BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When Timmy Chang left Honolulu in January, his son could only say his first words — "Dada."

When Chang calls home from a college campus in the rolling hills and smothering humidity of Pennsylvania now, he hears something different. Dillon, whose second birthday arrives next month, speaks into the phone and says "Hi, Dad."

Those little moments are what Chang misses as he chases his dream of playing quarterback professionally around the Mainland.

As Dillon says when he is asked where his father is, "Daddy's at work."

Chang is hoping to make the Eagles roster in Philadelphia, where he is trying to stick with an NFL team beyond training camp, which opened last week.

Chang, who wears a red No. 9 jersey at the Eagles training camp at Lehigh University, is fighting for a spot behind Pro-Bowler Donovan McNabb. He is going up against another Pro Bowler, Jeff Garcia, and Mc-Nabb's longtime backup, Koy Detmer.

Chang is known for setting an NCAA Division I-A passing record at Hawai'i with 17,072 yards, coincidentally shattering the mark set by Detmer's brother, Ty, at BYU. But those numbers mean very little these days other than a trivia fact following a bullet point in the media guide.

Chang signed with the Arizona Cardinals as a rookie free agent in 2005, but was released during training camp. He later signed with the Detroit Lions, but was cut loose by the start of the regular season.

Making the Eagles payroll will be no easy task, but offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has spoken highly of Chang.

"I think he's got something there," Mornhinweg said. "He really throws the football well. He's a tough guy. He's got a little juice to him."

While Chang can make the ball fly, he also is a shadow of beefy McNabb. And, at 6 feet 1, 207 pounds, he has a penchant for throwing interceptions (an NCAA record 80). Mistakes like that won't be tolerated for long in Philadelphia.

"In the NFL, you're going to make mistakes," Mornhinweg said. "It's almost (like) you can't get better without making mistakes. We understand that. He's going to make his share and with Donovan, Jeff and Koy, we expect very few mistakes at this point."

Chang signed with the Eagles in January and was allocated to Rhein of NFL Europe.

Sitting out of football was as much a heartbreak as it was heart-warming for Chang.

His job paid little, but was more fulfilling than even throwing a football.

"I watched my son," he said, suddenly beaming as sweat rolled down his face following a long, hot practice. "It gave me perspective."

Chang spends most of his time now pouring over the West Coast offense playbooks and thinking about a very important reunion with Dillon he hopes will occur on the East Coast.

"I hope to be with him soon," Chang said.