B.J. Daniels staying cool for South Florida Bulls heading into game at Florida State Seminoles

TAMPA

His eyes are bright, focused. Given the circumstances, perhaps you would expect them to be wide from the approaching headlights.

His posture is relaxed, comfortable. Given his position, perhaps you would expect his hands to shake and his knees to quake.

The B.J. Daniels era is about to begin.

At first glance, it does not appear that awe will be a problem.

Say this much for Daniels, the new lead Bull at USF. For a guy about to be thrown into college football's fire, he seems remarkably calm about it. He leans backward against a wall of the USF athletic center, and he does not stammer and he does not sweat. Pretty much, he looks like a college student waiting for a test to begin.

Which, in a way, he is.

Oh, there could be easier ways for a quarterback to take over an offense, couldn't there? For some quarterbacks, the first start comes against a marshmallow opponent, or in a friendly stadium, or in a game so easy his team can win by driving past the stadium.

Then there is Daniels, on his way to the lion's den.

And, really, is this any way for a starting quarterback to start?

Consider his circumstances. All USF's Daniels has to do on Saturday is go to his hometown and make the first start of his career. Against FSU, the team that didn't want him. In Doak Campbell, the stadium where he used to go to watch games. Against Bobby Bowden, the second-winningest coach of all time, and the rest of a staff so talented it needs a depth chart.

Along the way, Daniels also has to replace Matt Grothe, the quarterback who has led USF in passing, rushing and pluck for the last four seasons.

Just that.

In other words, you could put snakes in the grass and sharks in the showers, and the odds against Daniels wouldn't be any greater. You tell that to Daniels, and he grins and shrugs. "I can't wait until Saturday," he said.

And in a weird way, you get a feeling that a lot of people — Bulls coaches, Bulls fans, Bulls players — feel the same way. The circumstances could be better, but there's an electricity to Daniels that makes you want to see what he can do, that makes you want to see if he can build your confidence to the size of his own.

"It's not about me," Daniels says quietly. "I don't expect to be heroic or make amazing plays. I just expect to do my job."

So how much dropoff will there be at quarterback for the Bulls? Daniels said there shouldn't be any. Grothe agrees.

"He's ready," Grothe said. "There won't be any falloff. B.J. hasn't played a lot of football, but I know what he can do. I see it every day in practice. So does the rest of the team. I knew eventually I would have to come back and watch him play. It's just going to start early."

They are friends, the two quarterbacks. Daniels refers to Grothe as "Ernest," his middle name. Grothe calls Daniels "Brucie Bear," after sneaking a look at the pet name Daniels' girlfriend called him in a text.

Saturday night, when Grothe's USF career ended on a knee injury, the torch was passed.

So who is the new kid? He's a talented kid, a confident kid, a competitive kid. Perhaps, he is the next great quarterback at USF.

As for Saturday? We'll see.

Evidently, USF is eager to see what Daniels, 19, can do, too. Already, offensive coordinator Mike Canales has said the team won't peel back its offense for him.

"You don't want to put the reins on B.J.," Canales said. "We want to unleash him and let him go. He's Mr. Excitement. You never know what's going to happen.

"The kid is built with confidence. It shines on his face. He doesn't lack any confidence in his ability. In terms of his mind-set, I don't think (playing on the road against FSU) it will faze him at all. Fear? No. I think he's excited. I think he'll accept the challenge."

Those who know Daniels best agree. After all, Daniels was a freshman at Lincoln High School when his coaches decided to shift starting quarterback Keeley Dorsey (a former USF player who died after a workout in 2007) to tailback and start Daniels. There were probably those who wondered if Daniels was ready back then, too. After his team reached the second round of the playoffs, no one doubted.

"I'm sure there will be some nerves, but he won't be awed," former Lincoln coach Kyle Rice said. "He'll go in with confidence. I always thought he was at his best against good competition. I think he'll be a great success at USF."

So who is Daniels? He's a player who threw for four touchdowns and ran for two — "and had one of those 600-yard runs from sideline to sideline that gained about 50," says Rice — against Pine Forest. He's a player who grew up as a Charlie Ward fan but was never offered a scholarship by FSU, a fact that doesn't seem to bother him a bit. He's a player with dazzling feet and a powerful arm, but according to Canales, neither is his best weapon.

''We all know he can throw, and we all know he can run," Canales said. "But I think his best asset is his competitiveness. He's so competitive."

Said Rice: "B.J. wanted to win every game, every practice, every drill."

Still, you get back to this: Daniels hasn't played a lot. As a backup, he has thrown 15 times this season, he has run 15 times, he has led his team to five scores. In the B.J. Daniels story, we are still in the prologue.

Eventually, the story will be a good one.

Saturday, we'll see how it starts.