Faster than they can say Jarrett Pekelo Kahanuolaokalani Solomon in Tucson, Ariz., the University of Arizona’s redshirt freshman quarterback has emerged on the national scene.

In the space of 13 days, the one they call simply "Anu" has guided the unbeaten Wildcats to a 36-point-fourth-quarter for a victory over California punctuated by a "Hail Mary" touchdown pass, and managed a 31-24 upset of No. 2 Oregon on the road Thursday.

"Anu Era" they are heralding it in the desert, where the surprising Wildcats are 5-0 and their QB is fourth in the nation in total offense (381.6 yards per game) and passing (348.2 yards).

"It still hasn’t hit me yet," Solomon said during a busy round of interviews Friday.

But if his 807 passing yards and six touchdowns in the two games hadn’t quite sunk in with their 6-foot, 2-inch, 205-pound author, they have here, where he was born and raised until age 10. It was here he first became known as "Anu" because, "in my childhood days ‘Kahanuolaokalani’ was hard for my cousins to say. So, my mother shortened it."

By any name, the outpouring of texts, tweets and emails from family and friends here and transplants to the mainland who watched the nationally televised triumph over Oregon have been gratifying, Solomon said. "It’s something I’m proud of."

Once upon a time, living in Alewa Heights and Waianae, Solomon said he admired record-setting quarterback Tim Chang of the University of Hawaii. At the time, however, he hardly dared to imagine someday being like him. 

For one thing, Solomon primarily played defense in youth leagues here. His father, Jarrett Solomon, an All-State linebacker at Farrington in 1993, "wanted me to be a defensive player like he was and it kind of rubbed off on me," Solomon said. "My favorite (NFL) player was Ray Lewis."

It wasn’t until after the family moved to Las Vegas, where his mother, Jamielyn, had been accepted to nursing school and his father works for Southwest Airlines, that he found himself at quarterback. In time he would flourish at the position for Bishop Gorman High, a perennial national high school power, and entertain scholarship offers from a basketful of schools, including, he said, interest from UH.

In leading the Gaels to a 57-3 record in four years as the starter, with Randall Cunningham Jr. as his backup, Solomon became the state of Nevada’s most prolific high school passer. Of his 10,064 career passing yards, 231 — and three touchdowns — came in a 52-40 bombardment of Saint Louis School at Aloha Stadium in 2012.

Returning to Hawaii in the summer had been an annual experience. In 2012, that included taking in quarterback coach Vinny Passas’ camp, where he met, "threw the ball around with" and became inspired by Oregon’s Marcus Mariota.

After Thursday’s game, Solomon sought out Mariota on the field for a photo. Then, he proudly posted it on Instgram, writing: "Huge fan of this guy! May God bless you to be victorious in all that you do. I know that all of the (Polynesians) look up to you and you’ve done an tremendous job of leading your team into being a national powerhouse. I respect that. …"

Much of the same can also be said of Solomon.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.