Very Mobile At Qb

It didn't come to that. Tom was fired after his son's freshman season and replaced by Chuck Long.

Kevin, encouraged to do so by his father, stayed with the team.

"We really appreciate the fact he stayed; not too many kids would have done that," Long says.

The new coach appreciated it even more after Kevin O'Connell and Darren Mougey, the Aztecs' top quarterbacks, were injured. Craft, who redshirted his first year, started five games in 2006, including victories over Air Force and Nevada Las Vegas, as the Aztecs went 3-9.

But the next spring O'Connell reclaimed the starting job, prompting Craft to rejoin his father at Mt. SAC.

"There is such a small window in your college football career," Craft says, "you have to take advantage of it."

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While it's not unheard-of for junior college quarterbacks to make it on the NCAA Division I level, "most coaches want to bring in a quarterback, have him sit out a year to learn the system," Long says. "It has to be challenging for Kevin to be learning his third system in three years."

That showed out on the practice field this spring from start to finish. Craft was erratic, completing 11 of 24 passes for 95 yards with one touchdown pass and one pass intercepted, throughout the spring game.

"I went to practice one day and I didn't even recognize Kevin," Tom Craft says. "He just didn't look comfortable. I could tell he needed to relax."

Still, there were flashes. "He had six or seven throws that were really accomplished throws over the course of spring practice," Neuheisel says. "That doesn't sound like a big number, but those were throws you don't really see real often, even in the NFL."

Offensive coordinator Norm Chow says of Craft's spring: "He's learning a new offense, he's learning his teammates, he's learning where his classes are. He's a work in progress."

One that might have to be a finished product come Labor Day.

"You just have to always be prepared to play," Craft says. "Every practice, every game, every day.

"Even if you don't win the spot, you're still one play away. My freshman year at San Diego State proves that. UCLA's last year proves that."

UCLA's spring proved it again.

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chris.foster@latimes.com