Speed has been part of Diocemy Saint Juste’s skill-set since he joined the Hawaii football program.

Now in his third year, playing fast is coming easier for the Rainbow Warrior running back.

Saint Juste opened fall camp first in the backfield rotation and his comfort in the role has been accelerated by the installation of a new, yet familiar, offensive system.

“It got me so excited because the offense we’re running now is the same offense we ran in high school,” Saint Juste said. “Everything’s coming naturally.”

Saint Juste thrived in an up-tempo spread offense at Santaluces High School in Florida, where he ran for 1,243 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 2012. So he recognized much of the playbook when first-year UH offensive coordinator Don Bailey introduced a similar scheme in the spring.

“I’m able to pick up things a lot faster,” Saint Juste said. “Starting from the spring, all the practices we’ve had, especially getting all the (first-team) reps, I’m able to pick up on things.

“I feel like this offense was built for me, so I have to know the ins and outs of this offense.”

Saint Juste said he’s particularly fond of “the fact that it’s downhill, it’s fast, and it’s spread so it’s wide open up the middle most of the time.”

Saint Juste played a supporting role in the Hawaii backfield for most of the past two seasons, showing flashes of breakaway potential as a backup to Joey Iosefa and Steven Lakalaka.

Saint Juste acknowledged that he was “stuck in high school mode” as a freshman, then averaged 5.1 yards on his 73 carries in a sophomore year highlighted by a 135-yard performance against Wyoming. He capped that night with a clinching touchdown run and broke loose for a 52-yard touchdown — the team’s longest run from scrimmage last year — in UH’s senior night win over UNLV.

“We want to be smart about what the defense is giving us, how many guys are in the box and be able to make it one-on-one at times,” Bailey said of the role of the running game in the scheme. “He gives us the speed and he plays with some power too.

“He makes the first guy miss and that’s good in any offense.”

With Iosefa now in training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Saint Juste and Lakalaka — back from a hamstring injury — are the most seasoned members of the position group. Senior Pereese Joas provided a spark late last season and the addition of Paul Harris, a junior-college transfer, added to the unit’s depth.

While he works with his fellow backs in practice, Saint Juste spends much of his downtime with two teammates who figure to be instrumental in his production in offensive linemen Dejon Allen and RJ Hollis.

“On and off the field, I’m always with those guys,” Saint Juste said of duo who form the right side of the offensive front. “We push each other, we motivate each other. We let each other know when we’re messing up, when we’re doing good, and when one of us goes down we’re the first ones there to pick each other up.”