improvement will likely come from special teams. Last year around this time I wrote deficiencies in that part of the triangle would cost the Warriors at least one game, and they did.

When UH is at its best, huge contributions come from the special teams. Kicker Jason Elam was MVP of the 1992 WAC champs. Chad Owens broke NCAA records as a freshman against BYU and turned 2004 into a winning season with his punt returns. If Dan Kelly doesn’t make those kicks at Nevada there is no Sugar Bowl. And Ryan Mouton’s return for a TD, Tua Mahaley’s blocked kick and another Kelly field goal at Fresno in 2008 keyed the biggest win of Greg McMackin’s two years as head coach.

SPECIAL TEAMS struggled last year as all of the key performers were new.

But returning kicker Scott Enos "is a different guy" than the one who missed seven of 19 field goals last year, McMackin said. And if he falters, touted freshman Tyler Hadden is right there. Sophomore punter Alex Dunnachie’s confidence and technique are catching up to his big-time talent.

As for covering kicks, McMackin said Parker Paredes is "a hitter who flies down the field." Special teams coordinator Chris Tormey said Bubba Poueu-Luna, Siaki Cravens and John Hardy-Tuliau are among the players expected to shine.

"We’ve got the (return) guys from last year, plus there’s this Allen Sampson. He’s quick and fast, moves lateral and up the field," McMackin said. "I see him on our travel squad. He’s picking up the offense (as a slot receiver) really well."

Sampson knows only winning. He comes from Plant High School in Tampa, where he was a gamebreaker on two state championship teams in Florida’s big-school classification. Keith Niebuhr was one of the few people who could cover Sampson. He did so for the St. Petersburg Times.

"Last year, he played with James Wilder, arguably the country’s top recruit in the class of 2011," messaged Niebuhr. "The year before that, his quarterback was Aaron Murray, now the starter at Georgia. Because there were bigger names in the huddle with him, he never got the credit he probably deserved. But if Plant ever needed a big play, it always seemed like he was the kid who made it, whether with a catch, run or kick return. You could argue he was the Panthers’ most valuable player."

The rest of Division I-A passed on Sampson because of his 5-foot-7, 145-pound dimensions. "I don’t blame them for overlooking me," he said. "They only have so much time to look at players."

He’s worn No. 2 since he was 7, so it’s not because of Owens. But when I asked Sampson if he’s aware of Mighty Mouse’s exploits, he grinned and said, "Yes, sir. He’s a baller."

UH fans certainly agree. And they remember 2004, when Owens’ punt returns sparked a winning season.

Special teams are poised to become special again this year, and possibly make the same kind of difference for the Warriors.

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his "Quick Reads" blog at staradvertiser.com and twitter.com/davereardon.