When Nevada junior receiver Caleb Spencer walks around with a spring in his step, it's not only because he's excited about his role with the football team for the upcoming season.

Attribute that to his engagement to his high school sweetheart, Megan Kanoa.

"It is kind of different; I have more of a beat to my step," he said. "It's just going to be an exciting year."

Spencer, a 2003 Kamehameha graduate, is one of the top receivers for the Wolf Pack. Last season, he played in 12 games and was second on the team with 67 catches for 761 yards. He caught four touchdown passes, with a long of 43 yards. He also earned votes for the all-Western Athletic Conference team.

"It was good, I got the ball quite often. I was really happy when I got to play, and that was my main concern. I wanted to play when I came home (when Nevada played Hawai'i)," he said. "That was good for this season, because I know what to expect."

That has led Spencer to elevate his goals.

"I have big expectations for myself," he said. "I want to get a 1,000-yard season, I want to try and get on the first team, all-WAC. But my main objective is to win and get to a bowl game."

Spencer, who was an all-conference selection at Palomar College in California, transferred to Nevada in the spring of his freshman year, allowing him to play three years of Division I football, his ultimate goal.

"I knew I wasn't going to take any backseat," said Spencer, who can run 40 yards in 4.52 seconds. "I knew I was going to play right away. They really needed another wide receiver."

Spencer, who is 6 feet and 180 pounds, said the jump from high school to junior college was bigger than junior college to Division I, mainly because he changed positions from quarterback to wide receiver.

The biggest difference for him was getting used to running on every play and not having the ball in his hands on every snap.

"I would definitely go back to quarterback, especially with this offense; the reads are pretty much simple," he said. "But I can't throw anymore."

Spencer had surgery on his shoulder in May of 2003, his senior year in high school. By July, he was practicing. It didn't give him enough time to rehabilitate his shoulder properly, so he doesn't expect to play quarterback again. But his experience at quarterback helped in his transition to receiver.

"I already learned a lot from playing quarterback and reading the plays," he said.

Nevada receivers coach Scott Baumgartner said the team expects "big things out of him this year."

"First and foremost he is an outstanding person that will graduate from the University of Nevada," Baumgartner said in an e-mail. "As a football player he is a pleasure to coach. He is a very good athlete that works hard to improve his game each day. We are pleased to have him as a member of our football program."

In a scrimmage Saturday, Spencer caught three passes for 56 yards, including a 29-yarder in which he "was able to hang on after a vicious hit," according to Nevada's Web site.

"(I was) a little bit rusty, but the first scrimmage is always just feeling your way around," Spencer said. "We're just trying to get used to all the fundamentals and basics."

He's also getting used to being engaged.

He proposed to Kanoa on May 15, after the couple had dated for more than five years. Kanoa, who also attends Nevada, played for the volleyball team in the spring, but dropped the sport to work to earn money for their June wedding and their future.

"She gave it all up for us," Spencer said.

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.