Sense of adventure brought him here, now the back wants to take UH places

Diocemy Saint Juste isn’t one for sticking to the familiar.

"I like to go to different places and explore. I don’t like to be in one stationary place," Saint Juste said. "I like to look for adventure. Growing up I would always leave the house without permission and just go places just for the heck of it. Just to see what’s going on."

It was perhaps Saint Juste’s sense of exploration that added to the allure of a cross-country trek to enroll at University of Hawaii following his senior season at Santaluces High School in Florida.

Now in his third year as part of the Rainbow Warrior running back unit, Saint Juste is looking to make a move into a more prominent role in the UH ground game.

Saint Juste ran for 372 yards while averaging 5.1 per carry last season in a backup role behind Joey Iosefa and Steven Lakalaka. He entered the summer atop the depth chart among the running backs and was solidifying his spot when a hamstring injury sidelined him late in camp.

When healthy, Saint Juste provides a speedy presence in the Rainbow Warriors’ diverse group of running backs.

Hawaii’s variety of cultures was part of what attracted Saint Juste to UH after a breakout senior season at Santaluces. But before running 1,243 yards and 16 touchdowns in the fall of 2012, football seemed an unlikely vehicle to transport Saint Juste across the Pacific.

He wasn’t a fan of the game growing up and took to soccer and track in middle school. He had played football with his friends at the neighborhood playground but didn’t try out for a team until his sophomore season of high school.

"All my friends growing up were playing football and I guess I wanted to be in that circle so I picked up football and just ran with it," Saint Juste said.

He started out as a fullback and his high school coaches wanted to give him a look at cornerback or safety. But Saint Juste felt he had a knack for running with the ball and was kept on offense.

Even so, Saint Juste viewed track and field as his path to college, competing in the 100 meters, 4×100 relay and long jump. But when game tapes from his senior season began circulating, the football offers started coming in and he signed with Hawaii in part "to go as far as I can go and still be in the U.S."

Along with his football related travels, Saint Juste said he’s visited England and the Caribbean with Japan and Brazil remaining on his bucket list destinations.

In the meantime, he’ll pick up quite a few miles in a travel-heavy schedule to begin his junior season.

"I feel like I don’t care where we go, who we play, I just want to go there and win," Saint Juste said.