TEMPE, Ariz. -- Growing up in the Los Angeles area during Pete Carroll's heyday at USC, quarterback Mike Bercovici had no trouble setting goals for his football future. His father, Ben Bercovici, remembers one in particular as his son prepares to make his second career start for Arizona State.
Father and son were walking on the field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a prospect camp at USC when Mike, then in middle school, made a prediction.
"I'll never forget, he turned to me and goes, 'Dad, I'm going to be playing on this field one day,'" Ben Bercovici said. "And here it is. His dream came true."
When ASU takes the field against No. 16 USC on Saturday, Bercovici will fulfill his childhood prediction and make his first appearance on a Southern California football field since high school as a horde of eager supporters watch from the stands.
It's a homecoming of sorts, one Bercovici and his supporters thought would come much sooner but also one that had seemingly become impossible. With Taylor Kelly entrenched as ASU's starter for his senior season, it appeared Bercovici would not get the chance to play at the Coliseum, but with Kelly still sidelined by a foot injury Bercovici will again lead the Sun Devils.
This opportunity didn't come as Bercovici expected it too, and he would never wish injury on a teammate. But this is his chance to play in his hometown in front of the people who helped him get here, and he's determined to lead ASU to a win at the Coliseum for the first time since 1999.
"For it to be a reality ... I mean, it was pretty special going there my redshirt freshman year, but the fact I'll be suiting up and taking a team out of the tunnel will be pretty awesome," Bercovici said.
As long as Bercovici waited for his opportunity to start, his family waited, too. When Bercovici won the backup job to Brock Osweiler in 2011, his family figured it would be a year or two before he got his chance to start.
Osweiler went pro after the season, and even with a new coaching staff in place after Dennis Erickson's dismissal, Bercovici led the three-man race to replace Osweiler after spring practice in 2012. But, as has been well documented, Kelly surged in fall camp to claim the starting job.
"When he lost the job to Taylor Kelly, it was an extremely emotional time for Michael," Ben Bercovici said. "His mind was going everywhere -- 'What do I do? What should I do?'"
Almost immediately, speculation began that Bercovici might transfer. Some close to him even suggested it was his best option once Kelly established himself as one of the Pac-12's top quarterbacks.
Bercovici admits he considered leaving for an opportunity elsewhere. As his father tells it, Bercovici sat down on his own one night and made a list of pros and cons.
"It was a pretty long list that he actually emailed to me, and that list included some amazing things he was thinking about," Ben Bercovici said. "Staying at ASU outweighed anything else, and that was really the final decision because we'd kept going back and forth."
Even after graduating last year, giving himself the option to transfer and play immediately, Bercovici couldn't imagine playing anywhere else. He continued to wait patiently behind Kelly.
Bercovici's sister, Danielle, would often attend practices over the past two seasons between her classes at ASU, watching her brother take second-team reps. His mother, Susan, would routinely put her head down when he came into games for mop-up duty, too nervous to watch.
Last week, the Bercovici family finally got to see Mike play meaningful minutes in his start against UCLA.
"It was very surreal only because I know Michael has been waiting for this for so long," Ben Bercovici said. "My wife and my daughter started getting so emotional after his first touchdown. I guess we've all been waiting for so long for this opportunity for him."
This week, the family gets to watch Mike lead the Sun Devils on a field less than an hour from their home in Calabasas.
"I know Michael pretty darn well -- I know him better than anybody," Ben Bercovici said. "And I'll tell you with 100 percent confidence he wants nothing more than to go in there and beat USC."
With the clocks in Houston edging toward 1 a.m., Matt Kerstetter did all he could to stay awake as he watched ASU take on UCLA last Thursday. A teacher at Westfield High School, Kerstetter had to be in by 6:45 a.m. the next day.
"So you can only imagine how early I'm getting up," Kerstetter said. "But I'm sitting there watching the tube, and it's 1 a.m. and I'm going, 'Come on, come on, I've got to see the end of this game.'"
Kerstetter is also Westfield's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was previously the head coach at Woodland Hills (Calif.) William Howard Taft Charter High School, where he coached Bercovici for two seasons. He wasn't about to miss a minute of his former signal caller's first career start.
Though Bercovici was only eligible to play his senior season at Taft after transferring, Kerstetter calls him one of the top five favorite players he's ever coached and perhaps one of the most talented.
"He's always had as quick of a release as I've seen on a high school quarterback," Kerstetter said. "And his arm strength has always been good. I think his arm strength has gotten even better."
More than Bercovici's big arm, Kerstetter remembers Bercovici as a born leader players wanted to follow. Kerstetter used that to motivate others, yelling at Bercovici probably more than any other player.
"I told him if I yell 'Berco' or 'Bercovici' it's just me yelling," Kerstetter recalled. "And I told him if I yell 'Michael' you better listen to every word that's coming out of my mouth because it's dead serious.
"I'd be on him, but a lot of times it was just to motivate the team because he was a leader, and if they saw him shouldering the load they'd pick their game up."
Bercovici and Kerstetter remain close. Kerstetter estimates they talked by phone or text at least 10 times ahead of Bercovici's start against UCLA.
"We still talk all the time," Bercovici said. "That guy taught me everything I know."
While Kerstetter also expected to see Bercovici start in college much sooner, he was thrilled nonetheless to watch last week's game, sacrificing sleep to see Bercovici set school records for passing attempts (68) and completions (42) while passing for 488 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
This week, Kerstetter will get to see one of his prized pupils in person. Though he'll likely be at Westfield until midnight or later following a home game Friday, he's catching a 7:30 a.m. flight to Los Angeles and, with the Westfield head coach's blessing, missing film study and meetings to be at the Coliseum.
Kerstetter will also get to see a former Taft player line up across from Bercovici with Antwaun Woods starting at nose guard for USC.
"I've never had an opportunity to watch two of my players go head to head like I will this Saturday," Kerstetter said. "That is a very unique thing, and it's something I couldn't miss."
Antwaun Woods wants give pal Mike Bercovici a big ol' bear hug for a sack during Saturday's game.
Their stories vary only slightly, but in both versions it's clear Mike Bercovici and Antwaun Woods knew right away they'd be good friends.
"I think when I transferred to Taft and threw one football he gave me a huge bear hug and he realized what we could do there," Bercovici said.
Recalled Woods, whom Bercovici calls his best friend: "When he first transferred to Taft, I knew he was going to be a great quarterback. So we kind of became friends just because he was a natural leader. And also I was an offensive lineman at the time, so I blocked for him."
On Saturday, the former teammates will line up directly across from each other.
"That kid's family to me," Bercovici said. "He used to sleep over at my house all the time."
Woods says when he and Bercovici committed to different Pac-12 schools he told Bercovici they'd meet on the field one day. That it's coming in Los Angeles is perhaps only fitting.
Considering Woods used to block for Bercovici, he admits it might be weird standing across from him Saturday.
"It's going to be kind of funny," Woods said. "I'm going to mess with him a little bit, trash talk a little to him. Nothing too bad, just being competitive."
Bercovici already has gotten in a few friendly jabs, sharing his plan to wear his friend out with ASU's up-tempo offense.
"He's going to be in a gas mask -- that's my goal," Bercovici said. "They're not going to be able to say anything about anything because they're going to be suckin' wind."
Woods says he and Bercovici still talk occasionally, discussing life and football, and hanging out in the offseason. Woods even reached out to Bercovici last week.
"I knew that he was starting against UCLA so I wanted to encourage him," Woods said. "I was rooting for him the whole game."
This week, there's been no such contact.
"I'll talk to him Sunday when we beat them," Bercovici quipped. "Maybe he'll text my mom or something."
Bercovici will also have plenty of friends in the stands Saturday. His dad estimated 50-60, but Bercovici says it might be double that. Some of those friends, Bercovici claims, plan to abandon their USC colors for a week and sport the maroon and gold in USC's student section.
Woods and Bercovici know bragging rights are on the line, but both are more concerned about their teams' goals and position in the Pac-12 South. Still, the chance to face off at the next level is one both relish.
"It's great," Woods said. "We used to be around each other every day in high school and competed against each other because I also played defense. It's just now we're doing it on a different level for two different teams."
Asked if he recalls telling his dad he'd play on the field at the Coliseum one day, Bercovici doesn't have to think.
"It was a camp," Bercovici said. "It was all the guys from the city, all the guys from where I'm from. Just getting together and being on the Coliseum grass it was like you finally made it. I told my dad, 'Dad, I'm telling you right now: I don't know where I'll be, but I'm going to be playing in this stadium. I promise you that.'"
As excited as Bercovici is to make good on that promise, he's more focused on getting the Sun Devils a win as they fight to stay alive in the Pac-12 South race after losing to UCLA. For all the sentiment that comes with this game, the field will be just another 100-yard stretch of grass once the clock starts.
Yet as much as Bercovici puts the team and result first, he can't hide that a win in the Coliseum would mean everything to him.
"A win there would be no different than any other win, but let me tell you, for a kid from right down the street it would be pretty satisfying," Bercovici said. "I know I have so many people that helped me get there, so for us to win in front of all those people would be something special."
Follow Tyler Lockman on Twitter
