Bear Bits: Recruits Love Cal, Best Out, and Michalczik Moving Again

Here are interesting tidbits of Cal Bears news from around the web. Chew on them. They’re delicious.

Why our Recruits Came to Cal
I’m still working on a writeup of this year’s class, but may I continue to gush about why I like this class. A few of the newest players have decided to write about why they decided to come to Cal as well, including my boy, Mark Brazinski.

Apparently, In N’ Out sealed the deal. Hard to blame him. Or it might have been that Cal offers some of the finest education in the world.

Then again, it probably was the In N Out.


You can check out letters from Brazinski as well as QB of the future Allan Bridgford here.

Best to Miss Spring Practice
Jahvid Best will miss spring practice due to postseason surgeries to his left foot and elbow. According the Cal press release:

“The foot surgery was performed Jan. 23 to relieve irritation of an extra bone on the right side of his foot caused when Best bruised the foot midway through the 2008 season. The elbow surgery took place Jan. 15 to tighten a ligament that was injured when Best dislocated the elbow vs. Colorado State Sept. 27.”

Best should be running by late March or early April (my guess is the latter), so he’ll have all summer to get back into game shape and be ready for camp in August.


All in all, nothing sounds too serious, nor should either injury/surgery have any lingering effects. It’s a far cry from last year’s scenario when Best missed camp to rehabilitate after his hip surgery, and questions lingered as to whether Best would be back to his explosive self. If anything, this should ensure that Best will be even healthier than last year to start the season. Despite playing injured, Best still led the Pac-10 in rushing last year with 1,580 yards, racking up the second highest single season rushing total in Cal history.

Cal’s Former O-Line Coach on the Move…Again
Finally, it appears that former Cal offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik is on the move again. Just two months (if that) after leaving Cal to assume the offensive-coordinator position at Washington, Michalczik has joined Tom Cable’s coaching staff at the Raiders to become their new offensive line coach.

Wow…that sucks for the Huskies. They had a near all-star team of future head coaches growing there. This is the second coach to leave Sarkesian’s staff, before it ever really go started.

Michalczik maintains that the opportunity to finally join the NFL ranks for coaching, without having to relocate his family, was too good to pass up. Who else wouldn’t want to leave an 0-12 Washington squad to join the 5-11 Raiders and play for Mr. Al Davis?