Monday, August 9, 2010

Matt Summers-Gavin Injury Not Serious

Matt Summers-Gavin only suffered a bone bruise to his knee and will be out a few weeks.

You can check it out here.

Cal Gets Highly Touted Running Back From Texas In Daniel Lasco

Cal has picked up Jahvid Best 2.0. Lasco is fast, very fast and is a threat to take it to the house on any play. He is a little taller than Best at 6'0 tall but is similar to Best in his speed and cutting ability.  This is a huge get for the Bears as they have quiet in recruiting lately. Lasco is a 4 star prospect on rivals.com, ranked #234 overall. On espn.com Lasco is also a 4 star prospect.

Lasco was also being recruited by Miami, Notre Dame and Oregon.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Linebackers

The Cal linebacking crew is led by Mike Mohamed, perhaps one of the top players in the Pac-10 this coming season and almost all Cal fans remember Mohamed's memorable interception of Stanfurd QB Andrew Luck in the Big Game. However, after Mohamed play was spotty last season and will need to improve.

Junior D.J. Holt is likely going to play inside linebacker alongside Mohamed. Holt is a player that has good instincts and raw athleticism. If he improves his reads and pass coverage he could provide another strong inside backer for Cal.   The good part about Holt is that he is willing to take on contact and explode through the ball carrier.

Playing time on the outside will likely be split among many players. Mychal Kendricks is one of the more talented linebackers of the linebacking corps and was expected to do big things last season. However, he had an up and down season and fell out of favor in the middle of the season.  The good part about Kendricks season is that he had a very good bowl game against Utah so he ended on a positive note.  I think Kendricks is ready to fulfill his potential this season and if he does can really provide Mohamed with a lot of help whether he plays inside or outside.


Keith Browner is a tall linebacker and started the final game against Washington. Browner could provide the Bears with an option in order to stay with tight ends in pass coverage as he does not give up size as most linebackers do.

Jarred Price is a strong pass rusher but struggles some against the run.  He likely will get a lot of time at rush linebacker on 2nd and 3rd and long. He had a good spring and will see more time if he improves in run support.

Blueshirt freshman Steven Fanua who was scout team player of the year last season is also expected to contribute. He was a solid 3 star recruit on both rivals and espn.com in 2009.

JP Hurrell and Lucas King will also provide depth both inside and outside.

The loss of Chris Martin to Florida and Cecil Whiteside for academic ineligibility will hurt as both were expected to contribute this season. However, incoming freshman Nick Forbes and David Wilkerson should soften the blow as they will provide depth on the inside and will likely see time at inside linebacker. Both come in as highly touted recruits and are strong tacklers. This could enable Kendricks and even Mohamed to play outside if needed if they are able to contribute quickly.

Kevin Riley Officially Named Starter For 2010 Season

Senior QB Kevin Riley has officially been named the starter for the 2010 season by Cal coach Jeff Tedford.  Hopefully Riley can lead Cal in his senior season much the way past Cal quarterbacks have in the past after somewhat struggling their previous undergraduate years. Pat Barnes and Kyle Boller are a couple quarterbacks in past Cal history that have struggled and then came back with strong senior seasons. The maturation of players in their college years often come in leaps and bounds year to year. Hopefully this can happen for Riley.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Ryan Gorcey's Interview With Coach Tedford

Gorcey Interview Part 1

Gorcey Interview Part 2

Ryan Gorcey of rivals.com interviewed Coach Tedford. He has a lot of good information in his interview.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Espn's Ted Miller Interviews Coach Tedford

Check out Ted Miller's interview with Coach Tedford....

Tedford Interview

Cal Picked to Finish 7th In Media Poll

Cal was picked to finish 7th in the Pac-10 Media Poll. In order the poll had Oregon first, followed by U$C, Oregon St, Furd, Arizona, Washington, Cal, UCLA, Arizona St and Washington St.

These polls and pretty much all preseason previews really do not mean much in terms of where Cal could end up this year. For example UCLA got a first place vote and I really do not think they have any shot of finishing in first place.  Just about any team can win the Pac-10 in the top seven of this poll. What this poll highlights is the depth in the Pac-10 this season.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

2010 Position By Position Breakdown: Safeties

Focusing on the second half of the Cal secondary, we are going to look at the safeties today. The strong safety position will be filled by junior Sean Cattouse. Cattouse is an absolute hitter that loves to finish off receivers coming across the middle. The problem with Cattouse last season is that he did not play enough. He only started the last six games of the year and really could have provided the secondary with more stability had Cal went to him earlier on. He finished the season receiving All Pac-10 honorable mention honors.

At the free safety position, coach Tedford has said that senior Chris Conte will likely start at the position. Conte, a converted corner is another big safety at 6'3, 212 lbs. The good part about Conte is that he can also hit and separate the ball from the receiver. His best season was actually his sophomore season when he was a reserve corner and played primarily nickle back. I think that Conte will thrive at his new position as he is fast enough to cover the slot receiver and big enough to provide support in the run.

Junior DJ Campbell also played in all but one game last season and will provide depth and experience at the position. He had a nose for recovering fumbles last season as he recovered two in limited playing time.  CJ Moncrease is also a strong hitter and played primarily on special teams last season. Incoming freshman Keenan Allen may see some time at safety as he was considered one of top athlete recruits in the country and saw a lot of time at safety during high school.  However, Cal recruited Allen as a wide receiver, so it is likey Allen will mostly see time on the offensive side of the ball.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

2010 Position By Position Breakdown: Cornerbacks

The Cal secondary lost mainstay Sydquan Thompson to the NFL, however with as bad as the cal secondary played last season, it really cannot get any worse.  I am optimistic that the secondary will be better than last year with Darian Hagan returning for his senior year.

Hagen struggled his junior season after being a standout in 08'. Hopefully, Hagen will return to his 08' form and become the consistent cover corner and playmaker that he once was. The real question remains: What was the reason for the dropoff in 09'? How could a player that Cal depended on so much in 08' just fall off the map like he did in 09? My first inclination is that Hagen was likely playing hurt and was playing anyway because of the lack of depth at the position. Gregory's scheme didnt help, Cal did not get enough pressure on the quarterback last season and often put too much pressure on the secondary. Hopefully, this season Pendergast will be able to scheme in order to take some pressure off the secondary and turn them back into the ball hawking secondary they were in 08'.

The other starting cornerback spot is up for grabs. Josh Hill played in 11 games and started 5. His inexperience showed as a true freshman, but he did improve as the season wore on. Bryant Nnabuife also started 4 games last season and is a candidate to start. He provides experience and depth at the position. Marc Anthony is certainly a talent but it remains to be seen whether it will translate to the field. However, I think the likely starter and potential superstar at the position is blueshirt freshman Steve Williams whom Tedford has said that he is the best cover cornerback to ever play for Cal.  Williams came in as the highest rated recruit that Cal got in 09'. The great part about Williams is his speed and instincts at the position and at the very least will provide depth at the position as he continues to learn the position and get stronger.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Bear With Fangs In NYC To Listen To Coach Tedford's Interview

Click the link to get BearWithFangs take on Tedford's Interview in New York as the Pac-10 launches a media promotion to promote the coming Pac-10 season.

Tedford Interview

2010 Position By Position Preview: Defensive Line

The defensive line lost Tyson Alualu to the NFL draft, however there is still more than enough talent on the defensive line for it to be considered a strength on the defense. Cameron Jordan will start on one end. Jordan was listed in Ted Miller's top 25 players in the pac-10 in this coming season.  Jordan is very talented and had a big spring. He is different from Alualu who was more of a run stopping end than a pass rushing end. Jordan is more of a pass rushing end, but has the ability to stop the run. Cal is counting on consistency from Jordan this year, not only to replace Alualu but to also give Cal a consistent pass rush from the end position.

At the other end position the Bears are hoping that Ernest Owusu will step up this season after showing promise early in the season in 2009. Owusu has shown flashes of brilliance with 2 sacks in the opener against Maryland, but disappeared at times last year and failed to make the impact that many hoped he would. Signs from spring are promising as Owusu had a very good spring and looks ready to become a consistent contributor.

At nose tackle, Cal has senior Derrick Hill returning. Hill had a pretty good year last year and provides experience at the position. Hill also had a good spring. Kendrick Payne will push Hill for the starting position and at the very least will share playing time with Hill. Payne had a huge spring, perhaps the biggest spring of all the Cal players and will be in the mix this season.

Providing depth at the end positions will be sophomore Aaron Tipoti who started 4 games last season and played in all 12 games. DeAndre Coleman who came in as a 4 star recruit redshirted last season can play nose tackle and end.  Keni Kaufisi will also provide depth at both positions.

The wild card in all of this will be incoming freshman Gabe King. King is a very athletic end and has drawn comparisons to a young Reggie White. He was injured all of last season in high school and likely would have been rated even higher than his 4 star status had it not been for that injury.  He seems ready to go now and has looked very good in various high school camps and all-star games. I have watched film on King, he has very good speed for someone his size 6'5, 240 lbs. He was actually able to cover some wide receivers in a coverage drill at one of the camps. King will have to learn the nuances of the position but certainly has the physical ability to contribute right away.

Titans Sue U$C and Lane Kiffin

The Tennessee Titans have sued U$C and coach Lane Kiffin for hiring running backs coach Kennedy Pola away from Tennessee Titans. Unless you have been living under a shell the last couple days, Titans coach and U$C alum Jeff Fisher were very upset about the manner in which Kiffin went about hiring Pola away from the Titans and did it without the customary phone call to Fisher to ask permission.  I don't think that this is going to hold up in court, but what Kiffin did does violate an unwritten rule in coaching etiquette. 

All I can say as a Cal fan is that this is hilarious to watch all the turmoil surrounding the U$C program and I honestly think that the implosion by U$C is going to get worse as Kiffin's true colors show and frustration grows from NCAA sanctions.  It makes me appreciate having Coach Tedford and the class act that Tedford is.

Espn's Ted Miller's Take On Offensive Lines in the Pac-10

See Ted Miller's take on the offensive lines in the Pac-10. He lists Cal as being in great shape.

Miller Blog

Cal Wide Receivers Also Have Musical Talent

Cal often has football players that are multi talented. When WR Alex Lagemann isn't catching passes he also busy working on producing rap songs. You can check them out here.

Also, senior receiver Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen have teamed up on vocals and you can check that out here.

Friday, July 23, 2010

What does Tiger Woods Have In Common With U$C?


U$C??? But I went to Stanfurd.....


They were both great til they cheated.




"Then every son of Troy will die!"


"But its not our fault!"



You are witnessing the fall of the Trojan Empire...

The Greeks have taken over....


Order is restored in the universe...Go Bears!!!

An Early Look at 2011 Commitments: DT Mustfa Jalil

Mustfa Jalil is one of the highly touted prospects that Cal has received a verbal commitment for in the 2011 class. The 4 star prospect is rated as the #18 defensive tackle in his class and #192 overall on rivals.com.

When I watched Jalil on film, one thing became blatantly obvious, he dominates high school football with little ease. He often bull rushes the guard or center and pushes them straight into the backfield allowing himself or others to make the play. He will sometimes use a swim move to get by his man, but it is obvious that he is vastly physically superior to his competition and has little trouble pushing the offensive lineman 4 to 5 yards into the backfield right on the snap. Jalil in high school looks like a man among boys.

It will be interesting to see how Jalil responds when he has to face much stronger competition when he comes to Cal. He will still be able to use his raw strength but he will likely have to learn more moves and becomes much more polished in order to be successful. Players like Jalil usually need some time to develop because they can't just physically dominate their opponents like in high school. Jalil certainly has the physical tools to be successful, but once he gets to Berkeley, he will have to work hard with coaches in order to adjust to level of competition.

An Early Look At Cal's 2011 Prospects: RB Darren Ervin

Darren Ervin is actually the lowest rated prospect that has committed to the Bears thus far for 2011.  However, he seems to be one of those fly under the radar type of prospects. He may not be highly regarded by espn.com as his rating is a 3 star and 75 our of 100 and has not even been rated on rivals.com yet, but he is pretty good player and I see him contributing to the Bears in the future.

When I looked at film of Ervin, he reminded me a lot of Justin Forsett, another back from Texas that was not highly regarded out of high school. Like Forsett, Ervin is smaller at 5'9, 200lbs. However, Ervin is quick and sees the holes very well. He always seems to be in the right spot when the holes open up.

He also has enough quickness to make the first defender miss and enough speed to get into the second level of the defense. He may not be your classic homerun threat type of back, but he will get you solid yards and get them consistently. Despite his smaller size, he can run over linebackers and also run around them as well.

I see his contribution to Cal much like someone like Justin Forsett. He doesn't necesarily wow you with anything, but then at the end of the year he has 1500+ yards and provides a consistent running attack that demoralizes defenses. I see him being much more than what espn.com and rivals.com are predicting.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Backup Quarterbacks

The quarterbacks that will primarily backup Riley this season will be sophomore Beau Sweeney and junior Brock Mansion. Mansion did not play in the spring game, but Sweeney did.  Tedford seems to optimistic about Sweeney and Mansion saying that they can both win games, but for Sweeney theres still room to get better.

I think this may be an understatement on Tedford's part. Other than the one long pass to Marvin Jones, Sweeney looked brutal.  He reminded me of a lot of Longshore post-ankle injury.  Sweeney has to get a lot better.  Although, Tedford said that the quarterback competition is open, Sweeney really has no chance to overtake Riley unless he makes significant strides during fall camp.

Allan Bridgeford who blueshirted last season came in as highly touted 4 star prospect on rivals.com and espn.com but had shoulder surgery during the offseason and missed spring. If he is healthy he has the talent to push Sweeney and Mansion for the backup position.

Ryan Wertenberger did not look bad in spring but will likely be buried on the depth depth chart.

Incoming freshman, Austin Hinder may be the quarterback of the future for Cal.  He is very good throwing on the run and has a lot of raw talent. However, he needs to work on his mechanics and footwork and is almost assuredly going to blueshirt this year.

Riley On The Watch List For The Manning Award

Cal quarterback Kevin Riley has made the watch list for the Manning Award which is given to the best quarterback in the country annually at the end of the year according to Jonathan Okanes

Hopefully, this gives Riley the motivation to become the best quarterback in the country this season and win the Manning Award. Now can any Cal fan imagine Riley holding this trophy at the end of the year? It will only happen if Riley has a huge season and leads the Bears to Rose Bowl or National Championship.  It is a longshot but realisticly Riley can have a good season and I believe can have become a consistent quarterback which in Tedford's system will make Riley's numbers look pretty good. Let's all hope that if Riley doesn't win the Manning Award, he at least comes close and leads Cal to that mythical Rose Bowl  appearance and unlike the ducks last year, a Rose Bowl win.   

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

2010 Position by Positon Breakdown: Offensive Line

The offensive line is perhaps the most critical area on the team where they have to get production.  The offense really lives and dies with whether the offensive line can do a good, consistent job.  If Cal fans remember back to 04', yes, we had rodgers, we had jj, we had marshawn, but the biggest reason for the success of that offense was the line. Rodgers got all day to throw and they opened up huge holes for jj and marshawn.  That line was stacked, it was so good that future first round pick Alex Mack was a backup.

This year's offensive line must improve upon last year's performance but the positive thing is that our line was young and inexperienced last year. Hopefully with experience the line will improve as Cal brings back 4 out 5 starters, only losing Mike Tepper to the NFL. The line looks like this:

Matt Summers-Gavin should start at left tackle. Summers-Gavin is moving from guard to tackle and is a very solid, very talented offensive lineman. Cal went 7-1 when Summers-Gavin played. Hopefully, this season he can stay healthy as he may be the most important piece on the O-line.

Brian Schenke should start at left guard who is very talented and played in all 12 games as a freshman last season and should benefit from the year of experience he has under his belt.

Chris Guarnero was an All Pac-10 honorable mention last year and did a above average job replacing Alex Mack last season. Guarnero who is a senior will be called on to anchor the middle of the offensive line and Cal with their tradition of having good centers in the Tedford era has another good one in Guarnero.

Justin Cheadle will start at right guard after starting all 12 games at right guard last season.  Cheadle is a junior and was voted the most improved lineman on the team last year by the team. Cheadle is a solid right guard and will hopefully improve again this season.

Mitchell Schwartz is also a returning starter at right tackle that started all 12 games last season.  Schwartz was also recognized as an All Pac-10 honorable mention last season. If improvements are made in his pass blocking it will make life much easier on Riley this season.

This Cal line does have decent depth but possibly lost Charles Ragland for the season due to academic issues but may possibly transfer back from San Mateo community college before the season starts if he can get his grades up to par.  Redshirt freshman Charles Siddoway should compete for the backup job and Coach Tedford was quoted as saying that Siddoway was actually further along than Ragland in competing for playing time after spring.  Donovan Edwards has been used as a spot starter and will backup all 5 of the offensive line positions. Dominic Galas and Mark Brazinski were both getting looks during the spring at center and should provide depth at center and guard. Galas also played in all 13 games last season as well so he experience. Brazinksi redshirted as a freshman last season and came in as a 4 star center by rivals.com and certainly has the talent to provide depth. Sam Demartinis and Richard Fisher round out the rest of the returning backups that will provide depth on the line.

Cal also had a pretty good year in recruiting on the offensive line as well. Alex Crosthwaite and Chris Adcock are both 4 star offensive linemen on espn.com and Geoffrey Gibson is a big offensive lineman from Nevada.  It is likely that all of the O-line recruits will blueshirt, however, if called upon they certainly have the talent to fill in.

The Chris Martin Story Unfolds

According Martin in a story done by Mark Wheeler on rivals.com Martin had always wanted to be a gator.

some quotes from the interview

""When I made my choice, I don't think it was anything that put Cal over the top," said Martin. "Cal is a wonderful institution and coach [Jeff] Tedford runs a great program, but it was more that I got scared when that little episode happened with coach [Urban] Meyer and then coach [Charlie] Strong left for another program. I was really scared of what was going on at Florida."

"It was a situation where I didn't want to sit there and keep lying to myself," explained Martin. "I didn't want to be where my heart wasn't into it. It wouldn't have been fair to the coaches or the other players. If my heart isn't in it, I'm not going to work hard, I'm not going to have the drive I need. It wouldn't be the right thing to do.

My take on this is that Martin should not have signed until he was sure of where he wanted to go. This move was selfish and ended up putting Cal in a hole and prevented us from getting other recruits that may have otherwise been interested that played the same position as Martin. Martin may not have had the intention of hurting the Cal program in any way, but he did and his actions were damaging. Another reason why Cal fans have reason to be irritated is that Martin lied in his original press release citing outside influences to be the reason why he was transferring, inferring that he was scared of his Oakland roots and people still connected to him, good and bad, when the real reason Martin wanted to leave was his own personal desire to put on a gator uniform. Please dont blame the area or your roots when it is actually because of your personal desire to play elsewhere. It shows little class by Martin and honestly probably angered a lot of people in the Oakland area by saying that he is leaving because of them and then turn around and say that he has always had the desire to put on a gator uniform. As i said yesterday in my post i deleted, this is classless, selfish behavior and honestly for Cal this is a good riddance.

Former Cal Commit Chris Martin To Florida

Former Cal commit Chris Martin who recently  indicated his desire to transfer has found a new home,  the Florida Gators where he will redshirt and sit out a season before being eligible to play in 2011.   For Cal fans, the only sense of relief is that he did not decide to transfer to another Pac-10 school.  This was a major blow to the recruiting class and future prospects for the Bears.  Martin was already being groomed and looked at as a leader and had the charisma to do so. All I can say is that Cal fans will miss Martin even though he never played a down for the Bears.

Contrary to what some other bloggers and columnists are saying, Cal fans have the right to be somewhat irritated with Martin. Surely most Cal fans reacted with class and wished Martin the best on various message boards and they should not detract from those statements as Cal fans, coaches and media should wish Martin the best and  show that Cal is a classy University with a classy fan base. However, the timing and indecision on Martin's part has surely hurt Cal no matter how anyone wants to look at it.  The loss of Martin hurts Cal's depth at outside linebacker for the coming season.  Martin's commitment also meant that other highly touted defensive end/outside linebackers went elsewhere during recruiting.  A name that seems to be most frequent on message boards is  Owamagbe Odighizuwa who played the exact same position as Martin and chose UCLA after Martin committed to the Bears.  Now we will never know fully why Odighizuwa committed to UCLA and hopefully it had more to do with than just the fact that the Bears had already had a commitment from another highly touted player that plays the same position, but surely Martin's commitment to the Bears did not help in recruiting Odighizuwa and other defensive end/outside linebacker prospects.

Surely, most Cal fans, coaches and players wish Martin the best and realize that 18 year old kids make mistakes and indecision is just part of life at that age. However, I hope that Martin and Cal can learn from these mistakes and avoid these rather precarious situations in the future.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

What To Do Now For Cal

This means that the rest of the Cal linebackers are going to have to pick up the slack. Price had a good spring and Cal still has 4 highly touted linebackers coming in, in Cecil Whiteside, although academic issues may force a blueshirt, Nick Forbes, David Wilkerson and Chris McCain who will likely greyshirt.  Also Jarred Price had a good spring and hopefully Mychal Kendricks can step up this year and be the player former Cal players Zach Follett and Eddie Young thought he would be. Obviously Mike Mohammed will still be the anchor but other guys will have to step up. The loss of Martin will likely only hurt depth this year for the Bears.

This will free up a scholarship and spot on the linebacking crew next year.  Cal is currently a favorite for highly touted linebackers Jason Gibson and Todd Barr.

For this season, Cal will need to pull even more close together and show that they can overcome the loss of a very talented player. I would like to mention a quote from Major League, "Theres only one thing left to do then....Whats that?,,,,Win the whole fucking thing"

That is what Cal needs to do.

Chris Martin is Transferring From Cal

Espn's Ted Miller is reporting that 5 star defensive end Chris Martin is transferring from Cal. This is terrible news for the Golden Bears as Martin was expected to contribute right away and perhaps start in his freshman season.  As a Cal fan, this is absolutely painful to write.

Martin released at statement courtesy of scouts.inc saying,

“My decision to transfer definitely does not reflect on the football program or the academics at Cal. Rather, I feel like for me to focus and truly reach my potential I need to leave many of the distractions I have here at home in the Bay Area. I need to venture away from home and start my college career somewhere else where I don’t have those distractions.”

Tedford reacted with class and also released a statement saying

“This is a decision that Chris and his family have made to do what they feel is in the best interest of Chris,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said in a statement. “We wish Chris the best as he pursues his college football career. It is always important for young men to make the correct decisions to be able to reach their full potential. I understand his concern with the continued outside distractions he’s facing, and I support Chris and his decision to transfer. I wish him and his family all the best.”

I think as Cal fans we need to follow Tedford's lead and react with as much class as possible and wish Chris Martin the best. This is about as painful as it gets for a Cal fan. I know this will ruin any Cal fan's day when they read this.  I hope that if Tedford did release Martin from his letter of intent, it stipulates that Martin cannot transfer to another Pac-10 school.

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver

Marvin Jones will be leading a corp of wide receivers that must improve upon their production from last season.  Last season, Jones who had 43 catches for 651 yards with 6 touchdowns was spectacular at times, but at other times would disappear.  Jones must become more consistent and emerge as a force at the wide receiver position. Cal has not had a 1000 yards receiver since the Dasean Jackson in 06' and desperately needs a breakout season from Jones.

Jeremy Ross also must emerge and improve from last season.who had 22 catches for 344 yards last season.  Ross is the only true vertical threat of the returning receivers and is a physical specimen. If he can improve his route running and hands, then Ross could emerge as a very viable number two option for the Bears. 

If Ross is unable to improve, then Alex Lagemann may be the player that steps up in his place. Lagemann had a very good spring and showed good hands and route running in the spring scrimmage.  I think Lagemann may be one the more underrated players on the team as his physical ability doesn't stand out but seems to have very reliable hands and ability to get open. 

Michael Calvin is also a talent and came in as a highly touted recruit but injuries and confidence issues have slowed him down. 

The Bears also have a group of recruits coming that may also make an impact.  Keenan Allen is the highest rated recruit to ever come to Cal and I would expect Allen to make an immediate impact.  Allen is a big receiver at 6'3, 195 lbs and is athletic enough that he may play safety as well.  The scouting report on espn.com for Allen reads as follows,

This guy is a really good football player. Allen is built like a wide receiver and this is what his college position will likely be, but he plays everywhere -- running back, corner, safety and he is a gifted return specialist. For a player with his height and build, he is very fluid and flexible in the hips. He possesses unique open-field run skills and is asked to carry the football every bit as much as he's asked to catch it. Is a lean player with a lanky frame and very good change-of-direction skills. Has wiggle and very good stop-and-start ability for a taller prospect. Shows great vision as a runner and return man. He can make defenders miss and runs well too. Allen probably isn't a true burner, but he has very competitive open-field speed, despite lacking explosive acceleration. He builds speed, but possesses exceptional ball skills. Is very comfortable with the ball in his hands and always wants it. Snags quickly with his soft hands and has the ability to extend above his head and use his frame and long arms to win in a crowd. Is a very tough and feisty player with a salty demeanor as evidenced by his production at corner in run support. He would be a definite candidate to find a home at safety with his nose for the ball and willingness to fill the lane coming forward, but would likely struggle at corner turning and running with smaller, quicker wide receivers in coverage. Allen is a versatile player who does not seem out of place at any position he lines up at. He gives coaches a lot of options at the next level and his return ability is outstanding."

I expect Allen to compete for the number two receiver position as soon as he enrolls and it wouldn't surprise me if he starts right away.  I would look for Allen to start midway through the season, but it almost guarenteed that he will get playing time right away.

Tevin Carter is also another very talented recruit who may contribute right away as well. Carter is another big receiver that stands at 6'3, 185 lbs.  Carter possesses all of the physical tools to succeed but will need to improve upon his route running in order to make an early impact at Cal. His scouting report on espn.com reads as follows,

Carter is a big, physically-imposing prospect with terrific measurables and a competitive demeanor. He has the frame to fill out and become a physical, strong prospect versus press coverage and in the red zone. Has a nice combination of speed and quickness given his long frame and shows some fluidity and acceleration both off the line and after the catch. He explodes off the line and builds speed quickly. He shows good quickness and acceleration after the catch and is elusive enough to make the first defender miss and then strong enough to ward off tacklers, break tackles and extend the play. He shows very good straight-line speed for his size, but his height makes him as much of a vertical threat as anything else. He does an excellent job of reaching to pluck the ball at its highest point, shows good leaping ability and flashes some acrobatic playmaking ability in traffic. He also shows a nice feel for the sideline and has good awareness outside the numbers on out cuts and comeback routes. He is a red-zone threat and a go-to guy inside the 20-yard line. Hands are soft and he tucks the ball quickly. Very natural pass-catcher with good focus. Carter can accelerate well, once he gets going and also tracks the ball well for his size when working against smaller, quicker defensive backs. Uses his size to position himself, push off and separate. However, Carter has some work to do as a route runner. Gears down too much at the top of the stem, telegraphs intentions and rounds off cuts. He possesses the tools to succeed in this area; he just needs experience and development. Overall, Carter has the physical tools and measurables to become a playmaker at the next level. He is also a tenacious blocker that takes pride in this role."

Kaelin Clay and Terrence Montgomery are likely blue shirt candidates and both fall into the mold of smaller, quicker receiver, similar to former Cal receivers Robert Jordan and Lavelle Hawkins.  They are both electric once they get the ball in their hands and if they do contribute early on, it will likely be on special teams.

Coleman Edmond is another interesting prospect. He is a physical specimen and dominated JUCO ball in California this past season. Cal beat out UCLA for Edmond's services and will likely contribute right away as he is an electric special teams player and is an extremely fast receiver.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Cal in Devon Blackmon's Top 6

Devon Blackman the #5 rated athlete on rivals.com and #41 overall has listed Cal as one of his top 6.  He sites his relationship with Cal assistant coach Kevin Daft as the main reason Cal has made it to his top 6, along with U$C, Oregon, Alabama, Florida and UCLA. He is also ranked as the #3 athlete overall on espn.com and #37 overall. His scouting report reads,

"Blackmon is a special athlete that is reminiscent of an east coast version in Quan Bray. Blackmon is a dual-threat quarterback at this level because you want the ball in his hands on every snap, but he has cover corner or slot receiver written all over him for the next level. He could also develop into a terrific return specialist. He is remarkably smooth and fluid-- ease of movement and change-of-direction skills are excellent. Gets into his top gear in a hurry and can cut on a dime. He has feet like a sewing machine needle. All of his steps are calculated and effortless at the same time. He's a glider with elusive moves and a serious second gear in space. He actually runs with running back type vision and lateral agility. Fits through tiny creases, explodes into the open field and has the speed and burst to get to the edge, turn the corner and take it the distance. He's a very shifty, decisive open-field runner who creates separation with his burst, low center of gravity and sharp breaks. Hips and ability to stop and start with no wasted motion are amongst the best in this entire class. Obviously Blackmon will need to learn the nuances and techniques of his eventual position, but with his instinctive athleticism and speed cannot be coached and we would not anticipate the learning curve being overly steep. He needs time in the weightroom and bulk for durability which will come at the next level. Overall, Blackmon is clearly one of this classes best athletes and skill players and one we think will have an opportunity to play early on in his career."

I would anticipate that Blackmon is going to switch to either running back or wide receiver in college to take advantage of his speed and quickness. You can view Blackmon highlights here.

Cal's Dominance at Memorial Stadium

Cal fans certainly have reason to be optimistic this season considering that Cal plays seven home games this season.  In the last four seasons, Cal is a combined 22-4 at Memorial Stadium and during the last two cycles of this portion of the home schedule (Cal alternates home games in the Pac-10 every year, for example this year Cal is USC away and UCLA home), Cal is 14-0. If Cal manages to run the table at home again this season like in the past two cycles as in 06'and 08', then it only leaves road games at USC, Oregon St, Nevada, Washington St, and Arizona left.  If Cal can manage to win 4 out of 5 on the road, then it puts them in a likely Rose Bowl berth. I would say that Washington st is likely going to be a win and although Nevada seems like a stingy team, it would still be an upset if Cal lost that game.  Especially considering the fact that the Nevada game is likely going to have a pretty big Cal turnout in Reno. So although it is a road game I would expect the Nevada road game to be as close to a home game as it gets.  This leaves the USC game, Arizona game and Oregon St game where Cal is going to either be underdogs or toss ups.  I would say the Arizona game is a tossup, but if we play well then Cal should win.  The game against Oregon st is going to be tough, as Mike Riley seems to always has his players ready to play Cal.  USC, as always will be a tough game for Cal to win.

Kyle Boehm wins MVP at Passing Down Camp

Cal commit QB Kyle Boehm and Cal target RB Brenden Bigelow who is a soft Washington commit were at the passing down camp together where Kyle Boehm took home mvp honors beating out rival U$C commit Cody Kessler.  You can read about it here.

Also you can watch highlights of Brenden Bigelow who is absolutely electric and reminds me of a smoother, more powerful Jahvid Best here.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

An Early Look at Cal's 2011 commitments:WR Maurice Harris

Maurice Harris is another recruit from Cal's North Carolina pipeline which in the past year has included Keenan Allen, Gabe King, Zach Maynard and Chris McCain.  Harris is also the cousin of Keenan Allen and Zach Maynard.  Harris has good size, 6'2, 195 lbs and scouts rave about his hands, whom they say is better than Allen's hands whom was one of the top recruits in the nation last year.  Harris also possesses  good speed and quickness off of the line and is one of the top playmakers of the 2011 class.  He is sure to give a future Cal QB a big target to throw to and is a threat to break away from defenders after the catch. Harris is ranked as the #14 wide receiver and  #79 prospect overall by espn.com.    To watch highlights of Harris click on the link.

Maurice Harris Highlights

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Videos from Spring scrimmage

Click the links to see video from  the spring scrimmage

spring scrimmage 1

spring scrimmage 2

spring scrimmage 3

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Tight End

Last season's starter Anthony Miller returns for his junior season. Miller, originally recruited as a defensive end showed some real potential last season and put up decent numbers. Miller had 26 catches for 357 yrds and did a nice job running the seam routes down the middle of the field.  However, Miller is going to have to do a better job becoming a threat in the red zone (0 touchdowns). Tedford's offense has always relied on the tight end in the red zone and it is critical the Cal get production out of the tight end.  Miller showed a lot of promise last season, so look for him to improve upon the numbers he had. Spencer Ladner should provide depth at the position as he is a former 4 star prospect on rivals.com. Ladner is big 6'7,  252 lbs and is a decent pass catcher and decent blocker.  Ladner could really provide Riley with a big target in double tight end formations. Jarrett Sparks could also provide spot duty catching the ball as he was orginally a 4 star recruit by rivals.com at wide receiver.
Savai'i Eselu will likely only see time on special teams but provides depth should Miller and Ladner get hurt.  Incoming freshman Jacob Wark will likely blueshirt but has been compared to former Cal tight end Craig Stevens by Coach Tedford with Coach Ted ford saying at a new conference after national signing day saying,


"He does remind us of Craig Stevens. He's a big, physical guy who plays with great pad level. Sometimes it's hard to find those tight ends in high school these days that have the combination of being able to play at the line of scrimmage and come off a low pad level ,and still be able to get down the field and hone their receiver skills. He's the guy that can do that ...Natural hands, and after he catches it, he's very violent when he runs with it. We feel like he's a guy that we were very, very happy to find and he does remind us of Craig."

Friday, July 16, 2010

Ted Miller picks Cal to finish 7th in the Pac-10 in his preseason poll

Espn.com's Ted Miller has picked Cal to finish 7th in his preseason Pac-10 poll. This is a surprising move by Ted, considering that Ted had Cal to finish 4th in his spring rankings. Im optimistic for a much higher finish by Cal this season. What this does illustrate is the overall depth in the Pac-10 this season in which there are 7 teams that can contend for the Pac-10 title.

2011 S/OLB James Sample Lists Cal as One of His Top 2

James Sample out of Grant High School in Sacramento has listed Cal as one of his top two schools by duckterritory.com along with Washington. Sample is ranked is the #55 OLB by espn.com and is a high 3 star recruit. Sample is ranked as the #7 safety of his class and #122 overall by rivals.com Sample is one of the more athletic safety/outsidelinebackers of his class.  At 6'2, 195lbs he can either be a strong hardhitting safety or as espn.com projects a quick, fast outside linebacker if he puts on 15-20 lbs through weight lifting.

Cal Band Schedule for 2010 football season

The Cal band will be playing at all home games this season.  The straw hat band will travel to Nevada and Oregon St and the entire band will travel to USC. The annual alumni band day will be the September 11th home game against Colorado. The annual high school band day will be October 23rd against Arizona St. 

How well do you know Oski?

The college of engineering has a quiz on oski up on their website.Click here to take it.... oski quiz


Cal in 2011 TE prospect Austin Seferian-Jenkins final 6

Cal is in the final 6 for TE prospect Austin Seferian-Jenkins out of Gig Harbor High School in Washington.  Seferian-Jenkins is another highly touted prospect that Cal is after. He is ranked th 5th best tight end and 87th overall by espn.com and is ranked as the number 1 tight end and 29th overall prospect by rivals.com. Seferian-Jenkins is a monster, he is listed at 6'7, 250lbs and plays just as big as he sounds.  He is a solid pass catcher with soft hands and is an absolute mauler as a blocker. Rivals.com is projecting Seferian-Jenkins as a likely NFL prospect and will make an immediate impact because of his size. Last season, Seferian-Jenkins caught 63 passes for 1,076 yrds and 11tds as a junior.  The other schools that are in the mix are UCLA, Alabama, USC, Washington and Florida.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Fullback

Will Kapp, John Tyndall, and Eric Stevens will all look to fill the fullback position vacated by Brian Holley. Reports from spring say that all three will likely fill the position by committee. None of the three saw significant playing time at the position last season and were mostly special teams contributors. Kapp is the smallest, but it seems that he is the best blocker of the bunch and that may be all Cal needs at the position.  Tyndall seems to have a mean streak and looks to knock the opposition on their backside, however at this point in time, Kapp is better at blocking fundamentals than Tyndall. Stevens seems to be the best receiver of the bunch and also the fastest. If Stevens is able to become an adequate blocker, then he may be the one to get the most playing time. Stevens may give Cal the extra dimension it needs out of the backfield. When Cal was successful with Boller and Rodgers, Tedford would often call rollouts with the short option gong to the fullback. If Tedford plans to use Riley in the same way, one of the fullbacks are going to need to prove that they can catch the ball out of the backfield and get positive yards.  Hopefully one of these guys will step up and become an adequate blocker in leading the way for Vereen, protecting Riley and providing an option out of the backfield in the passing game. My bet says it is Stevens because he had the best spring.

Cal Is The Leader for 2011 DT/DE Prospect Todd Barr

According to espn.com highly touted 2011 defensive tackle/end prospect Todd Barr has named Cal as his leader.  On duckterritory.com Barr said,

"I would have to say Cal for sure, they are my top school right now. I don't want to put out a full list or anything right now. I need to talk to my coach first before I put anything out."

Barr continued, "I'm going to Florida and Miami for visits. I don't have any other visits set up after that right now. Cal, Miami, and UCLA are recruiting me pretty hard right now... I (also) like Oregon a lot."

The ESPNU 150 prospect concluded, "Cal, I like the defense a lot. I talk to coach Pendergast a lot. He tells me they are going to let me loose, let me go in their defense. He said I can run wild and get after the quarterback, I like that. Overall I'm looking for relationship with my position coach, and academics. I can honestly say that's about it for what I'm looking for in a school."

Rivals.com has Barr rated as the #8 defensive end and 98th overall. Espn has Barr rated as the 27th best prospect overall. Barr is another target of Cal super recruiter Tosh Lupoi who was named recruiter of the year by rivals.com last year.

The scouting report on Barr by Barry Every on rivals.com says

On the Hoof: Barr is a bit light in the lower body and may be close to maxed out in muscle mass. His build is similar to 2010 Texas signee Ashton Dorsey.
Needs Improvement: Barr does not have the ideal height to play defensive end, and he may not have the frame to add enough weight in the power base to switch to defensive tackle. Barr definitely needs to be more consistent with his pad level at the point of attack.
Most Impressive: He really fires off the ball hard and has an arsenal of pass-rushing moves. His lateral quickness allows him to slide down the line and make plays. He may be undersized, but he's an athletic defensive tackle.
Conclusion: Look for him to make the switch to defensive tackle at the next level. He will need some time to add on that extra 15 to 20 pounds of muscle mass in order to hold up against the huge interior linemen he will face. Barr is an overachiever and his height will most likely not be an issue.

Having a player like Barr is definitely going to help Cal if they get him. With last year's strong linebacking class, it is obvious that Cal is going to need to focus on getting prospects that can free up those linebackers up to make plays. I would expect Cal to be able to close the deal on Barr with Lupoi handling the recruiting.  

An Interview with Riley from the Beaverton Valley Times

Miles Vance of the Beaverton Valley Times conducted an interview with Kevin Riley. Click the link to see: Kevin Riley Interview

2010 Position by Position Breakdown: Tailbacks

The starting tailback for the California Golden Bears this year will be Shane Vereen. This is perhaps the most stable position on the team. Vereen is just the latest of talented backs under Coach Tedford's watch that have included Joe Igber, J.J. Arrington, Marshawn Lynch, Justin Forsett, and Jahvid Best. Much like Jahvid Best, Vereen has a homerun feel to his game and is a threat to score on any play. In fact, Vereen was second to only Jahvid Best in the California state high school track championships in the 100 meter dash as a senior at Valencia High School. Last season, as backup to Jahvid Best, Vereen ran for 952 yrds om just 183 carries, averaging 5.2 yrds per carry with 12 touchdowns. However, Vereen only started the final four games of the season counting the bowl game against Utah in which during that time Vereen ran for 566 yrds on only 108 carries while again averaging 5.2 yrds per carry.  As i mentioned before, Ted Miller failed to mention Vereen in his Top 25 Pac-10 players countdown but if you were to project out Vereen's stats if he started the whole year in 2009 instead of only the last 4 games Vereen's stats would have looked like this: 1839 yrds rushing with 19 touchdowns. I would also have to guess that his receiving numbers would improve too where last season he caught 25 passes for 244 yrds for 2 tds while averaging 9.8 yrds a reception. If we were to project that Vereen averages 4 receptions per game if he starts full time, he would have 510 receiving yrds on 52 catches.  In otherwords, based on the projections on his 2009 numbers, Vereen should have a monster season in 2010 as a full time starter. The good part about Vereen's game is that he runs with a much lower center of gravity than Jahvid Best did, so when Vereen runs between the tackles he falls forward instead of backwards when he gets hit. Like Best, Vereen can also run on the outside. Maybe the difference between Vereen and Best is that Vereen will break one for 50 yrds and get tackled at the 2 yrd line and Best would score. That is really the difference between Best and Vereen in terms of home run ability.  The running back corps as a whole will suffer with Jahvid leaving to the NFL, but I believe Cal may have a more consistent back in Vereen. The backup to Vereen is where things get a little bit tricky. Tedford likes to spell his starting running back in order to keep his starter fresher, which means that the backup running is extremely important to the offense.  There is a whole stable of candidates that are going to be able to contribute. I actutally think that Tedford may elect to go with backup by commitee to Vereen because I dont think any of the backups necessarily stand out.  Theres last year's 3rd string running back in Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson who last season ran for 211 yrds on 31 attempts averaging 6.8 yrds per carry. Deboskie-Johnson is more of a one cut and go type of back. He is good between the tackles and has decent speed to break one, if the defense breaks down.  However, he is not the homerun threat of Vereen. I would say that Deboskie-Johnson is similar to former Cal running back Joe Echema.  The next back that will compete for the backup running back position is Isi Sofele.  Sofele is electric and can break one at any time. He most definitely has a home run feel to his game. However, this issue with Sofele is that he is more of a scatback because of size (5'7, 170 lbs) and hasn't shown that he is much of a threat between the tackles.  However, Sofele had a really good spring and will get more carries in 2010.  The wildcard of the group of backs competing for the backup role is redshirt freshman Dasarte Yarnway. Yarnway was highly touted out of high school and could give Cal a real bruiser at running back.  He is big 6'1, 222 lbs and could possibly be the yin, to Vereen's yang.  I would like to see Yarnway used to punish the defense in short yardage situations and give Cal the ability to go over the top on 2nd and short and 3rd and short with the play action because the defense will have to stack the box in order to bring Yarnway down. Also, incoming  freshman Trajuan Briggs looked good but it unlikely that he will get any playing time. Look for Briggs to redshirt but look for Briggs in the future as he is already being compared to former Cal running back Marshawn Lynch.  From the video that I have watched of Briggs he actually reminds me more of Jaquizz Rodgers instead of Lynch.  I dont think he quite has the power of Lynch, but Briggs is a little quicker and is a more fluid runner. 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Cal ranked 38th in rivals.com Top 120 Preseason Countdown

Cal has been ranked 38th in the rivals.com Top 120 preseason countdown. There is definitely not as much hype surrounding the Bears this season as there was last season. However, I actually think this team has a good chance to be better than last season. Look for Cal to improve on this ranking especially early in the season where Cal has one of the softer schedules to start the year in the pac-10.

2010 position by position preview: Starting Quarterback

Kevin Riley is returning for his senior season. It has certainly been a tulmultuous ride with Riley at the helm. While his numbers don't look bad, he completed 209 out of 382 attempts for 2850 yrds 18 tds and 8 interceptions, they don't tell the entire story of Riley. The problem that Riley had last year was his consistency. When Riley was good, he was really good, as evidenced by his game against Maryland where he went 17 of 26 for 298 yrds and 4 touchdowns. When he was bad, he was terrible, such as his Oregon game when he went 12 of 31 for 123 yrds. Riley has got to find a way to become a more consistent quarterback this year and become a leader on the team. He is a senior and the team will be looking to Riley for leadership and guidance as he plays the most important position on the field. Reports from spring ball are promising, where it was reported that Riley was often staying late after practice to work on his mechanics and timing with fellow wide receivers. This is important because it shows that Riley is working hard to try to prevent the failures of last season from happening again this season. It also shows his teammates that hard work is the only way that he and the Bears are going to be successful this season. Riley will also have to show that he can bounce back after a bad play, such as a fumble or an interception. Too many times last year, Riley would make a mistake and let it rattle him and come out on the next play or next drive and compound the mistake with more unforced errors. He will have to learn how to shake off mistakes, no matter how costly and embarrassing the mistake may have been. Riley has always shown that he has the physical skills to succeed in Coach Tedford's pro style offense, however it has always been the mental aspect of the game where Riley has faltered. Hopefully, this is the year where Riley's game matures and he becomes the leader that that cal fans always hoped he would develop into. Ever since Riley decided to scramble and cost Cal the Oregon st. game, the #2 ranking and the possible #1 ranking the next week back in 07', he has become one of the most scrutinized quarterbacks to ever put on a Cal uniform. Since that time, it seems Riley has had a hard time moving on and putting that dreadful memory behind him. Hopefully, this is the year that Kevin Riley grows up. He will need help, his offensive line must play much better than in 09' and the Bears must get much more production out of receivers, Marvin Jones, Jeremy Ross, Alex Lagemann and any of the newcomers in highly touted 5 star recruit Keenan Allen, Tevin Carter, Terrence Montgomery, Kaelin Clay and Coleman Edmond for Riley to be successful. However, in the end it will have to be Riley that shows the poise to be able to lead Cal through a very deep and tough pac-10 this year. Will this be the year of redemption for Riley and make Cal fans forget his mistake in the Oregon st game in 07' or will he forever be remembered as the talented quarterback that let one mistake his freshman season ruin his whole Cal career?

An early look at Cal's 2011 commitments: Kyle Boehm

Kyle Boehm- Kyle Boehm looks like an extremely impressive prospect and is different than the typical quarterback prospect that Coach Tedford recruits which lately seem to be quarterbacks with average arms and decent mobility but seem to be projects. On espn.com he is listed as 6'3 and 202 lbs, so he has good size. From all of the scouting reports I have read and from the videos that I have seen on Boehm, it seems that he has a very strong arm and good mobility. What I like about Boehm is that he has a very strong arm, which is exactly what Cal needs if they want to continue recruiting speedy wide receivers. He also throws a tight spiral which makes it easier for his receivers to catch the ball. In 2009, as a junior Boehm completed 59 of 117 for 936 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions and rushed for 877 yards and 14 touchdowns in a mostly running offense. He is listed as a 4 star prospect on rivals and high 3 star prospect on espn. espn has a very detailed scouting report courtesy of scouts.inc saying,

"There are two things that stand out about Boehm off an initial viewing. First, he possesses tremendous natural arm strength, and second, he is playing primarily from under center which is a real plus for college offensive schemes that showcase a multiple, pro-style set. Boehm has very good size, strength and bulk for a pocket passer that is an adequate enough athlete for the position. This offense requires him to throw the three and five step passing game from under center and also be a competent play-action passer between the tackles as well as on short rolls and designed nakeds. The ball pops off his hand and is sometimes difficult to track on film due to its speed and velocity. He can make any throw on the field at the collegiate level and both when set and balance and when on the move and sometimes off his back foot. Gets tremendous velocity and power behind the throw and can threaten deep and outside the numbers from the opposite hash. Drop speed is sound and consistent in terms of footwork. Can freeze linebackers with play-pass and is more than capable of fitting the ball into tight spots on arm strength alone. Gets set quickly, makes quick decisions and has the quick release to help neutralize pass rushes. Goes through progressions, has good height and can see the entire field. Does an excellent job in terms of changing up velocity, shows good touch when throwing underneath and shows very good accuracy when his feet are set. As impressive as Boehm's pure arm strength and passing ability may be, he can be very inconsistent with his delivery and feet from throw-to-throw. Ball does not always come out clean and he will alter his delivery point from high to 3/4 at times. Elbow will drop when he is not balanced and does not get weight behind the throw. His front leg will often get stiff and not allow for him to plant off his back leg and transfer his weight properly. These fundamental issues will have an affect on his accuracy which can make him somewhat erratic at times. These are also areas that can be corrected with coaching and drill work. Boehm is a very good prospect and he can do some things with the ball that you cannot coach. He is not going to wow you like a dual-threat, but he will surprise you with his ability to buy time and keep a play alive until his arm can do the rest."

Clearly, Boehm has some work to do on his mechanics but it seems as if he has the talent to eventually succeed in Cal's pro style offense with his ability to use his strong arm to stretch the field. This will give Cal's running game more room to operate and give Cal the ability to have the big play in the passing game. He will also be useful when Cal uses the spread offense because of his ability to run and give the spread offense a dimension that has not been utilized. I think this is a great pickup for Cal as quarterback play has been lacking from Longshore and Riley the past few years. I think Boehm will allow Tedford to revert back to using more of the offensive schemes that he used under Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers, both of whom were also strong armed quarterbacks. Cal is in desperate need of a star at quarterback. In today's pac-10 and soon to be pac-12, defenses are too good to be one dimensional and in the past few years, the inadequate play of Longshore and Riley have led to Cal's offense being too one dimensional and when Cal plays good defenses they are easily able to stack the box against the run without fear of the pass over the top of the defense. Boehm will give Cal this dimension and hopefully develop into the next star quarterback under tutelage of Coach Tedford.

Texas screws Cal and the pac-10 again

Im sure most Cal fans remember when Texasand Mack Brown screwed Cal out of the Rose Bowl in 2004 which would have been a big deal considering Cal hadnt been to a Rose bowl since 1959, almost as long as my parents have been alive. This time Texas screwed Cal in the potential expansion plans that Pac-10 comissioner Larry Scott had when trying to expand the pac-10 into the Pac-16. Texas baited and made it seem like they were going to join the pac and then we end up stuck with Utah and Colorado. This is like expecting a cake made by Duff from Ace of Cakes and getting a Costco cake instead. Getting Texas and Oklahoma would have really elevated the level of play in the pac. Plus it would have allowed the pac to keep the original pac 8 in one division which would have been oregon, osu, UW, WSU, Cal, furd, fucla, and u$c in the same division with the big 12 defects and arizona schools in the other. Now it looks like cal will be split from fucla and u$c in different divisions with the expansion to only 12 meaning we will lose out on our natural rivalries with fucla and the cheaters, u$c. This is not good for Cal, these rivalries mean a lot to the fan base and to recruiting. As fans we love to play and compete with ucla and u$c for california supremacy. for recruiting the annual trip to LA means that potential LA recruits get their annual visit to play in front of family. With this expansion to the pac-12, cal loses, and its all thanks to Texas again. I really hope we sweep the home and home in 2014 and 2015, there is no revenge sweeter than beating them on the field and would be nice to ruin a couple of Mack Brown's seasons. stay classy Texas, stay classy.

Espn's Ted Miller disses Shane Vereen

I dont know how many people follow espn's Ted Miller's blog on espn.com but he recently listed a top 25 list of players in the pac-10 for 2010. Shane Vereen did not make the list. I know that on lists like these there will always be snubs, similar to how there are snubs at an all star game. but come on Ted, how could you not include Shane Vereen. Further examination of the list shows complete disrespect for Vereen who rushed for 953 yards last year on only 183 carries averaging 5.3 yrds per carry and 12 touchdowns while backing up Jahvid Best. Thats right he was a backup! He didnt even start a game until after the Oregon St game. Not to mention that Vereen also had 25 catches for 244 yrds with shoddy quarterback play and spotty offensive line play. In otherwords all things considered Vereen showed that he was a beast last year. Miller lists Kai Forbath of FUcla a friggin kicker ahead of Vereen ranked at 25. He also ranked Cameron Jordan ahead of Vereen. No disrespect to Cameron Jordan but he shouldnt even be on this list. Cameron Jordan is certainly talented and very capable of becoming a NFL prospect but he has been inconsistent and really hasnt fulfilled his potential. I remember many games where him and also the whole D-line for that matter disappeared in 2009. I really dont understand how Vereen who I feel may end up being better than Jahvid Best can get dissed on this list. Vereen is only half a step slower than Best so he has homerun ability, but is better than best in between the tackles because he runs at a lower center of gravity and falls forward, whereas Best ran upright and would often get knocked backwards, which is bad because it can set your team up for 2nd and long and 3rd and long. Vereen is going to rush for 1500-2000 yrds this year as Cal's feature back, with 15-20 tds and catch 30-40 balls and get 300-500 receiving yards as long as he stays healthy. Hard to see how Ted doesnt forsee Vereen being one of the top 25 players in the Pac-10. Surely he will be in Ted's postseason top25 if not his top 10. I normally like Ted's blog but in this case he missed one for sure.

Cal football blog

Anyone that truly knows me, knows that I have Cal football in my blood. From the time I was born I was tought that there truly was no other way than to bleed blue and gold. perhaps this really was just one of the few misguided directions my parents pushed me into. I am a third generation Cal fan and if anyone knows being a cal football fan has been a heartwrenching experience throughout the years. I remember going to games as a kid, watching good teams with Mike Pawlowski and Sean Dawkins fumble the ball and Rose Bowl away on the goal line against Washington. I remember terrible teams such as Holmoe's pretedford teams. I remember when Mariucci came, raised the hopes and expectations of Cal fans by starting the season 6-0, only to lose their final 6 games and bolt to the 49ers the next year. I remember the Snyder years when similar to Tedford, Snyder started building the program into respectabiliy only to watch him bolt for more money at Arizona St. Fact is being a Cal football fan is similar to being a Chicago Cubs fan or a Red sox fan prior to them winning the series. It is full of highs and lows and ultimately disappointment and hoping for next year. but fact of the matter is, i love my bears and will always bleed blue and gold through and through. but its time to start my rant...