A former Hawaii high school sprint champion has joined the University of Hawaii football team.

“That is a fact,” said slot receiver Grey Ihu, who enrolled at UH last week and is set to participate in the Rainbow Warriors’ offseason conditioning program and spring practices.

Ihu said he is 6 feet, 180 pounds and capable of running 40 yards in 4.45 seconds. As a University Laboratory School junior in 2016, Ihu won the 100- and 200-meter sprints in the HHSAA track and field championships.

The past three semesters, he attended Campbellsville (Ky.) University, an NAIA school with an enrollment of 4,365. He has three years of eligibility at UH.

“I decided up there wasn’t a good fit football-wise,” Ihu said. “I feel over here will be better for me. And I feel it would be an awesome thing to play in front of my family, and be part of this Warrior organization.”

Competing for Pac-Five in high school, Ihu was used as a wideout, slot receiver, running back, safety, punt returner and kickoff returner.

“I was all over the field,” he said.

At UH, he has been told he will compete at slotback in the Warriors’ four-wide offense.

Ihu credits his fitness to his father, Nathan Ihu, who was a member of the UH men’s volleyball team in 1993. While recovering from a knee injury in the summer before his junior year, Ihu trained under his father and Kamehameha’s strength/conditioning coach.

To keep in shape for football, Ihu agreed to try out for the track team.

“I wasn’t really trying to win states,” he said. “I was trying to get ready for football. It was a blessing in disguise.”

Ihu said he suffered a hamstring injury at the start of the 2017 track season. He did not defend his state titles that year, instead focusing on football training.

Ihu had heard that Kealoha Pilares, a former UH and NFL receiver, had started a training program in Hawaii. Ihu contacted Pilares through Instagram.

“That’s how we got the ball rolling,” said Ihu, who trains regularly with Pilares.

Ihu said there is a story behind his unique first name.

“When my mom was pregnant with me, her favorite drink was Earl Grey tea,” Ihu said. “My name was either going to be Earl or Grey. I’m happy it was Grey and not Earl.”