As the old joke goes, Hawaii football receiver Zion Bowens is so fast, he is even fast asleep.

It was Bowens’ blistering speed that helped awaken the Rainbow Warriors offense in Saturday’s 50-45 victory over Colorado State. His 93-yard, catch-and-blur touchdown was the second-longest pass play in the program’s history. Bowens finished with six catches, 172 yards receiving, and an expanded role for this Saturday’s road game against Wyoming.

Coach Todd Graham has praised Bowens’ abilities and perseverance. After a strong start last season, his first at UH after transferring from Long Beach City College, he fell off the radar and depth chart. He had two catches in the first nine games this year, three against San Diego State, and then a DNP against UNLV.

But alternating as a slot and wideout, Bowens had a breakout performance against CSU.

“It was a huge confidence boost having that under my belt and knowing what I’m capable of,” said Bowens, who is 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds.

Last year, Bowens had a 47-yard reception against Wyoming, then scoring plays of 42 and 40 yards against New Mexico. All three receptions were on post patterns. The next two games, San Diego State and Boise State planted a safety in the deep middle, the strike zone for Bowens’ post routes. He was limited to one reception in each of those games, then was bumped from the rotation.

“I would say there were a lot of things that accounted for me not being on the field as much, but ultimately I just came to practice every day,” Bowens said. “I can only control what I can control, and just have the same mindset of bringing it 100% going hard every day, and trusting God will provide me an opportunity to be able to showcase my abilities.”

Bowens stayed after practices to catch passes while wearing wrist weights. He embraced teammate Jared Smart’s forearm-strengthening technique of burrowing his hands into a barrel of uncooked rice. Bowens did the same thing with sand on the beach. And he ran.

“I knew he was fast,” said Cedric Byrd, a former UH receiver. Byrd and Bowens both grew up in Long Beach, Calif. Whenever Byrd was in California, he trained at Long Beach Poly, Bowens’ alma mater. “I always try to help the younger talent,” Byrd said.

Bowens was at Air Force Academy for two years before transferring to Long Beach City in 2019. It was Byrd who helped arrange a meeting between Bowens and the UH coaches. “This guy is legit,” Byrd recalled telling the UH staff. “If you get him to Hawaii, he’ll be a good fit.”

Bowens’ quickness was apparent. “I would say that growing up, I was always the fastest dude on my team,” Bowens said. “It’s a God-given talent, along with quality training.”

During a combine at the Air Force Academy in 2017, Bowens was timed at 4.33 seconds over 40 yards. During UH’s offseason training, assistant head coach Kody Cooke clocked Bowens at a prorated 23 mph. “Coach Cooke was getting us right with the speed work,” Bowens said. “Stacking days on top of days, and little by little, it all started to pay off.”

That showed on Saturday in the second quarter. On second-and-10 from the UH 7, quarterback Chevan Cordeiro scrambled out of the pocket, then fired to Bowens at the 30. Bowens slipped a would-be tackler and sprinted the rest of the way along the left sideline.

“As soon as I caught it, I turned around, and there wasn’t really anybody,” Bowens recalled. “I just had to open it up. … It’s a pretty good feeling. You feel like you’re just floating, especially when there’s nobody out there. … I was looking around. I saw the crowd and stuff. I wanted to do a lot of things (to celebrate), but it was my first one (of the season). I’m thankful for it, and looking to do it again.”

Later, Bowens watched the video of the touchdown.

“In the videos, I saw JP,” Bowens said, referencing running back James Phillips. “You could see him running down the sideline. He was the pacer. He definitely set the pace. He got out. That was funny.”