"Yup," Tim Chang admits with a mischievous smile, "that was me out there."

This curious admission comes from someone who, in three previous seasons at UH, has spent more time in a pocket than lint.

Not that we should expect No. 14 to become an option quarterback anytime soon, of course. But it is at least noteworthy that Chang holds out the possibility that he will be looking to run more this year.

"I acknowledge the fact that I should take off more," Chang said. "I think people will probably be surprised at times this season when I do go. But it is an important part of the game (for a quarterback) to run sometimes. I'm practicing it now so that when I'm in a game and that lane is open, or when things break down, I can take off."

It is a remarkable statement for someone who was credited with all of 39 carries — 20 of them on sacks — in 14 games last season. Someone who has run for just three touchdowns in three years.

It all hints at the experience Chang has acquired with the experience of 26 starts for the Warriors and, perhaps, the confidence that comes with having improved his speed and strength.

Dan Morrison, UH quarterback coach, says "he probably will (run more) because his maturity has gone up and that last component, which is to run, is something he is seeing much clearer now. There's a time to throw and a time to run and that's a learning process for a quarterback. Timmy's realizes what coverages are best to run against and when those coverages pop up he's gonna be much more comfortable making that call now."

It hasn't been like Chang, a pretty decent athlete, was a plodder devoid of running skills like some of his predecessors. Rather it has often come down to whether he was willing to put his head down and chug for the eight or 10 yards available in front of him or hold his ground and try to throw for the 35 or 40 he thought he could still get with a downfield strike.

"He's such a great thrower with such a quick release and, with this offense there's so much down field, with the routes progressing, that the preference has usually been just to throw it," Morrison said.

Not that he has faced much second-guessing from coaches when he has thrown. "We can coach him up to run when he sees certain looks in the defensive coverage, but I'm not really all that anxious for him to run," head coach June Jones said. "Actually, to be quite honest, I'd really rather that he didn't run."