University of Hawai'i slotback Jon Medeiros knows how to get a pay day — hard work.

As a maintenance worker at UH this summer, Medeiros earned spending money, working at the parking structure "cutting grass, sweeping up rubbish, painting."

As a walk-on, he worked his way up to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart.

"The first thing that sticks out is that he gives 100 percent effort all the time," UH receivers coach Craig Stutzmann said. "He sells out by diving for the ball, he works his butt off in blocking, he's always in meetings, he's always stopping by the office to watch film, and I think he epitomizes what a hard-working walk-on can do."

Medeiros, a junior, is a "pretty solid No. 2" behind senior Michael Washington, Stutzmann said.

"For him to come along this far is a testament to how hard he's worked in the offseason," Stutzmann said. "Playing the way he did against Florida, coming in and showing he can run the routes, catch the ball and not be fazed by the magnitude of the game, it really gives him an edge over some of the guys."

Stutzmann, who was unable to make the trip to Florida because of a bout with pneumonia, said he watched the game on TV from his bed.

"Watching on TV, it's very limited, but from what I saw, he worked back to the ball and he didn't quit on the plays," Stutzmann said. "That's a big thing, especially with a guy like (quarterback) Inoke (Funaki) in the backfield at quarterback. He's going to create a lot of plays, and he'll scramble a lot, and as a receiver you kind of get frustrated when you run your route and the ball's not out. But it's a whole other thing. You have to come back to the ball. If you're a deep receiver, you have to come back to the ball. And if you're the short receiver, you have to burst up the sideline and really look for that scramble ability, and I think he did a great job.

"One ball, Inoke threw and it looked like it was going to be intercepted, and (Jon) caught the ball and turned it upfield."

Against Florida, Medeiros made two catches for 32 yards, including a long of 24 yards.

Medeiros said the game was a "big challenge because I haven't played in a game since high school. I got a little playing time last year, but it was rare. It was intense."

Medeiros initially went to Western Oregon out of Kapolei High School, because his SAT scores were not high enough to get him into UH.

But the $17,000 annual tuition was "tough, it was a struggle, so I decided to transfer back home," he said.

"I came home and thought, why not take my shot at football?" Medeiros said. "So far I feel like it's working out pretty well."

No stranger to the hard work required to be successful on the field, Medeiros transferred that work ethic when he worked for UH over the summer.

"It wasn't that bad, but we also had summer workouts, so it kind of took a toll on my body," he said.

Every day Medeiros woke up at 4:30 a.m., caught a ride with teammate Po'okela Ahmad, and did team workouts at 6:30 a.m. After that it was straight to work until 3 p.m., when he again joined the team for 7-on-7 afternoon drills.

His closest friends on the team, besides former Kapolei teammates Ahmad and defensive lineman Alasi Toilolo, are slotbacks Aaron Bain and Kealoha Pilares and wideout Dylan Linkner. Those friendships help him both on and off the field.

"It's comfortable for me, because (Bain) is my friend, we can talk about stuff off the field, too," Medeiros said. "Whatever he sees that I don't see, he tells me about."

Medeiros is a former quarterback who was almost called back into action in last year's Scout Bowl, when the opposing Green Team drafted both available quarterbacks.

At the last minute, one was traded to his White team.

"I was like, thanking God," he said. "Ever since I was young I wanted to be a receiver, but for some reason, in Pop Warner they put me at quarterback and I was like 'Why?' and it just carried on from there."