Feature on Leon Wright-Jackson

About how he was taught to follow his instincts, LWJ said:
"My high school coach would tell me, 'Don't think so much.' He would tell me, 'The play's designed to go to the right, but if you see a hole in the middle or a cutback to the left, just do it and make sure you do it fast.' " (HSB)

HSB Note: "Trusting those instincts resulted in a 47-yard touchdown run against Louisiana Tech, in which Wright-Jackson followed his blockers, then spotted a seam in the defense and showed off the speed that helped him attain Parade All-America status at Pasco High in Washington. Wright-Jackson reached the end zone just one other time that sophomore season and played sparingly down the stretch. This summer, he's approaching his second fall camp in Manoa more comfortable in his role."

About how LWJ and Libre as competing for the starting RB spot, RB coach Alex Gerke said:
"Right now, those guys (Wright-Jackson and Libre) are split at one. It'll be a great battle between those two in fall camp. One day one guy will run with the ones, another day the other guy will run with the ones. We'll grade them out and whoever has the best day is going to keep running with the ones." (HSB)

About how he feels good about prospects for this season, LWJ said:
"I think I have the confidence back that I was looking for." (HSB)

About how he's changed since high school, LWJ said:
"I feel like I'm a completely different person. When I first got into college I was a little jittery and letting things get the best of me. Now I'm calm and just taking it day-by-day." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Wright-Jackson, then simply Leon Jackson, blazed to Parade All-America honors at Pasco (Wash.) High School and was a prized part of Nebraska's recruiting class in 2005. But after shuffling among running back, safety and receiver, he found Cornhusker red an uncomfortable fit and left after one season. He returned home to attend Columbia Basin Community College in Pasco, and after not playing in 2006, he received an unexpected opportunity to resume his career in Hawaii."

About playing at UH after leaving Nebraska, LWJ said:
"It was something I had to prove, not to anybody, mostly just to myself, that I wasn't going to give up after I left Nebraska. A lot of people probably thought that was it after I left Nebraska and nobody was interested in me. I kept looking for schools and I didn't think Hawaii even knew about me. But Coach (Rich) Miano called me and I jumped aboard as fast as possible because I knew the success the school was going through and I wanted to be a part of that." (HSB)

About adding Wright to his name before he joined UH, LWJ said:
"I looked at it as a new era. I'm not going to look back in the past. There was some success, but the past is the past ... and I have to keep moving forward." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Wright-Jackson (who measures in at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds) regularly studies film of backs who share his attributes as a taller, long-striding runner -- such as Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden, Eric Dickerson and Eddie George -- and implemented some of Peterson's training techniques to his regimen to build greater explosiveness into his game."

About how the new offense could be good for his game, LWJ said:
"(The quarterback) being under center and being able to see the defense from that perspective is a lot better than being on the side of the quarterback in the shotgun. It's going to open up some holes." (HSB)

Note: If you want to see LWJ and the rest of the Warriors, you can get college football tickets from this site and go to the home and road games.

About how he was too critical about himself last season, LWJ said:
"Coach (June) Jones would try to tell me, 'you're fine, just relax.' But for some reason I was just harder on myself. It was just me trying to critique myself way too much. It's maturing. It's a slow process, but I think I've got a hold of it now." (HSB)