Former Arizona State quarterback Mike Bercovici still remembers the excitement the first time he ever attended an NFL game.

He and his father, Ben, had taken the train down from Los Angeles to San Diego to see the hometown Chargers take on the Oakland Raiders. It was clear which fandom Bercovici and his father resided with.

“My dad actually grew up a Raiders fan, so we actually went as Raiders fans,” Bercovici recalled. “But I was always a pretty big fan of Antonio Gates, LaDanian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers.”

Oh, the irony as Bercovici now dons the bolt on his helmet, fighting for an NFL spot with the Chargers.

Not the San Diego Chargers. The Los Angeles Chargers, whose new home in Carson, California resides just a half hour from where Bercovici grew up in Calabasas. Bercovici signed a futures contract at the end of the 2016 season, giving him a change to compete for a 53-man roster spot with the Bolts again this fall.

“For him to call his son a Los Angeles Charger – we still talk about this all the time – it’s all been so unrealistic,” Bercovici said of his dad. “It’s a dream come true. I keep saying it, but it really is.”

Bercovici’s journey to the Chargers was as odd and winding as his time as a Sun Devil. While in Tempe, Bercovici went through – and lost – a quarterback battle in Todd Graham’s first season as head coach. He would sit the next three seasons as Taylor Kelly’s backup, but despite numerous instances where he wanted to transfer he decided to stick it through.

In several conversations with Graham, a coach who didn’t recruit him out of Taft High School and hadn’t given him the opportunity he’d expected, he arrived at the same conclusion – no end result would make him happier than sticking it out and becoming the starter at ASU.

He starred in spot duty his redshirt junior season, and finally earned the job as a redshirt senior. Bercovici threw for 3,854 yards and 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions in his lone year as a starter, giving himself what he felt was an ample opportunity to make a name for himself entering the NFL Draft process.

His actual prospects of being drafted were much more slim. Shortly after his senior season concluded and Bercovici had signed with an agent, he received a call to be featured in the upcoming NFL Network series, “Undrafted,” which followed several fringe players as they went through the process.

“At first, I wasn’t really too high on it,” Bercovici said. “I thought that the biggest selling point for me was to inspire a young kid like me. I knew growing up, I just watched NFL Network and I still do every single day. If I can inspire at least one kid through my story of being an underdog, then it’s all worth it.”

Bercovici said he often caught himself in the excitement of preparing for the NFL Draft, including violating an unwritten rule among prospective draftees – never check a mock draft.

“If you’re a millennial, you want to get on your computer after a long day’s workout and see where you stand,” Bercovici said. “I did that once every couple of weeks. I started getting eager around that time period. Enjoying the process is all part of it. You only really get one opportunity at entering the draft.”

The “Undrafted” crew followed him through his Pro Day, his workouts and pre-draft training, giving NFL teams a fresh eye at looking at him. It wound up paying off with San Diego once the show aired.

“I had coaches from the Chargers text me afterwards text me saying that they were following me,” Bercovici said. “If anything, it kept them fresh in my mind. Any news is good news, I guess. For them to see me on TV kind of kept me fresh on their mind. It definitely was extremely beneficial.”

Bercovici sat and watched as a pair of his teammates – offensive lineman Christian Westerman and Devin Lucien – had their names called during the NFL Draft. Bercovici went undrafted, providing uncertainty about his future. Then the Chargers called.

The 6-foot quarterback performed well during his first-ever NFL training camp, earning the respect of a San Diego legend along the way in longtime starter Philip Rivers.

“To be around him day in, day out and to see his work ethic and the respect that he had from everyone from the general manager to the last player on the roster, it was extremely impressive,” Bercovici said. “I’ve been around a lot of football in my life, but I’ve never met anybody so passionate like he is. He’s someone that I can call a friend for life.”

The former Sun Devil adapted well to the pro style of offense, which he called “360 degrees different” from what he ran in college. He learned the new system quickly, allowing the once-afterthought player to climb the depth chart and beat out some well-known NFL figures with actual experience. He survived until the last round of cuts, when he was released. He wasn’t even offered a spot on the practice squad.

“It was quite a shock,” Bercovici said. “To be honest, I didn’t expect to be released. I really thought I was going to be a candidate for the practice squad, but obviously that didn’t happen and I was OK with that.”

Bercovici returned to Arizona and worked out at the Fischer Institute in Tempe, where he had trained before the draft and a place where he considered the trainers as family. He was a common presence at Arizona State games, and worked out at times at the school. It was a reminder of the school and journey that had shaped him as a football player.

“Nothing came easy for me at school,” Bercovici said. “I had high hopes of being a starter my redshirt freshman year. I was the leader out of spring ball, and then all of a sudden fall camp came around and I was on the bench. That was a huge hit to the self-esteem, to me as a football player. It was tough, it was a mental grind, and it was very similar to what I endured last year.”

He also picked up a new hobby – real estate. Using an ASU connection, Bercovici was able to earn an internship for a local real estate group in Phoenix.

“I’m a sponge,” Bercovici said. “I like to learn new things. It kind of kept my mind off not being on a team during the year and kept me connected within the community.”

Bercovici thrice worked out for NFL teams over the course of the 2016 season with the Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Green Bay Packers. Each time, he packed his bags and prepared for his career to change. Ultimately, it didn’t.

He finally got the call shortly before Week 17. It was San Diego. A week later, he’d been signed to a futures contract, guaranteeing him a shot at finally making it to the NFL. This time around, he’d feel much more confident.

“I know the playbook,” Bercovici said. “I have the playbook with me and I’m just working on that daily and then controlling what I can control, because it’s time to win a spot again.”

Bercovici wasn’t expecting the news that would come next. The organization fired head coach Mike McCoy on New Year’s Day, and on Jan. 12, the Chargers officially announced they would be moving to Los Angeles.

The team would be playing at the StubHub Center in Carson, just 30 minutes from Bercovici’s home. The 30,000-seat venue – easily the smallest in the NFL – was a place Bercovici had always wanted to play football. While playing at Taft, he dreamed of getting to play in the state title game there. He never got the chance.

A day after the team announced the move, they announced the hiring of a new coach in Anthony Lynn. That month, they also announced they would be retaining Ken Whisenhunt as the offensive coordinator – something Bercovici was encouraged by.

“(The Chargers) were the place I wanted to go to,” Bercovici said. “I wanted to be back with the same offense coordinator, same environment. I felt really comfortable there, and I felt they appreciated my skill set. It was a no-brainer for me to take that offer.”

The Calabasas native will have a chance this fall to accomplish something he never thought was possible.

“For myself personally everything is just falling into place, you can say,” Bercovici said. “Being a Los Angeles native, it almost feels even more comfortable just to be close to home. It’s almost unrealistic, if you were telling me as a little kid I would play for the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s like a dream come true.”