"I always tell my guys, 'Don't take a play off, because he'll nail you,' " defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said of Michael "The Ghost" Brewster. "Sometimes they look at his size and think he's somebody they can toss around. But he's a physical little guy."

Kevin Jackson, a 6-foot-4 defensive end who often goes against Brewster in practices, patted his midsection and said, "He'll get you here. He's pretty aggressive and strong."

"We call him 'The Ghost,' because you can't see him," wideout Jeremiah Cockheran said. "He's so short back there, you can't see him until he comes up and he just pops you. And he will pop you."

Three years after walking away from Tennessee, where he played in four games as a freshman in 2000, Brewster still has the ability to surprise. Although John West and Mike Bass were listed as the top candidates to start at running back during spring practice and training camp, it was Brewster who worked out with the first team.

When Brewster was named the starting running back for last week's season opener, that "probably amazed some people," Cockheran said, "but it didn't surprise anybody on this team. We know how hard he works. He works harder than anybody out here. He's like an engine that doesn't stop running."

Before the start of the opener, Brewster recalled, "The coaches said, 'Go,' so I went."

UH coach June Jones said: "He's getting a chance because he worked harder than everybody we have. The reason he's excelling is because he's worked hard."

On the first day of training camp last month, Brewster was one of 40 Warriors to complete the dreaded 220s — 10 sprints of 220 yards, with each sprint by a running back completed in 35 seconds or less. When the 60 or so players who failed took the makeup test two days later, Brewster again took part.

"And he passed again," wideout Britton Komine said. "He's in great shape."

Conditioning coach Mel deLaura said Brewster can bench press a maximum 335 pounds and bench 225 pounds 20 times.

While it was known that Brewster, with whiplash-inducing jukes, could run, it was not know how well he could block. In UH's four-receiver offense, the lone running back is considered to be the sixth pass protector. But Brewster has become an effective blocker, using his quickness to latch on to a defender.

"I just go through my progressions and block someone," Brewster said. "I make sure he doesn't get to the quarterback."

UH's running backs are trained not to flatten a defender but to "misdirect" the pass rush. That enables the running back to eventually break away and become a safety-valve receiver. Still, Jones said, "You're assigned to a guy and we teach you how to block him, but you still have to block him. For a little guy, he can block. He's a little stud."

Cockheran added: "The mentality of the short guy is to be tougher than the big guy, you know, the little man's syndrome. He's very tough. All of our running backs are good blockers. I'm not saying they're not. But Brewster goes that extra limit."