Moving around from position to position has never been a problem for "Slash."

Moving around the field to complete route after route as a Hawaii receiver? That’s been a little different for David Graves.

Graves, who was moved from quarterback to receiver on Monday, started off his explanation of his first week of pass-catching like this: "The receivers do a lot more running. I’m doing a lot more running around. Practice was a little harder."

As if to hammer the point home, offensive coordinator Tommy Lee later said of Graves, "He made the comment, ‘Man, the receivers sure run a lot.’ "

So, yes, there’s been something of an adjustment from surveying the field for targets to becoming one.

It’s also a challenge the versatile Graves whole-heartedly embraces.

"As a little kid, growing up, at 8 years old I was a guy who’d always play all the positions," Graves said. "So coming through high school (in Folsom, Calif.), I was that guy again, playing all positions. They called me ‘Slash.’ That was, I was a receiver, slash quarterback, slash safety, slash running back. So I’ve always been a guy who’s always played all the roles."

He was a varsity slotback his sophomore and junior years at Folsom before switching to quarterback as a senior, when he earned a scholarship to UH as a dual threat signal-caller for then-coach Greg McMackin.

Graves, pressed into need, started the final two games of 2011 for UH once Bryant Moniz went down with a leg injury. As a sophomore that year, he tallied five rushing and five receiving touchdowns, earning him incumbent status going into spring training.

But it was a struggle there with Norm Chow’s new pro-set offense (in which the quarterback takes snaps from under center, a departure from the run-and-shoot), and by the end of those spring sessions the job was up for grabs. After three practices this fall, the UH coaches decided a position change was in order, coinciding with Sean Schroeder’s elevation to starting quarterback.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Graves took it all in stride. His existing knowledge of pass routes gave him a leg up for his new responsibilities. Graves figures his greatest deficiency right now is knowledge of the subtle techniques receivers use to gain space from harassing defensive backs.

"I’ve played this role on a team many times, so I’m willing to do anything for this team," he said. "This is my fourth year coming in and I absolutely love these guys."

Whatever is right. He’s lined up at all four receiver spots, took a few snaps in wildcat formation on Friday and can still hurl a pass or two. He’s earning veritable utility status.

"It was quite an easy adjustment for him," Lee said. "So I’ve been real pleased. His athleticism shows, he knows what he’s doing, so you don’t have to spend hours teaching him, getting him caught up. I just told him after, ‘Hey, you’re going to play a lot. You know everything.’ "

Lee wasn’t as concerned as Graves about picking up receivers’ tricks of the trade, figuring Graves would learn from the likes of Billy Ray Stutzmann and Scott Harding.

His good friend (and now fellow receiver) Miah Ostrowski has encouraged him along the way. The team captain and UH basketball point guard of the past two seasons compared quarterbacking to playing the point, in that different valid styles of play don’t necessarily work in different offensive systems.

"At quarterback he was athletic, he could run. I think that’s what would get him in a little bit of trouble, is running too much," Ostrowski said. "But he was a good quarterback too. He was in the run-and-shoot last year for us when Mo went down. That right there tells you a lot.

"He’s a good guy. He just wants to do what’s best for the team. He loves being here in Hawaii. I know he might have had the opportunity to transfer out, but he told me personally that he would never do that. … That’s just the kind of guy he is. He came and he adapted to the lifestyle here, and he doesn’t want to leave."

Graves assured his family back in California he was content with the position move and happy to remain a Warrior.

Graves’ attitude on the subject was fitting. "I’m ready for anything," he said.