University of Central Florida defensive end Paul Carrington said he is looking forward to getting to Hawai'i today — just not the 10- to 11-hour trip from Orlando, Fla., it will require.

But the journey to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl will give the all-Conference USA selection time to reflect upon the wisdom of a decision he had been wrestling with this time last year. A fateful choice that helped bring both Carrington and the Golden Knights here to play Nevada Dec. 24 at Aloha Stadium instead of watching the game on TV.

Last year bowls were but a dream — a far-fetched one it seemed — for Carrington and the struggling Golden Knights who were, at the the time, suffering through what became a 17-game losing streak.

Last December, Carrington recalls, "I wasn't sure about coming back (to play football). I didn't really have that good of a year, so I wasn't sure if the NFL was a possibility or anything like that. I thought about going ahead (graduating), getting a job and starting my life."

The Golden Knights had suffered through an 0-11 season and though he started seven games, Carrington said he didn't feel like he had a good season, either. With a degree soon to be in hand (he graduated with a degree in organizational communications in May 2005), Carrington said he pondered whether to take advantage of a fifth year of eligibility made possible by redshirting as a freshman.

"I wasn't sure if football was really still in my future, so I decided to think it over," he said.

Had he left, he wouldn't have been alone. Carrington said "about 30" players departed sometime in the first year after George O'Leary brought his own brand of discipline and the work it entailed to UCF in 2004.

So, over Christmas break in his hometown of Guyton, Ga., "My father and I sat down and talked about coming back," Carrington said. "He told me he wanted me to come back. It was what I wanted to do, too. It was something I was just thinking about."

As a fifth-year senior, Carrington said he decided, "I wanted to come back and be an example for all the young guys we had."

After two-a-day practices in August, Carrington said he began to see the wisdom of his decision. "At that point a lot of us had a good feeling for this season. We saw the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak."

After opening with two losses, the turnaround toward an 8-4 season came in a 23-13 victory over Marshall in late September, in UCF's C-USA debut. It was a game in which Carrington had three tackles for losses, including two sacks and a forced fumble to be named the C-USA player of the week.

"They are a rival of ours that we hadn't beaten before and that gave us an extraordinary amount of confidence going into the next game and we won seven of the next eight games," Carrington said.

Now, when Carrington recalls his pivotal decision of last December and the bowl game, he says, "It makes me think how grateful I am that I decided to come back."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.