Louisville QB and Heisman candidate Dave Ragone will be keeping a diary in ESPN The Magazine and on ESPN.com throughout the season. Here is the first installment.

Before I begin I should introduce myself. My name is Dave Ragone and I'm a quarterback at Louisville.

My name is pronounced "RAH-gohn", at least that's how I pronounce it. Everyone else in my family pronounces it "Ruh-GON-a" but back when I was little, everyone used to use my name as a punchline because it rhymed with macaroni, so I'm going with RAH-gohn. Besides, it sounds better with my first name.

	Get your bobbleheads while they're hot!

Both my parents emigrated to the U.S. from Italy in their 20s. My dad came here while he was in the Italian Navy. Funny thing is, my parents have been here over 40 years, living in Cleveland, and they still really don't speak much English. Actually, they're still not completly accustomed to American culture, and that was pretty apparent when John L. Smith recruited me. He's a real cowboy. He showed up to my house in cowboy boots and these real tight Wrangler jeans. We'd never seen anything like that in Cleveland. He was just so different, but I really liked him, and knew that he was a special coach and that Louisville was where I wanted to be.

My mom never watches my games. She actually has only seen me play once, and that was when she had stumbled upon it flipping past ESPN. It was the TCU game, where I got sacked nine times. The worst part was that she tuned in right in time to hear the announcer say, "I've never seen a quarterback take a beating like this." When I got home she left a real interesting message on my voicemail.

Going into this season a lot of people are talking about me as a Heisman candidate, and that's cool. My school has found some pretty innovative was of promoting me, including a bobblehead doll. If my career ended after this season, at least I'll have that bobblehead sitting on my mantle and that's pretty cool. How many people can say they have a bobblehead?

All of the hype is good, and if it helps promote the school that's great. But I'm a realist. I know we have to be 12-0, and if we start out 0-1 we can kiss it goodbye. People talk a lot about the Heisman hype, but I think it's only a distraction if you let it become one. Two-a-days have started and I've cut back my interviews and my main focus is just helping the team win. That's really all that matters to me.

I know whenever anyone mentions me and my Heisman chances, they always talk about our game against Florida State (Sept. 26), but all that talk has really been outside the program. In the locker room, nobody's talking about it. To be honest, most people around here are only talking about the Kentucky game (Sept. 1). It's a huge game in the state, you don't realize how big the rivalry is until you get down here and witness it firsthand. Neither team likes one another and the rivalry between the two schools has only gotten nastier since Rick Pitino came to town. I think this game will set the tone for the entire season.

I feel like I had a good offseason. I continued to refine my mechanics after making some adjustments in the spring. I changed the starting point of my throwing motion. Before, I used to hold the ball up by my ear. Now, I grip it a little lower, from just beneath the shoulder. I feel like I can be more accurate and have better touch with it and I've found I can also get more velocity on my throws. I began toying with the change during December bowl practices, but didn't want to try anything new until I had enough practice time to make sure it worked.

I also got to play a lot of golf over the summer to get my mind right. In July I even tried out for the Kentucky Open. My buddy Brad Faulker, a former golfer for U of L, was my caddy. I shot 79 and missed the cut, but had a great time. I started golfing to stay competitive in the offseason. I still wanted to keep that edge and golf really fills that void. Most guys usually get that from playing basketball, but I didn't want to risk the injuries heading into my senior season.

I had never played in a tournament before. I got to experience a whole different type of nervousness. Usually, when I play, I'm 10 to 15 yards out past everybody off the tee -- but after my first drive, I noticed the guys playing with me were right there too. That's what's great about golf. Because it's a sport I wasn't naturally gifted at, it teaches me humility. After my teammates found out I played in that tournament, they all want to get out on the links and swing some clubs.

For now, I just hope they stick to football.

Louisville QB and Heisman candidate Dave Ragone will be keeping a diary in ESPN The Magazine and on ESPN.com throughout the season.