And Mendenhall is pleased he is. While Afutiti has got a lot of catching up to do, he showed his speed — the trait that made him such a high profile recruit — during Saturday's 70-play scrimmage. Lining up in his defensive end position, Afutiti dropped back into zone pass coverage 10-15- yards down field and got a paw on a pass from Kurt McEuen.

It was impressive.

"I've been impressed," Mendenhall said. "I hadn't expected it, with his late arrival to camp and being a junior college player. Those two things, in combination, don't lend themselves to being ready. But his athleticism, his knowledge, his ability to learn and his demonstrated ability to make plays so far has been impressive. He'll play this year."

"Coaches tell me my effort and work is good, but I've got to learn the schemes and plays. I'm also behind on conditioning but I think by Northern Iowa, I'll be ready," Afutiti said.

On the Utes' Key, Afutiti hopes he gets in camp soon.

"He's a hell of a receiver and I look forward to playing against him. He may have a few more things to do than I did, but he should get it done." And Kraft? "His dad was the offensive coordinator and he kept telling me in practice to lay off his son, kind of egg on a spoon, so I'm looking forward to playing against him when UCLA comes to town."

A gentle, soft-spoken guy off the field, it's hard to imagine Afutiti going after some receptionist government bureaucrat at Mount Sac a few weeks ago.

"Actually, it was really my wife. She is the one pushing me the most, telling me I had to go out there and confront them and get in their face. I kind of didn't want to do that because they might get mad and not do it at all. But she's the one that got me to get things done, get things signed and take care of it."

So, that's the key, the secret weapon with junior college limbo.

Let the wife put it on her to-do list.

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E-mail: dharmon@desnews.com