Former University of Hawai'i star receiver and kick returner Chad Owens is eager for a new start, any start actually.

Owens, originally drafted in the sixth round by Jacksonville in 2005, joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent in January.

The Bucs view him as a viable candidate for the kick return role this season.

"I just can't wait to go out there and get this thing rolling. I want to get my career started. I believe it's going to happen here, and I just can't wait for it," said Owens, who is featured in an article on the Bucs' Web site.

"I'm not just hungry for it, I'm starving; I want it," he said in the article.

At 5 feet 7 and 188 pounds, Owens was an explosive two-way threat for the Warriors. The former walk-on from Roosevelt High tied the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored on kick returns in a career with eight (six punts and two kickoffs), and set the NCAA record for most touchdowns scored on punt returns in a season with five during his senior year.

"In college I just felt something inside that was like, 'Man, I'm not getting stopped. I'm going to take this thing to the house.' All great returners do that. You look at Devin Hester and what he did last year. Man, he just was hitting it. And the rest of the unit started knowing that this guy could break it at any time, so that made them want to get their blocks down that much more. That's what I'm hoping to accomplish here," Owens is quoted in the article.

Owens' determination is obvious. Nearly every day, he's traversing the corridors of One Buc Place as he makes his way from the practice fields, where he works on speed, conditioning and agility, to the weight room. His lunchtime conversations revolve around the optimal nutritional approach for his goals. And he makes it a point to occasionally watch tape of his record-setting returns in Hawai'i just to keep those at the forefront of his mind.

Though things didn't work out in Jacksonville, Owens believes his time with the Jaguars provided him with valuable experience, on which he plans to rely as he attempts to bring to the Buccaneers the same game-changing ability he displayed in college.

"Because of my size, I came into the league projected as a return man only," Owens said in the article. "And when I went to Jacksonville, I did some good things as a receiver throughout the preseason, but I wasn't having my best games. In this league, no one is going to wait for you to become the player you want to be. But I am going to take what I learned in Jacksonville — my two years there — and make myself better here. I think just the experience alone, being in the league and coming up on my third year, I can say now that I know exactly what I need to do out there on the field."

When asked about punt returns, Owens said: "That's where I think I've separated myself in a way that you've got to kind of be fearless. You've also got to have confidence in your unit. You've got to know that the hold-up guys are going to hold up the flyers, not let them off the line, and then you're going to have a lot of room to catch the ball. You've got to be smart back there. You've got to know when you can make a play, and you've got to be smart sometimes and know to fair-catch some."

When asked about kickoffs, he said: "You've just got to pick your spot. You've got to set the coverage team up, and when you decide to go, you've got to go; you've got to hit it because you can't have any type of hesitation. You've got this big wall of people coming down and closing in on you. The more you try and go lateral, that window closes. The next thing you know, you've got nowhere to go. During a kickoff return, you've just got to believe in your return unit. You go with the blocking scheme. Sometimes you'll find your own way, and that's when your natural ability takes over."

Owens is aware no one in Tampa Bay franchise history has returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

"That's a lot of motivation in and of itself," Owens said. "That's one of my goals. That's up there on the list of goals — to go ahead and take one to the house."