He spent at least two hours in the gym every day. He ate tons of chicken. He stayed away from the late-night party scene in his native Santa Ana, California.

And as a result, Svicarovich reported to fall practice at 230 pounds, 13 pounds heavier than his fall weight last year. That's 13 more pounds of power, 13 more pounds of pure "Gimme the damn ball" muscle.

But Svicarovich was still fourth on the pre-season depth chart. The two-year letterwinner was listed behind projected starter Clint Kollar and two sophomores that had not seen significant playing time last season. The press guide said he would "also see time on special teams."

Hardly encouraging words for a veteran of the Crimson's league-championship 1997 season. Have fun on punt coverage, kid.

"I had a lot of confidence in myself, but I didn't know what was going to happen," he said.

And as it so often happens in this game, the unexpected happened--Kollar twisted his ankle awkwardly in the season opener against Columbia and the coaches pointed a finger in his direction. Before anyone knew it, Svicarovich was in.

He's seen every play since.

"I was going to get time anyway," he assured me, "but that didn't hurt any."