Thousands of miles away from home, Aliquippa High School graduate Michael Washington has waited patiently for an opportunity.

A junior wide receiver/return man at the University of Hawaii, Washington has seen his playing time diminish since making one start and catching 13 passes his freshman season. Despite playing for a nationally ranked Rainbow Warriors squad featuring Heisman hopeful quarterback Colt Brennan, life on the islands has at times been anything but a paradise for Washington.

"Hawaii's cool," Washington said. "I mean, you got the beaches. Of course, you got the hula girls. You got Waikiki and everything. But it's not entirely paradise to me in my eyes because paradise to me is football and doing what I came down here to do in the first place."

Washington, though, got a golden opportunity in Hawaii's season-opening rout of Northern Colorado. And as he usually does, he ran with it ... really fast.

Hawaii coach June Junes inserted Washington to return a punt in the third quarter, and Washington responded by returning it 80 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. The highlight-reel run was similar to those of Santana Moss and Dante Hall, two diminutive NFL receivers after whom Washington (5-7, 165) said he patterns his game.

"When I got an opportunity, I just had to let coach Jones and everybody else know what's up," said Washington. "I'm like: You've got to look at my highlight tape or something. Everybody back home wants to know what I do down here. I just got the opportunity and I just did what I do."

Despite turning in that big play in Hawaii's opener, Washington has seen limited action in the next three games. He has two receptions for 32 yards and returned three other punts, with an average of 25.5 yards per return.

Hawaii is off to a 4-0 start and is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll.

Washington's lack of playing time has been due in part to Hawaii's depth at the wide receiver position. The Warriors boast three players who have at one time caught at least 70 passes in a season, and all three are considered NFL prospects. Washington serves as the backup to junior slot receiver Davone Bess, a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference selection who hauled in 96 catches and 15 touchdowns last season.

Speed is and always has been Washington's greatest athletic attribute. Since helping Aliquippa win the PIAA Class AA 400-meter relay his senior year, Washington has become even faster. He said he was timed at a blazing 4.28 in the 40 this past spring.

"I'm not going to say I'm the fastest person on the team, because you know how people get big chests about it," Washington said. "But I will tell you this ... I am always three times as fast as I need to be."

When Washington does get a pass thrown his way, it's being thrown by Brennan, one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history. A senior, Brennan set the Division I-A record for touchdowns passes in a season last year, when he tossed 58, and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He is among the favorites to win the award this year.

"Colt is one of the best quarterbacks I've ever played with," Washington said. "He's got the right touch, the right speed, the right velocity, everything. He's just great. He deserved the Heisman last year. Let's just hope he gets it this year."

Washington's path to Hawaii was paved by another Washington, Aliquippa assistant coach Mark Washington, who is no relation to Michael. Mark Washington played football for a junior college in California, and has connections to a number of schools, primarily in the West. Michael Washington had sent highlight tapes to Hawaii, California, New Mexico and Miami (Fla.), but only the Warriors were willing to put him on scholarship as a wide receiver.

Washington said the move from Aliquippa to Hawaii was much more than a simple change of scenery, calling it "super culture shock," but said he was able to get through it by regularly talking with his grandparents and reading the Bible.

He made it back home this summer, and worked out with the Quips and his former coach Mike Zmijanac, who continues to be quite impressed with his former pupil.

"He has a sense of purpose all the time," Zmijanac said. "He's a guy who has been successful because he works hard. It didn't just happen for him. That's the thing Mike should really be proud of. He made it happen."

Washington only hopes he has a chance to "make it happen" more often.