When Jordan Wynn arrived at the University of Utah last January, the biggest shock wasn't the size of the mountains ringing Salt Lake City, the coldness of the snow that pelted his face many mornings, or the girth of the football playbook he needed to memorize.

It was the scale reading when he went for his first weigh-in: 152 pounds. Good for a welterweight boxer. Bad for a quarterback only a few months away from having to absorb a pounding from mean-tempered college defenders.

The 6-foot-1 Wynn had weighed about 175 pounds the summer before his senior season at Oceanside High, which he led to consecutive CIF San Diego Section Division II titles and a state championship in 2007. And for him to have a realistic opportunity to compete for Utah's vacant QB position after enrolling a semester early, coach Kyle Whittingham expected Wynn to tip the scales at a buff 190.

In other words, get eating ---- and lifting ---- kid.

"I had hoped that he would redshirt, give himself a chance to grow physically," said John Carroll, Wynn's coach at Oceanside. "But he's such a competitor that he wasn't hearing that. Coach told him he had to weigh 190, so he eats a diet of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that gets him up to 190."

Wynn never doubted that he could put on almost 40 pounds in a matter of months. Nor did he doubt that he could start as a true freshman for a team that went 13-0 and finished second in the nation last year.

After biding his time behind junior college transfer Terrance Cain for the first seven games of this season, Wynn finally got his chance ---- and ran with it. He'll start his third consecutive game when San Diego State visits on Saturday, and he has put himself in position to be a four-year starter at one of the best non-Bowl Championship Series programs in the country.

"We had talked about redshirting," Wynn said in a phone interview this week. "But I told them that if they wanted to play me, I was fine with that, and they made that decision. I have just taken over from there."

Cain didn't play poorly in his stint as Utah's QB, completing 64 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions as the Utes started 6-1 ---- with the only loss a narrow one at highly ranked Oregon. But with the offense stagnating in an Oct. 31 game against Wyoming, Whittingham turned to Wynn for a spark in the second half.

Wynn responded by throwing a TD pass and directing Utah to 19 unanswered points in a 22-10 victory. He got his first start the next week versus New Mexico, completing 18-of-28 passes for 297 yards, two TDs and one interception in a 45-14 win, the team's highest point total since the previous Nov. 22.

"He's performing like we need him to," Whittingham said after that game. "He's not playing like a true freshman."

Wynn acted a bit more his age last Saturday, a 55-28 loss to No. 4 Texas Christian that ruined the Utes' hopes of going to a BCS bowl for the second year in a row. Then again, his average numbers ---- 16-of-32, 219 yards, one TD, one interception ---- were offset by the fact that the Horned Frogs brought the nation's fourth-best defense into the game.

"He faced as fast of a football team on defense as you're going to see in TCU," Carroll said. "For a freshman in his second start, that's pretty doggone good. A year from now, I guarantee you he'll tear them up."

If that sounds like hyperbole from a proud high school coach, consider that Whittingham has compared Wynn to former Utah star Alex Smith, the Helix product who was the top overall pick in the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers in 2005.

"They've told me that a couple times," Wynn said sheepishly. "To accomplish what he did here and what he's doing now would be amazing. It's real flattering to get that comparison."

Wynn said he's excited to catch up Saturday with Aztecs receiver Roberto Wallace and defensive back Jose Perez, who preceded him as big men on Oceanside's campus ---- although he's more looking forward to facing SDSU next season at Qualcomm Stadium, where he played three times as a Pirate. And lest you think that, by reaching the big time, Wynn has forgotten his high school roots, he trades text messages with several former teammates, including the guy who stepped into his sizable shoes.

"He was my inspiration to play quarterback," Pirates senior Quentis Clark said. "He taught me everything I know about playing at Oceanside."

Thanks to dispatches from home, Wynn is well-versed on the details of Oceanside's dominant 10-0 regular season, capped by a rout of Ramona that made up for a tie with the Bulldogs last year ---- the only blemish on Wynn's two seasons as the Pirates' QB.

Oceanside might be ---- gasp! ---- even better than it was with Wynn. But make no mistake: The likes of him won't be seen in these parts for quite some time.

"The guy is a special quarterback," Carroll said. "He's got every single piece of the package."

For Utah, he has been worth the weight.