With each acceleration, each smooth stride into the secondary yesterday running back Leon Wright-Jackson underlined once more what has become his maddening specialty at the University of Hawai'i.

He tantalized with glimpses of what the next season might hold.

This time it was in the Warrior Bowl at Aloha Stadium, the annual scrimmage that marked the conclusion of spring practice.

With 39 yards on four carries and a two-point conversion run in the Makai team's 28-26 victory, Wright-Jackson held out the prospect, if not the out-right promise, of the much-awaited breakthrough season.

For many of the assembled 3,726, it is a familiar, enduring tease. One going on its third year.

Ever since he signed with UH after a season at Nebraska and sitting out in junior college — with that impressive YouTube high school video out there for all to get excited about — Wright-Jackson has hinted at being the kind of slashing, big-yardage back the Warriors have longed for.

There have been fleeting snapshots of what the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder might be capable of. Recall that ooh-and-aah 47-yard touchdown run against Louisiana Tech two years ago. Remember how he ran with authority that time against Fresno State.

But such moments have been too few and too far apart in a career (61 carries, 326 yards, three touchdowns) slowed by injuries and inconsistency. Now, going into what will be his senior season we are left, once again, to ponder what Wright-Jackson might be on the cusp of fulfilling. And yesterday's performance, which included a 21-yard sprint, not to mention impressive 7- and 8-yard bursts up the middle, rekindled the hope.

"I'm anxious to see him going into this season," said offensive coordinator Ron Lee. "This should be his year."

Wright-Jackson understands the implications and feels the expectations, too. Which is why he carefully chooses his words and doesn't let his hopes run too far into the future. "I'm trying to think about it one day at a time right now," he said. Said Lee: "He has been working hard; he's been quiet."

The better to let his deeds speak for themselves, perhaps. His sophomore year, Wright-Jackson says, "I tried to come out and do too much right away." Last season it seemed he was forever hobbled by something. "He'd get hurt on the first play or in the first quarter, something," Lee said.

Yesterday, Wright-Jackson was feeling good — and showing it. "Best I've felt in a long time," he said.

Right on time, too, with a senior season right around the corner and one last chance to deliver on all that promise.

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