Back in Craig Stutzmann’s playing days, every so often during practice someone would ask him about the kid circling the field … over and over and over again.

“We would try to count how many times he’d go around the track,” the former Hawaii slotback recalled. “I remember Coach (June) Jones saying maybe we should offer him a scholarship.”

Billy Ray Stutzmann’s affinity for running was evident when he was hanging out at his older brother’s practices close to a decade ago and remains one of his primary attributes as a starting slotback for the Warriors.

The younger Stutzmann — who eventually earned that scholarship after an All-State senior year at Saint Louis School — prepared for his sophomore season at UH by continuing to develop his speed while putting on more muscle to handle the transition from outside receiver to slotback.

“I always work on my speed, that’s the main thing in football or any other sport,” Stutzmann said, “and just getting my body ready to take hits. I knew playing inside you’re going to take a lot of hits, I have to be more physical.”

Stutzmann was hampered by a tight hamstring in fall camp, but he’s finding his stride in a new position and is UH’s second leading receiver through six games with 37 receptions for 437 yards and two touchdowns.

Stutzmann, who had 130 yards as a backup wideout last year, posted his second triple-digit yardage performance of the season with 104 on seven catches in last week’s loss at San Jose State. It was one of his most productive individual games, and Stutzmann is among the Warriors ready to move on from a disappointing night in San Jose while looking ahead to Saturday’s homecoming game against New Mexico State at Aloha Stadium.

“Having a loss always gives you a bad taste,” Stutzmann said. “Just to get out there on the field, homecoming in front of the crowd, it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”

Stutzmann changed positions in the spring, stepping into the left slotback, or “H” receiver, a spot vacated by Greg Salas, who had also made the transition from the outside and left UH among the most productive receivers in school history.

While he concentrated on playing on the perimeter as a freshman, Stutzmann said watching Salas and Kealoha Pilares slice through secondaries from the slot positions helped in his adjustment.

“There were a lot of things I picked up (from Salas),” he said, “how to use your hands, different types of sets.”

With UH building some depth inside this season, Stutzmann said the coaches mentioned the possibility of moving back outside. It appears he’ll remain in the slot for now, but “whatever we need to do to win, I’m open to it,” he said.

Along with the tutelage of receivers coach Mouse Davis and offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich, Stutzmann gets guidance from afar from older brother Craig, who played for UH from 1998 to 2001 and is now an assistant at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

“He’s always giving me pointers,” Billy Ray Stutzmann said. “He’s all the way in Tennessee and helps me out. It’s great to have a brother like that.”

Following the same path his brother traveled as a standout at Saint Louis to a starter at UH is bound to draw comparisons, but Stutzmann is comfortable with having established his own identity.

“Now he has a chance to showcase what he can do,” Craig Stutzmann said. “I’m really proud of him and it’s been really special for me and my dad and grandfather. … UH football has been really good to the Stutzmann family.”

As Billy Ray has grown from the youngster running around the track to running with UH’s first unit, he’s upgraded his training challenges as well. He did two workouts a day during the summer, mixed in hikes up Koko Crater and took on the twisting climb up Tantalus a couple of times.

“It’s like a 40-minute jog uphill and just a lot of turns,” he said. “Once you get up there it’s a nice view, but during … you just want to stop.”