By Steven Dunst
Wideout Jeremy Ross chuckles just recounting the story. The Cal football team was trying its best to look "hard" and intense. It was, after all, time to pose for the team picture. Freshman quarterback Kevin Riley strutted on from stage left with a goofy grin. The whole team burst out laughing, looking at his ridiculous walk. "You can just sense his funniness wherever he is," says Ross, not the most solemn guy himself. "The days are tough, and he knows how to change the mood. He's a really outgoing guy." There was nobody there to lighten the mood after Riley's first career start last year. For a while, it seemed like the confident gunslinger with the goofy demeanor might have to spend the next two years thinking about 14 seconds.
Riley has not forgotten the crushing 31-28 loss to Oregon State, in which he was stopped well short of the goal line and could not spike the ball with time winding down. The field goal unit never came close to seeing the field-costing the Bears their undefeated season, a No. 1 national ranking and a potential BCS bid.
But his confidence is not shaken. After Saturday's scrimmage, during which he efficiently if not masterfully led the first team offense, Riley walks over to his mom and slowly takes the tape off his throwing hand. His voice remains calm and level when a reporter asks him for the umpteenth time to talk about his first career start against the Beavers.
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