Posted at 1:49 p.m., Thursday, January 3, 2002

UH's Owens gets football honor, scholarship

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

The new year brought a two-for-one special for University of Hawai'i football player Chad Owens.

Owens, a kick returner from Roosevelt High, was named to the Football Writers Association of America's inaugural Freshman All-America team.

UH coach June Jones also announced that Owens will receive a football scholarship, beginning with the coming semester.

Of the two honors, Owens told The Advertiser, "I'm really thankful for the scholarship. It kind of made my day. It was something I worked hard for. I finally got it. I'm pretty stoked about it."

Said Jones: "He earned it. It was an easy decision to give him a scholarship."

Owens, who redshirted during the 2000 season, used grants, financial aid and money earned from part-time jobs to pay for his tuition the past three semesters.

The scholarship, Owens said, "makes everything better. It makes me feel I'm part of the guys. And my family is really thrilled."

Owens, a reserve slotback, was not used as a kick returner until the Warriors' seventh game. In the final five games, he averaged 33.6 yards per kick return to lead the Western Athletic Conference and rank second nationally. He scored on two 100-yard kickoff returns and a 74-yard punt return.

"If we were smarter, we would have played him earlier," Jones said. "I'm really happy for him."

Rich Miano, who coaches the UH return teams, said "nobody wanted to get a hotdog when Chad was ready to field a kick. The one word to describe him is 'electrifying.' People love his running style. He's the kind of guy who embarrasses (opponents) in the open field. He's got happy feet."

Jones said Owens is projected to start at one of the slotback positions vacated by seniors Craig Stutzmann and Channon Harris.

Owens said he has started training for next season. He said he does not watch videotape of UH's 72-45 victory over Brigham Young, in which he scored two touchdowns.

"I'm moving on," he said. "I did it. I'm glad. It's over with. I'm looking forward to next season."