New Jersey wideout finds a home at Temple by way of Hawaii

SO, WHAT'S NOT to like about Hawaii? Unless maybe it's five time zones away from your home.

Welcome to Keith Kirkwood's world.

The wide receiver from Neptune, N.J., opted to accept a scholarship to play for the Rainbow Warriors instead of going to Rutgers as a preferred walk-on. But, after one season in paradise, he wanted to come back.

"Everybody always talks about how beautiful it is," Kirkwood said. "But you can get a little tired of it, experiencing the same things every day. Your family is 5,000 miles away and you're stuck on an island with no other people you know beside the family that's your team. So it was kind of tough.

"I can't recommend it for everyone. You go out there for 2 weeks and you'll be ready to leave."

While some would surely argue the point, no situation is right for everyone. Kirkwood wanted a change and ended up at Temple. It just looked as if he'd have to sit out a year before he'd be allowed to play again.

"I had the mindset that I was going to have to wait," the 6-3, 210-pound former basketball player acknowledged. "But I knew if I got the chance, I'd be ready.

"It was amazing, the whole process, what you had to go through."

He petitioned the NCAA for a hardship waiver that would make him eligible immediately. And, after being denied twice, he finally got the OK 2 weeks ago. Just in time to suit up and get in for a few plays of the Owls' home win over Tulsa on Oct. 11 Then, last Friday, he caught two passes in a loss at Houston. The first was a 39-yarder for what would be the team's lone touchdown.

"He's a tremendous kid," said coach Matt Rhule, whose Owls (4-2, 2-1 American) visit Central Florida (4-2, 2-0) tomorrow. "He's going to be a really good player. His body's not developed yet to the level it would be. But his role's going to expand over the next couple of weeks . . . He listens. If you tell him something, he goes right out and does it. He wants to learn."

Kirkwood wore No. 89 at Hawaii in honor of his grandmother, who just celebrated her 90th birthday. He wears No. 19 now, because redshirt freshman tight end Cole Boozer already had 89.

"She's sick," Kirkwood said. "She had an aneurysm, and I just wanted to be able to see her more. It hurt me that I couldn't be closer to her [before]. And my mother, she's my heart. She does everything for me. When she has her last penny, she gives it to me. She doesn't want me to live the life she did when she had to live on her own. She always wanted her kids to be happy and comfortable. I just want to give it all back to her. Now that I'm just an hour or so away, I go home almost every weekend.

"Family is what really gets me going. I never had those butterflies or was nervous before a game [at Hawaii]. I just went out and played. Now, when they get to watch me, I couldn't eat. I just had those feelings. When so many people are there to support me, I just want to do my best. It just got to the point where I couldn't take being away from them anymore. I'd been away too long. They say after a year goes by, it gets better, but for me it didn't."

He also had to overcome the loss of a teammate, running back Willis Wilson, a transfer from Washington who died last November in an apparent drowning.

"We were like brothers from the start," Kirkwood said. "He was just a character. He was just so funny and loving. Nobody could be mad at him. He said to me once, 'All I want to do is have fun, even if I'm only on the scout team the rest of my life.' I always took that with me.

"That really hit me hard. He couldn't get home as often as he wanted, because he didn't have that much money. When he did, he always tried to stay as long as he could. I came to realize that being with my family was what's best for me."

Kirkwood, a criminal justice major, played only a year of high school football. So he's probably only scratching his potential.

"I played basketball all my life," said Kirkwood, who broke a finger early in training camp. "It's still my passion. But I was a rebounder. I'd basically have to be a point guard in college. I played Pop Warner, but I was only a kicker. I just thought it was too physical."

Yet here he is, having already traveled farther than many.

"I didn't want to feel like I was excluded from everybody," Kirkwood said. "For a while, I was that guy in the corner. I just busted my butt and kept hoping it would work out. When [Rhule] told me the good news, I was amped."

So who needs another postcard sunset anyway?

Temple at Central Florida

Saturday, 5 p.m., Bright House Networks Stadium, Orlando, Fla.

TV: CBS Sports Network.

Radio: WPHT (1210-AM)

Records: Temple 4-2, 2-1 American; UCF 4-2, 2-0

History: UCF won the only meeting last year at the Linc, 39-36, on a field goal at the end.

About Temple: Owls had 3-game winning streak broken last week at Houston, 31-10 ... QB P.J. Walker lost a fumble at the goal line that could have tied things at 17 early in the third quarter. He also threw 3 interceptions ... Owls haven't had a turnover last 2 games and have been hurt by penalties ... So. RB Jahad Tho.mas has emerged as a big-play threat ... They have some injuries, notably LB Avery Williams ... Next week host No. 18 East Carolina.

About UCF: Knights have won 4 straight since losing to Penn State and Missouri ... It's their third straight home game ... They're 10-0 in AAC games ... Have won their last three by a TD or less, including one in OT ... Won at Houston, 17-12, on late goal-line stand ... They have deep group of receivers ... LB Terrance Plummer has 61 tackles, 9.5 for for loss ... DE Thomas Niles has 5 sacks ... CB Jacoby Glenn has AAC-high 4 picks.