It all started with a flying Matchbox car. Kurt Kittner still was in diapers the day he picked up the toy and hurled it 20 feet across the living room. The throw wasn't a tight spiral, but it was on target and smacked his mother square in the head. "I said to myself, 'This kid's got an arm,' " said his mom, Lee Trantin. He still does, with smarts and grit as well. Kittner is not the flashiest player in the Big Ten, but the Illinois senior is the league's best overall quarterback. The thing that sets Kittner apart, according to Fighting Illini coach Ron Turner, is not his cannon arm, soft-touch passes or remarkable field vision. It is a poise that transcends the football field. "He's a great kid," Turner said. "He's got his head on straight, and he understands what it's all about. He's got a toughness about him." Kittner needs that resilience to survive on the field. As a true freshman in 1998, he took 63 snaps in a game against Ohio State and was blitzed on 47 of them. He also needed strength to survive a rocky home life. Kittner's mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1983. About the same time, his parents' marriage began to crumble. Kittner, who was 3 at the time, still has memories of his father beating his mother. George Kittner walked out on the family in 1985, and the divorce was finalized in '89. "It was tough," Trantin said. "I sat down with the kids and asked if they wanted to stay together. We made a promise not to split up, not to let the disease get in the way." Because of the MS, there are times when Trantin's legs cramp so badly that she cannot straighten them. She walks with a cane, but sometimes must spend weeks at a time in a wheelchair. Doctors warn she eventually might lose all use of her legs. Kittner, the middle of three sons, kept the family together as his mother's health deteriorated. "He's been my rock," Trantin said. "He's sturdy. He doesn't say much, (but) he'll face anything straight on." In second grade, Kittner already was preparing dinner and doing other household chores. As he grew older, he would carry his mother from room to room and insert the IV needle for her medication. "The thing about it is, she's the person who cares for you your whole life," Kittner said, his voice barely a whisper. "If you don't have her, what are you going to do• I can't even imagine it." Trantin taught all three of her boys how to throw a football and even coached her youngest son's Little League team. Through sports, Kittner found a way to escape the turmoil at home. He played football, basketball and track and field at Schaumburg (Ill.) High School. Practically every day after school, he worked out by himself in the weight room. Recruiters from Wisconsin, Michigan State and Kentucky came by with offers, but Kittner was not interested. But when he met Turner, who was beginning his first season at Illinois, something clicked. Turner's mother, who died 12 years ago, also had MS. When Turner was 10 months old, his father walked out the door one day and never returned. "He's been through some of the same things I've been through," Kittner said. "I have a respect for him because he's gone through so much and he's gone so far." Kittner became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for the Illini in a half-century. As a sophomore, he set a school single-season record with 24 touchdown passes. This season, Kittner has Illinois (7-1, 4-1) off to its best start since 1989. He is ranked first in the Big Ten in passing (267 ypg) and third in pass efficiency rating (131.3). This week, he was named a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award, given to the nation's top quarterback. Illinois has hyped Kittner for the Heisman Trophy and passed out notebooks with him on the cover at the preseason Big Ten Kickoff Luncheon. As he gave interviews that day, Kittner sat at a table and turned over the notebooks so his picture was face down. "I get sick of looking at my stupid picture," he said with a self-conscious grin. "I'm a quiet guy. I don't like dealing with all that (hype). "I'm a regular athlete. (Indiana's Antwaan) Randle El is flashy. He makes all the big plays. I'm the kind of guy, I just sit in the pocket and throw the ball. I don't do anything special." After Kittner's freshman season, his father contacted the Illinois athletic department and asked it to pass along a message and his phone number. Kittner never returned the call. "I haven't seen my dad's face in more than two years, and he lives on the same street," Kittner said. "I don't talk to him. That's part my decision and part his. It was his decision to leave. It was his decision not to be a part of my life. "If anything, I learned a good lesson from my father about what not to do to my kids. I know I can be a better dad and be there for my kids someday." Kittner's mother, meanwhile, has managed to attend every home game this season. She plans on being there again today, when the Illini take on Penn State (3-4, 2-3). Her vision is failing, and soon, it will be gone. Kittner knows time is precious. "If I have a bad day, a bad class, a bad game, I know things could be worse," he said. "I could be in my mom's situation. And you look at my family situation, we're middle-of-the-road type people, but there are people who are much, much worse than us. You've got to be grateful for what you've got."

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