Los Osos' Brehaut to be UCLA's starting QB?

With UCLA starting quarterback Kevin Prince out 3 to 4 weeks thanks to a broken jaw suffered in the final minutes of Saturday's 19-15 win over Tennessee, Richard Brehaut, who graduated from Los Osos High School in May, is expected to start against Kansas State, according to sources in this L.A. Times story.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel hasn't yet announced whether Brehaut or senior Kevin Craft will get the nod. Craft threw a school-record 20 interceptions as a fill-in starter last year.

Brehaut left Los Osos early to enroll at UCLA in time for spring practice, during which Prince, a red-shirt freshman, won the battle for the starting job. Everything I read cited Brehaut's unfamiliarity with the offense as the overwhelming reason he was relegated to a back-up role. And the race didn't exactly seem like Prince won in a run-away.

Since these two QBs are both freshmen, it will be interesting to see how their parallel career's play out. Is Brehaut ready to steal the job after Prince led UCLA to its most impressive road win in years? That's a tall task, to be sure. Having watched Brehaut plenty in high school, he doesn't seem like a practice player. While he has all the measurables (arm strength, accuracy, mobility) his best attribute is play-making ablilty, particularly under pressure - something that reveals itself most plainly in game situations. This may be his first opportunity to show it... who knows when he'll get another one.