Darrell Mack considers it "icing on the cake."
After becoming just the ninth player in University of Utah football history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season, the junior tailback is headed home for the Poinsettia Bowl.
Mack, a former star at Monte Vista High School in Spring Valley, Calif., and the Utes are scheduled to arrive in San Diego today to wrap up preparations for Thursday's game against Navy.
"I would have rather gone to a bigger bowl game or what not, but this is a great bowl game, too," Mack said. "I'm real excited. I'm looking forward to trying to put on a good show and perform in front of the people back home."
The last time Mack started in a game at Qualcomm Stadium, he earned MVP honors while leading Monte Vista to the CIF championship. He rushed for a whopping 254 yards on 52 carries that day — highlighting a high school career featuring 4,078 yards rushing over his junior and senior seasons.
Mack's collegiate career, however, took time to accelerate. He saw limited action as a freshman and sophomore at Utah, running for just 320 yards on 82 carries over 17 games.
The 6-foot, 219-pounder was ticketed to redshirt this season but was thrust into duty when highly touted junior college transfer Matt Asiata was injured in the season opener.
Mack responded to the challenge by racking up 1,128 yards in 11 games (the last 10 as a starter). His 102.5 yards-per-game average was second-best in the Mountain West Conference, and his 10 touchdowns were tops on the team.
"It's really — I don't want to say a Cinderella story — interesting the way that things unfolded for him," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We had seen a lot of good things out of Darrell over the course of the last couple of years. We just hadn't seen the consistency we needed to see.
"When he got the nod as the full-time guy and we started feeding him the ball, he developed a rhythm, started gaining confidence and everything came together for him."
Mack, who tied a school record with five consecutive 100-yard games, wound up earning second-team all-conference honors.
"It's a great story," offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig acknowledged. "But he's got to do it now. He's got to do it in this game. It's not about what happened or who he's playing in front of. He's got to do it in this game."
Challenges are nothing new for Mack. His mother was murdered when he was just 7 years old, and he was raised by his grandparents. His grandfather, Larry Moore, passed away just last week — leaving Mack even more determined to finish the year on a strong note.
Mack's rushing numbers this season are already the fourth-best in team history.
"He didn't come out of nowhere. We always thought he was a good player," Ludwig said of Mack's rise to prominence with the Utes. "But he has been the catalyst now. He has been a go-to guy. He's done a super job. The power running game has been our staple, and he has been our guy. It's been great."
SENIOR FINALE: Saturday morning's practice at the Spence Eccles Field House was the Salt Lake finale for Utah's seniors. Their remaining practices with the program will be Monday and Tuesday at the University of San Diego.
"We've still got a game. So that's my main focus right now," senior captain Steve Tate said. "It'll probably hit me when I'm done."
WHERE'S WEDDLE? The Utes will see a lot of former teammate Eric Weddle this week. They'll watch him play in today's NFL game between the San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions at Qualcomm Stadium. Weddle will then join Utah at the team hotel, where he has reserved a room and plans on hanging out with the Utes.
"I think he's more excited than any of us," said Tate, who communicates with Weddle on a regular basis. "It's going to be fun. Fun for all of us."
Whittingham is looking forward to the reunion, of sorts.
"(Eric) loves these guys, and he's excited for us to come down and be in his domain," he said.
This will be Utah's second recent bowl trip to the NFL city of a former teammate. In 2005, Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers spent some time with the Utes prior to the Emerald Bowl.
EXTRA POINTS: The Utes are scheduled to travel to San Diego on two charters flights — one in the morning and one in the afternoon ... Whittingham was pleased with Saturday's practice and said the team accomplished what it needed to in its bowl preparations at home ... Saturday's bowl gift for the players was a backpack.
Navy (8-4) vs. Utah (8-4)
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Qualcomm Stadium
TV: ESPN
Radio: 700AM
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com