Kevin Prince thinks about his upcoming debut and can’t help but smile.

After all, he has always dreamed of walking through the tunnels at the Rose Bowl wearing UCLA’s powder blue jerseys. He attended Bruin football games alongside his parents for as long as he can remember, yet Prince admits that even the lifelong familiarity won’t prepare him for what he’s sure to feel on Saturday. The redshirt freshman quarterback, who has quickly earned the reputation for being poised beyond his age, does not know if he’ll be able to contain himself once he takes his position under center in the Bruins’ season opener against San Diego State.

“We’ll see,” Prince said with a smirk on face. “It will be surreal because it’s something I’ve always dreamed of.”

Most notably, though, will be Prince’s long-awaited return to the field. The 19-year-old has not played in a meaningful game since injuring his knee in the first quarter of the first game of his senior season at Crespi High two years ago today. Prince was so devastated by the season-ending injury that he did not know whether he’d ever play again.

“It’s really a blessing that I’m even here,” he said. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity.”

Prince took a redshirt last season, something he said he absolutely needed. Physically, Prince still had doubts about the stability of his knee. Mentally, he did not have a firm grasp of Norm Chow’s complicated offensive scheme.

“I don’t necessarily think I was ready to go (last year),” Prince said. “The redshirt gave me time to watch and then do it myself. I wasn’t thrown into the fire.”

Prince, who beat out senior Kevin Craft, true freshman Richard Brehaut and eventual-transfer Chris Forcier during Spring Practice, will become UCLA’s first freshman to start a season-opener with Saturday’s start since Bret Johnson in 1989. Named as the team’s starting quarterback shortly thereafter, Prince erased any lingering doubts with a solid showing throughout Fall Camp, which he said was a direct result of the work he and receivers, like senior Terrence Austin, put in during the summer.

“Once I hit a certain step, I know to turn and (Prince is) there on time with the ball,” Austin said. “His timing is really good.”

Sophomore receiver Nelson Rosario said that Prince has been really consistent for the most part.

In the short time as labeled starter, Prince has shown both glimpses of his potential greatness and of his relative inexperience.

Coach Rick Neuheisel, a former signal caller, has generally been impressed but has not been shy about voicing his displeasure when Prince commits mistakes.

“Kevin has done a great job,” Neuheisel said following a recent practice. “I just want him to be more urgent about learning what defenses do so that he’s ahead of them rather than him trying to catch up to them as the ball is snapped. You can’t play that way.”

And before Neuheisel continued, he paused and took a second to think about the reality of the situation.

“He’s doing fantastic, I mean, he’s a freshman,” he added.

Despite the pressures that come with being “the future,” Prince views his coach’s criticism in a positive way.

“He sees potential in me, at least I’m hoping,” Prince said of Neuheisel. “When coaches yell at you it only means they care; it means they want you to get better.”

That’s exactly what Prince, Neuheisel and Chow want UCLA’s passing offense to accomplish this season. The Bruins ranked sixth in the conference last season with just over 200 passing yards per game. Then-quarterback Kevin Craft set a school record with 20 interceptions.

A key factor in Prince’s performance will be the play of a revamped offensive line, which has shown improvement from a year ago. Perhaps the most critical components of the line are true freshmen Xavier Su’a-Filo and Stanley Hasiak, who are slated to start on the left side ““ Prince’s blind side.

“Of course I think there’s a little bit of pressure protecting his blind side,” Su’a-Filo said. “But I’m confident that we’ll be fine.”

Prince doesn’t seem concerned either.

“If they weren’t ready for it they wouldn’t be there,” Prince said of the young linemen. “The coaches trust them, I trust them. They’re going to get the job done for us.”

The first indication will come Saturday, not with Prince cheering from the bleachers or holding a clipboard on the sidelines, but taking the snaps as UCLA’s starting quarterback.

As August bleeds into September, the UCLA football team transitions into a critical week, culminating in redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Prince’s first collegiate career snap.

It will be a weekend of firsts for many UCLA athletes taking the field at the Rose Bowl on Saturday, as a fresh season’s purity sets the scene for UCLA’s 2009 debut.

But a few things are known to be true.

Inexperience has been a major theme for the Bruins (0-0) as they prepare for their home opener against the San Diego State Aztecs (0-0) with a number of freshmen inhabiting the first-team ranks.

In light of the preponderantly youthful presence, practice sessions
have often included what coach Rick Neuheisel describes as “dress
rehearsals” ““ executing each in-game scenario play by play until the
sequence is exhausted.

“You’ve got all sorts of situations to cover, especially with such a young team,” Neuheisel said.

Despite
the pressure of learning a new system and gaining familiarity with his
teammates, Prince seems undaunted by the task ahead of him.

“With every game, you’re going to be a little nervous, it’s just the
nature of the game,” Prince said of his forthcoming inaugural start.

Prince has not competed in a game since his senior year at Crespi Carmelite High School in 2007.

While
becoming accustomed to his new offense, Prince said he receives
feedback from more experienced players, such as redshirt senior Logan
Paulsen and senior Terrence Austin, whom Prince credits for helping him
“(make) strides to learn the system.”

In addition to preparing a team in its early stages of development, the Bruins must also focus on getting ready to face an Aztec squad they haven’t seen in four years.

UCLA is undefeated against SDSU all-time, its last win coming in 2005 when they defeated the Aztecs 44-21 on the road.

Neither Neuheisel nor Brady Hoke, San Diego State’s current coach, has ever faced his respective opponent.

This past Thursday, less than 50 percent of the Bruins’ game plan for the Aztecs had been installed to prevent the team’s rhythm from getting “stale.” The team did not practice Saturday or Sunday. The next four days of practice will allow for final adjustments to the game plan.

Following Friday afternoon’s scrimmage, Neuheisel said that he felt his players got a better taste for the quick transitions of a game’s dynamic, something not readily emphasized during back-to-back sets of drills.

He also noted that “the guys realized we’re not game-ready yet.”

There has been some shuffling in the offensive line since early in the week, regarding left tackle and right guard. Redshirt sophomore Mike Harris and true freshman Stanley Hasiak are expected to start at each respective position, with true sophomore Jeff Baca serving as the back-up for both.

Pending the review of the Bruins scrimmage tape, a final decision will be made regarding the lineup.

And only after Saturday’s game can the first substantial insights into the Bruins’ 2009 season be determined.

As he begins his second year, Neuheisel insists the raw talent is there in his still impressionable quarterback, youthful offensive line and seasoned defense.

“We got to figure out how to be a great team,” Neuheisel said.

Come this Saturday, UCLA will have its first opportunity of the season to reach that goal.