When it comes to football openers, the Hawaii football team’s leading receiver has become Cedric the Entertainer.

On Monday, senior slotback Cedric Byrd was named the Mountain West’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Byrd’s breakout performance — 14 catches, 224 receiving yards, four touchdowns — was achieved a weekend earlier in the Aug. 24 opener against Arizona. That was one of two games played in the so-called “Week Zero,” which preceded this past weekend’s widely regarded opening to the college football season. Because the Rainbow Warriors had a bye this past weekend, their opening game was allowed to be considered for the Mountain West’s first weekly award of the season.

“It means a lot,” Byrd said following Monday’s two-hour practice. “I appreciate getting recognized.”

Last year, Byrd had 11 receptions for 181 yards in a Week Zero victory over Colorado State. On nationally televised, season-opening performances, Byrd said: “Just playing and showing the world what we’re all capable of, what I’m capable of.”

Things could have turned out differently for Byrd. As a Narbonne High (Harbor City, Calif.) senior, he was poised to sign with Syracuse. But an Orange defensive lineman suffered an injury, and they used the scholarship intended for Byrd to fill the vacancy.

“I was supposed to go to Syracuse, but that ended up falling through,” Byrd said.

His backup plan? “Actually, I was going to walk on at Arizona,” he said.

But then Byrd received a call from Kevin Duncan, the running backs coach and co-recruiting coordinator at Long Beach City College. Duncan was Byrd’s physical education teacher in middle school.

“They told me to try it out for a year, and see if I get a (Division I) scholarship,” Byrd recalled. “I tried it for a year, and I ended up getting hurt at the end of the season.”

There were conversations again with Syracuse, but they did not result in a scholarship offer. He returned to Long Beach City, where he caught 66 passes for 903 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games. After sifting through several offers, Byrd said, “Hawaii was the best fit.”

Byrd was an academic qualifier out of high school, enabling him to enroll at UH in January 2018. This season, he moved from the left slot to the right, a spot vacated when John Ursua opted to forgo his senior season. Ursua is now with the Seattle Seahawks. In the opener against Arizona, Byrd aligned in the slot, wide and, for one play, as a tailback.

“He had opportunities to make plays, and he did,” coach Nick Rolovich said.