Charles Clay returned to Hawaii with intentions of hauling in passes at Aloha Stadium.

But it was his knack for knocking the ball loose that led to a chance to take the field as a starter on Saturday.

In his first season after transferring from Southern Methodist, Clay emerged as a playmaker on special teams while forcing three fumbles last year. His performances on the coverage units contributed to a switch from receiver to safety, and he’s progressed enough since then to position himself for a starting assignment in the Hawaii secondary.

"I’ve been working hard for a while, especially since I switched to defense. I have to step up to the role," said Clay, who is listed as the Warriors’ top strong safety for Saturday’s homecoming game against New Mexico at Aloha Stadium.

Clay has covered considerable ground — geographically and on the depth chart — since graduating from Hilo High School in 2009. The allure of experiencing life on the mainland led him to enroll at SMU and walk on with the Mustangs as a wide receiver.

His redshirt season included a trip back to the islands as part of SMU’s Sheraton Hawaii Bowl contingent. But after another year in Dallas, Clay decided to make a more permanent return to "come back home and play for the home team."

"Just missed family, all of that," Clay said. "I came here and had an opportunity so I tried to make the most of it walking on. … I love it here. I’m so glad I came home."

As a walk-on at both schools, Clay, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior, was able to transfer to UH without sitting out a season. He worked his way into the Warriors’ special teams units last year and delivered several high-impact plays, starting with a forced fumble on a kickoff return that Tank Hopkins returned for a touchdown in UH’s win at Louisiana Tech.

"I took that to heart, like that was my role," Clay said of covering kicks. "I tried to show up every game and be a presence and help out this team as much as a I could wherever I was."

He finished the season with 15 total tackles and forced two more fumbles, and those clips led to the new UH coaching staff giving him a look at safety in the spring.

"He was a heck of a special teams player so we thought he can tackle and do those things in space," UH defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer said. "Now that he’s learned it he’s calmed down a little bit. Before he was just herky-jerky and jumping at everything. He’s learned the defense and he provides us with a little bit of physicality at that safety position that we like."

His ascent this week is due in part to attrition in the defensive backfield with Leroy Lutu, the Warriors’ second-leading tackler, dealing with a shoulder injury. Lutu has practiced with the second unit this week while Clay took the first-team reps.

Clay probably won’t have many opportunities to defend against the pass this week against a New Mexico offense that has attempted more than 12 passes just once this season and threw the ball three times in a win over Texas State last week.

The primary concern will be containing the Lobos’ option attack that generates 271.7 rushing yards per game, eighth-best in the FBS.

"I’m just going to have to trigger faster to play the run, but you always have to be aware (of the pass)," Clay said. "It’s the same base techniques, you just have to have good eyes and trust what the coaches are telling you to do, fill where you have to be and do your 1/11th."