Kevin Prince is UCLA's best quarterback option

Redshirt freshman's play against Washington before being sidelined because of a helmet-to-helmet hit leaves no doubt about who the Bruins' starter should be.

Did you see what I saw? Did you see what Rick Neuheisel should be seeing?

The UCLA football team has its quarterback. No ifs, ands or subs. No sharing. No waffling. No lie.

The UCLA football team has its quarterback, and his name is Kevin Prince, and while he was knocked silly Saturday, there should be no more wobble in the Bruins' decision.

Kevin Prince is the guy, or did you not watch him in UCLA's 24-23 victory over Washington?

"Slingin' rocks," he said with a grin.

Like David once slung rocks, yeah, throwing darts on the run, in the grasp, falling backward, through traffic, on a dead run, out of every tight spot.

He tossed a touchdown pass on fourth down, completed five passes on five third-down plays, failed to complete only four of his first 17 passes and threw for 212 yards, the freshman acting like a veteran and a leader and. . . .

Well, OK, he also tried to act like a running back, and that didn't work out so well, linebacker Donald Butler cheaply nailing him helmet to helmet, knocking him out of consciousness and the game before halftime.

Yeah, he had all those stats in less than two quarters.

"I don't really remember what happened," Prince said of the hit.

But the Bruins' fans who rocked the Rose Bowl will remember what happened before that. And though one can't blame Neuheisel for trying to juggle young egos, the coach needs to also remember and react.

Give the football to the kid, give the kid to Norm Chow, and leave them both alone.

"The young man is starting to get it a little bit, isn't he?" Chow, the Bruins' offensive coordinator, said with a chuckle.

Across the happy clamor of the locker room, the young man sighed.

"I feel like Coach Chow and I are in the flow of things," Prince said.

It has taken a broken jaw and broken plays and threats of broken playing time. It has taken a decision by Neuheisel and Chow to finally open the playbook and let the kid fling more of those stones. But, yeah, the flow is there, and should not be stopped.

Counting the last quarter of the Bruins' last game, at Oregon State, in three quarters Prince has completed 21 of 30 passes for 410 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

No other freshman quarterback in this town has had a streak so impressive. If Prince has indeed recovered from the concussion Saturday like he is already claiming -- "I'm fine, I'll be ready to go next week" -- then the best part of UCLA's season could just be starting.

"Today Kevin changed the play at the line several times and made it work like a veteran," receiver Terrence Austin said. "He is seeing things he hasn't seen before."

Austin made a catch we haven't seen before, a juggling, falling touchdown grab of a Kevin Craft pass after Prince left the game, one of several big plays by the Bruins in pulling out their first win since school started in the fall.