In the quest to improve its overall speed, the University of Hawai'i football team yesterday received a verbal commitment from a wide receiver from Mississippi.

Carroll Joseph "C.J." Hawthorne of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College yesterday told The Advertiser he accepted a football scholarship from the Warriors.

Hawthorne said he will put his commitment in writing Dec. 21, the first day the NCAA permits junior-college players to sign binding national letters of intent.

Hawthorne said he will enroll at UH in January, and participate in spring practice in March. He will have three years to play two seasons.

"I love Hawai'i," Hawthorne said. "It's an awesome place. I love everything about Hawai'i and the (football) program. I love the people. I love the island. I have nothing but good feelings about Hawai'i. That's why I committed to Hawai'i."

Hawthorne, who is 5 feet 11 1/2 and 165 pounds, can run 40 yards in 4.44 seconds.

He said he turned down offers from Troy, Marshall and Louisiana-Monroe. He said he received a "conditional" offer from Southern Mississippi — a deal in which he would not be placed on scholarship until the 2006 fall semester.

But Hawthorne will be allowed to transfer at mid-year when he earns an associate degree this month, an eligibility requirement for a junior-college player. He said he earned enough transferrable credits because he took summer-school classes the past two years.

Hawthorne helped lead Gulf Coast to a 7-3 record, which included losses to Pearl River in the state championship game and to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the Dalton Defenders Bowl. Gulf Coast finished the regular season ranked ninth among non-California junior-college teams. California has separate rankings, bowls and championships.

Still, it has been a difficult year for Hawthorne. His father, Jerry Hawthorne, died of a brain hemorrhage at age 52.

Hawthorne, who was raised in Biloxi, Miss., watched helplessly as Hurricane Katrina ripped through parts of his home state. He said his family home was affected lightly.

"It was pretty tough," Haw-thorne said. "It was something that makes you appreciate everything you have. It makes you work harder."

Hawthorne said his mood was lightened when he visited UH last week. "I really loved it there," he said.

He said he was concerned about the distance between Mississippi and Hawai'i. What's more, except for official recruiting visits, a player is required to pay for his travel costs to school.

"It was a hard thing to (decide)," Hawthorne said. "But it's so beautiful out there. The people are so warm. The offense is really nice, too."

Earlier, UH received verbal commitments from defensive end David Veikune, a Campbell High graduate who played at Colorado and Fresno City College, and quarterback Stanford Leti and linebacker Quinton Tang of Moanalua High.

UH also is reserving scholarships for five "grayshirts" — players who committed this year but won't enroll at UH until January. They are offensive linemen Brysen Ginlack of Kahuku High and Adrian Thomas of Australia; defensive backs Ulysses Dalton of Vallejo, Calif., and KayBrin Stevenson of Arizona, and wide receiver Rick Taylor of Florida.

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.