Good things come to those who stubbornly believe in themselves.

Just ask City College of San Francisco quarterback Chris Forni, who seemed destined to spend his entire junior college career on the bench a few months ago.

Forni, a former star at Casa Grande High, spent last year as the back-up to Jeremiah Masoli, the Offensive MVP of the NorCal Football Conference as a freshman. Masoli led the Rams to the national junior college title and was expected to return for his sophomore year.

Due to Masoli’s grip on the position, CCSF coaches met with the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Forni at the start of spring practice. They explained that they understood if Forni wanted to transfer.

And Forni explained that he wasn’t interested.

“It was just something I decided,” Forni said. “I knew Jeremiah was coming back as the starting quarterback. But I decided I was going to work really hard and try to beat him out.”

As it turns out, Forni didn’t have to.

Masoli signed with Oregon midway through spring drills, clearing a path for Forni to assume the starting position he was prepared to fight for.

And now that Forni has the job, he’s proving he knows what to do with it.

In his first college start last week, Forni completed 19 of 26 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the top-ranked Rams’ 44-2 win against Cabrillo.

“I had butterflies,” Forni said. “It was my first start since my senior year of high school. But once I threw the first touchdown pass, I was able to relax.”