For all the numbers that surround and purport to help define University of Hawai'i running back Leon Wright-Jackson, 33 is the one that sticks out.

Wright-Jackson bolted 47 yards for a touchdown against Louisiana Tech with as impressive a display of passing gear as we've seen in a while. He had an eye-opening 33-yard score against Fresno State. He averaged 6.6 yards per carry. And he has been timed at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

In spite of all that, or maybe because of it, the number that you keep coming back to — the one that truly boggles the mind — is 33. It is the meager number of times he was handed the ball with orders to run last year. That was an average of 3.3 times per game that he played in, a figure that, seven months later, still doesn't compute. Even in a pass-first (and second) offense.

"My friends, they knew we were a passing team, and they were asking, 'Why aren't they giving you the rock?' " Wright-Jackson said the folks back home in Pasco, Wash., would ask.

Why, indeed. Last year, Wright-Jackson ran and ran ... in practice. Smooth, quick cuts through the line followed by long, loping strides to downfield daylight.

But, then, come game time, he mostly blocked. When he played at all (he didn't start after the first five games). Even his receptions, often shovel passes, were few (16).

Which might explain why Wright-Jackson, heading into what will be his junior season, was among the most joyful of Warriors upon the announcement that Greg McMackin was named UH's head coach with plans to run a more balanced offense.

And why, for all the grind that wilting summer practices can be, he ends the sessions with a smile these days. "I'm the happiest guy in the world," Wright-Jackson affirmed yesterday. "All this talk about runnin' the rock, I'm loving it."

And the Warriors, to hear McMackin tell it, are excited about visions of what, with more carries invested in him, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Wright-Jackson, Daniel Libre and others might be capable of doing with it. And what the Warriors need from them.

McMackin was the Warriors' defensive coordinator last year and says, "it seemed like every time I turned around he was running down the football field. So, I think he's pretty dang good. I think Leon is the real deal and we need to give him some (carries)."

The praises have not been lost on Wright-Jackson who quotes them as if to stoke dedication to the task at hand. "Coach Mac told me to get prepared for this season," Wright-Jackson said. "He's a firm believer in the balanced attack and has big plans for the offense this season. He has been encouraging me, telling me to get ready and be prepared for it."

It is a promissory note Wright-Jackson plans to take to the bank — as he takes the football to the end zone.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.