EL PASO, Texas — University of Hawai'i defensive back Viliami Nauahi appears as a contestant on the popular "Wheel of Fortune" television show that will air Friday, he said.

Nauahi, a junior from La'ie, said he was not allowed to disclose how he fared or how much he received prior to the airing.

He said he watches the show frequently and, when he learned it would be on the Big Island, decided to submit his name.

"Struggling to pay my own college tuition and already knee-deep in student loans, I knew I could not pass up an opportunity to try my luck at a chance to spin that infamous wheel," Nauahi said in a blog on the show's Web site.

Nauahi's blog about the experience is at www.wheeloffortune.com/contestantsandtickets/contestantdiaries/