SF Chronicle: Cal's Riley set for his time at controls

By Rusty Simmons

Growing up the youngest of three brothers, Kevin Riley always felt like he was last to get to do everything.

"When my brothers would finally give me a chance to play video games, I never wanted to lose because I knew that would be my last chance for a while," said Riley, a soon-to-be sophomore quarterback at Cal. "Once I got the (video-game) controller, I wanted to keep it as long as I could."   Coach Jeff Tedford has opened competition for nearly every position during spring practice, which begins today, and the sexiest story is the fight for the quarterback job between Riley and incumbent Nate Longshore. That means the wait for a chance to grab the reins to Cal's offense is finally over for Riley, and he's looking to put a stranglehold on the position.

Riley, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder from Beaverton, Ore., plans to approach this competition the way he did with his brothers. He has a hunger for competition, relaying stories of being furious about things as insignificant as pickup basketball games during high school PE classes.  "Nate and I both want to be No. 1, and we'll be pissed if we're not, but that doesn't change the fact that we're friends and will be rooting for each other," Riley said. "I've been waiting for a long time to have this chance, and I've got to make the most of it and gain my teammates' confidence."  Riley has been waiting because Longshore, a 6-5, 230-pounder from Canyon Country (Los Angeles County), has refused to give way. After a 3,021-yard, 24-touchdown, 10-win season as a sophomore, Longshore's numbers dropped to 2,580 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven wins last year, when he was dealing with a nagging ankle injury.

Longshore has not backed down from a challenge, either. He won the job as a redshirt freshman but broke his leg in the season-opener and had to win the spot again as a sophomore.

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