Charger red: Formerly Utah's every-down man, Eric Weddle has found his place with surging San Diego

Eric Weddle tugged on a red golf shirt in the locker room after the Chargers had just shellacked Baltimore.

"Could you believe that game?" he said. He wasn't talking about the Chargers' game, but the University of Utah loss to BYU the day before. "We had it and we let it get away. Ugh!"

Utah men, sir, are Utah men.

Now, with his San Diego Chargers in the NFL playoffs, Weddle is determined not to let any more games "get away."

"It doesn't surprise me Eric was a fan favorite at Utah," says Jennifer Rojas of the Chargers' public relations staff. "He's quickly becoming a fan favorite here."

A "nickel back" who plays on special teams and in passing situations, Weddle is winning the hearts of fans and coaches in San Diego as he did in Utah — with his enthusiasm, intelligence and character. His No. 32 jersey has already become a big seller in the team's memorabilia shops. When he's in the game, Charger fans — and opposing players — notice. Having such a scripted roll has been an adjustment, however. At the University of Utah he played safety, cornerback, running back, quarterback, punter, punt returner, special teams and was a holder for the place kickers. He scored 11 touchdowns in college in a variety of ways — from catching passes to returning kicks. Now he's a "situation player."

"Just coming in the game on just passing downs has been a hard transition," he says. "But I just want to help out where I can."

At age 22, Weddle can afford to be patient. Most everyone south of Los Angeles feels he is going places.

"When I first came in for mini-camp," he says, "they had me going one-on-one with (NFL all-pro) Antonio Gates. That was a challenge. But I remember thinking I could play at this level."

In the Baltimore game he made the tackle on the opening kickoff, then went on to break up a couple of crucial third-down passes and laid the kind of licks on Raven backs that would make legendary football coach Bear Bryant yell "Bingo!"

"When he was in Pop Warner football," says Eric's grandad, Norm, "he'd come home and say, 'You know what I like about football? I love to hit.' Even back then it seemed like he was so much ahead of the others athletically and mentally."

Finding the Weddles for a quote at Chargers games is hardly a challenge. The entire family comes decked out in their Eric Weddle jerseys and often roll out a large banner to cheer him on. The family parties in the parking lot before games, and then again after. Often Eric will join them after he dresses for a plate of grub and a chance to talk football. Grandma Jean gets nervous about some of those "big hits" he delivers, but she has been a lifelong Chargers fan and couldn't be happier. Ditto for his mother, Debbie.