It's not surprising that University of Hawai'i wideout Jovonte Taylor has made such a speedy turnaround.

Taylor, a junior college transfer who joined the Warriors late while waiting to gain eligibility, practiced only a couple of days with the team before making the trip to Florida.

"Jovonte is really probably one of our fastest players," Hawai'i head coach Greg McMackin said. "And he has a great attitude. He's not intimidated by anything. He went in and made two catches against Florida, and only had two days of practice. He's going to get better and better. I'm really excited about him. He's smart and he's learning the system."

McMackin said a couple things Taylor did well were "he came back for the ball and he ran past the Florida corner."

Taylor had two catches for 28 yards and returned three kickoffs for 57 yards.

"It was wild," Taylor said. "The crowd, it was my first time playing in a game like that, so it was a big thing for me."

Taylor arrived in Honolulu Aug. 5, but was held on the sidelines while he waited for a grade from an English class at Los Angeles Southwest College to be posted.

"It was hard just to sit there and watch the guys practice, because I'm a team player and I like to be with my guys," Taylor said. "And for me to just sit on the sideline, it hurt."

But while he waited, he watched.

"It really helped in a big way, because I'm catching on really quick," he said. "It's a really fast pace, as far as the routes and reading the defense. Malcolm Lane, coach (Craig) Stutzmann, Michael Washington, they really helped me out with everything."

It wasn't the first time Taylor made the quick adjustment. He played Pop Warner football, but didn't go out for his high school football team until his sophomore year when the coach spotted him during a P.E. class and asked him to come out.

"He came up to me and asked me, 'How would you like to play football?' I said, 'Sure.' " said Taylor, who said he chose not to play in his freshman year to focus on school. "The next day I went out there and practiced with them and he saw what I could do. And the next game, I was starting at running back. I went out there my first game and returned a kickoff like 85 yards."

Taylor's mother Mattie ran track, and his father David played football.

"Speed runs in my family," he said.

Taylor was the 2007 California Community College 100-meter dash champion, winning in 10.47 seconds. His fastest 100 time is 10.39, which he also ran in 2007.

He was recruited by UH as a slotback, but coaches moved him to wideout because of his speed.

"We just want more speed outside," McMackin said. "We have two good outside players in Malcolm Lane and Greg Salas and he gives us another fast guy outside.

"Ron Lee and Craig Stutzmann are giving Jovonte and Dustin Blount opportunities to learn the system because they are good athletes and can run," McMackin added. "They are both fast, quick competitive guys who are going to help us."