Quotes and Thoughts

A few quick quotes and thoughts from yesterday's Cal media luncheon:

"We don't want to just get sacks; we want to put people out of the game. We're not nice guys on the field. Maybe off the field, but on the field, we plan on putting guys out of the game and making plays. We've tried to take on a whole new attitude and make a whole new identity."
-Derrick Hill

Me likey. I’m never one to cheer for players getting injured, or any talk about intentionally injuring players. And I don’t think Hill is either. Hill appears to be talking about the new attitude that the Cal defense is attempting to create as a defense hoping to strike fear in the hearts of opposing offenses. It would be a refreshing change from the pass rush (or lackthereof) from last year’s squad.

"Kevin's our quarterback. He's earned that right with his last two performances and a solid camp."
-Jeff Tedford

It’s been settled. Kevin Riley will play the entire game against WSU, and there are no plans for Nate Longshore to play any series. The QB competition appears to be settled for now, and as I had mentioned in my previous post, this is a good thing. The offense needs its face, and it needs to begin working around having one exclusive quarterback. Tedford made the somewhat obvious decision, but undeniably, the right one.



"I think Nate did an awesome job in the second half (against Michigan State), staying involved, suggesting plays," Tedford said. "He's such a team-above-self guy."
-Jeff Tedford

I’m impressed with what I’m hearing about Nate. Not surprised, but impressed. After being yanked after back-to-back interceptions, and having to hear a chorus of boos from restless Cal fans, you could have expected to see Nate moping on the sidelines, or sitting by himself on the far end of a bench.

Instead, Nate was consistently involved in the sideline offensive huddles, and the above quote indicates that he was still looking to find ways to contribute as a backup.

While the news of essentially having the door shut on his career as a starter at Cal was no doubt a blow to Longshore, it’s encouraging to hear that Nate is still attempting to put the team’s needs above his own. Again, I can’t reiterate enough how much Cal will benefit from having an experienced senior QB (second winningest QB in school history) as a backup. Ken Crawford had a very telling stat in his most recent podcast. 8 of 10 starting Pac-10 QBs last year were out with injury at some point in the season. We may most likely need Nate at some point in the year, and hopefully a positive Nate will be better than a broken-spirited one.

Even Kevin Riley pretty much said it himself.
“Nate is a great teammate. It's a tough situation. He's a team guy. I think he understands it's the coaches' decision and if he gets a chance, he has to be ready."