CAL FOOTBALL PREVIEW

I spent a good time of my summer scouring the net for articles on the Bears, their roster, news, and etc. After 2 months, here's what I know:

The Overstated: Constantly over the year, you're going to hear about our complete implosion, going from 5-0 to losing 6 of the next 7 games. All year. You have no choice. One of the reasons for this implosion, apparently, was we weren't a team in the sense that we didn't have established leaders who stepped up to keep the morale up and help each other out. Players didn't acknowledge eachother's existence when passing eachother on campus. Coach Tedford completely focused on the offense and didn't even talk to Defense. This year, however, all of this has changed, there is great communication, and Tedford is overlooking both the offense and the defense. All the problems have been addressed, we've come out of it better than ever before, and now, all we can do is look at our prep and performance for Saturdays.

QB Situation: Riley got the nod over Longshore, though Tedford said both will play in the Michigan State game, he just doesn't know when Longshore will play exactly. My ridiculously insightful analysis tells me that Longshore will not play ONLY if Riley is doing well AND it's a close game. If it's a blowout either way, or Riley is struggling, Longshore will see time. (Just in case you didn't figure it out already)

RB and FB: Jahvid Best splitting carries with Shane Vereen for now, though there are others that may be in the mix. I'm going to let their game speak for themselves, you'll just have to find out. Let's just say that I am very excited about our running game. It could be comparable to Lynch/Forsett production wise. Fullback is Will Ta’ufo’ou.

WR Situation: Well this was a little surprise. To those who don't know (which should be no one because Cal Football is pretty damn amazing), we lost our whole receiving corps, so we are running with a very inexperienced set of new receivers: Michael Calvin, Sean Young, LaReylle Cunningham.

Michael Calvin: Redshirted as a freshman last year, but has come to play this year. He is a beast and is going to be special. Solid player, was expected to be in this lineup.

Sean Young: Stories about him scared me. He came into Cal touted as a good receiver who would be amazing. He lost himself over the next few years to last year's three receivers, and never recovered . . . until this year. I believe he has a confidence issue, and because it is essentially a fresh start this year with everyone competing, had a good camp. I am hoping for the best, but can't help but feel that if he gets outperformed during the year, he will regress, and become ineffective. We shall see.

LaReylle Cunningham: All I have heard about is that he is a solid receiver. Wasn't sure whether to expect him in the lineup or not, so all we can do is hope for the best and start judging him based on his performances on Saturday.

Shocker -- Nyan Boateng: Once a top receiving recruit at Florida, this transfer was supposed to be a great receiver. He ran into some school issues, but finally got it straight this year. He, however, did not train well during the spring, and some questioned his dedication. Apparently, however, he shaped up for the summer and was having a good camp. I expected him to be in the lineup, but was left off; once again, we will see how this all unfolds.

Bottom line: The receiving corps is basically a huge question mark. Everything looks good based on camp, but who knows what that means. It has to translate on the field in front of screaming fans. We'll just have to test it out.

O-Line: For the most part, solid and unchanged. Mike Tepper is currently injured, and we have Alex Mack's successor Chris Guarnero getting playing time right now at LT instead of C.

D-Line: Look out for Rulon Davis, an ex-marine (which means prepare for stories about this whenever we're on national television), who had a ridiculous camp and is apparently finally healthy for the first time. He looks to be a beast.

Linebackers: We have two on the preseason Butkus Award list in Worrell Williams and Zach Follett. Anthony Felder and Eddie Young finish this group of athletic and talented linebackers. There is no reason these guys should not be able to do well this year. The defense has shifted from a 4-3 to a 3-4, meaning that there is more reliance on the linebacking corps, and with this talented a unit, we should be able to meet the challenge.

Corners: Syd'quan Thompson is our senior, and is solid at corner. The other position will be fought for by Chris Conte and Darian Hagan. This too will have to be seen on the field during a game.

Kickers: David Seawright, a walkon, challenged Jordan Kay the incumbent for his job and ended up winning. We'll see how he does with pressure. If he folds, Jordan Kay isn't a bad backup.

I'd be lying to you if I told you I didn't believe that we could beat everyone in the Pac-10, except for USC. Yeah, I'm drinking gallons of kool-aid, but I see so much potential, so much positive change, and so much underrated talent that I feel like we can do well. Offensively, we are young at receiver, but we can establish our ground game behind two talented tailbacks and a veteran O-Line. The receivers will be surprise as well; they will have a lot to prove, so stars will learn to shine, and with a good running game, they will get more single coverage, which means better chances to break out and gain confidence. Contrary to what the media keeps implying, our QB situation is better than that at other schools: at least we have QB's with game experience who have proven themselves in years before instead of new QB's who may struggle. Defensively, we have many returning starters and talent, enough to make me believe this is the year we become a solid defensive team.


Prediction: 2nd in the Pac-10, 11-1. (A little bit hopeful, but hey, I wouldn't be a fan if I couldn't believe that this is our year)