Pac-12 Media Roundup

The annual conference media blitzes have about wrapped up, and the Bears will soon be starting up for Fall camp on August 6th.

There's a wealth of information from various reports and interviews, and here's my best attempt at rounding up some of the most pertinent bits.

Check the links after the jump.


Transcript of Jeff Tedford and Marvin Jones' press conference
Probably the best example of coach speak, as you want find too many juicy tidbits here. However, let it serve as a nice warmup to some of the other links you're soon to click on.

Tedford emphasizes his pleasure in the team's chemistry this year, although it's hard to tell what specifically makes him more excited than what he has seen from the team in previous years. He seems also to be content with the wide receivers, tight ends and offensive line units (a bit of a surprise there) but echoes many of his previous questions about the runningback and quarterback situations. Consistency sounds like it will be key here.

CGB Writeup of the Press Luncheon with Tedford
California Golden Blogs has a very nice writeup of the press luncheon that follows the press conference. Tedford usually opens up a bit more during the more casual luncheon's but went into a surprising amount of detail even by his standards.

A few choice nuggets:
-Tedford is hoping to slim down the weekly playbook this season so as to not overload the offensive personnel with details (namely Zach Maynard who is relatively new to the program) as well as to achieve his ideal offensive which he describes as "diverse and efficient." Sounds like another way of saying creative and balanced which is how most described Tedford as a playcaller when he was in control of playcalling duties. Tedford hopes to cut down the plays from 150 to 100 a week. (A week!)

-Coach T also didn't seem to have a real answer as to why the teams were blown out last year, but alluded to the inability of the offense playing at the same level as the defense in many of those games.

-Tedford reiterated his pleasure in the returning coaches in wide receiver coach Kiesau as well as offensive line coach/coordinator Coach Michalczik. He spoke of not having to worry about "hidden agendas" or coaches not speaking their mind when they disagreed with Tedford. There's a trust there. And coaching roles will be more clearly defined with Kiesau heading up to the booth and Tedford and Michalczik roaming the sidelines.


ESPNU Podcast Interview with Jeff Tedford.
Ivan Maisel sounds a bit like a droid, but asks some decent questions. The interview starts at 14:06 mark, and covers topics including the Bears' nomadic season at ATT park, Tedford's thoughts on taking the offensive playcalling reins again, as well as Zach's weight gains.


The Bear Insider has a nice writeup on Tedford's thoughts and comments on the whole Willie Lyles.
Again, most people probably have a decent sense of this whole situation right now, but I gotta tell you, no one should be losing any sleep about this as Tedford has said everything you'd want or hoped he would say in this situation. And by the sounds of it, Tedford seems to sleeping easy about it.

A few last tidbits...
-Don't expect any position changes. That means you guys can stop thinking about Deandre Coleman at offensive tackle or Brock Mansion at tight end. Just stop.
-Spencer Hagan has beefed up quite a bit to 220 since Spring Ball when he made the switch to tight end. Jeebus, way to go Coach Blazquez!
-Sam Demartinis has left the team. To say the Bears have major depth questions at tackle would be an understatement.
-RB CJ Anderson has yet to join the team for summer workouts because he's finishing up some academic issues. He'll likely be good to go for camp, but his contributions are looking like less of an uncertainty until he gets everything straightened out.
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Zach Kline makes Elite 11

And then there were just 11.

The Elite 11 Camp is over today, and after five grueling days, the 24 best quarterbacks in the nation were narrowed down as the coaches named the top 11 performers at the camp. These 11 now have the right of being called one of the "Elite 11" as they proceeded through one the most extensive quarterback camps in recent memory.

Cal commit Zach Kline made the final cut, proving himself as belonging with the elite.

BYU's Tanner Mangum won MVP honors along with Jameis Winston and Neal Burcham.

Notably absent from the list were Texas commit Connor Brewer as well as ESPN's #1 ranked QB Gunner Kiel.

Congrats to Zach Kline!

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PreSeason Preview at College Football Zealouts

Howdy all.

I recently answered some questions for College Football Zealots' preview for Cal's 2011 season.

Given the summer lull in news and analysis, I figured this should hold people over - for like an hour at least.

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Stanford named 4th Douchiest College by GQ Magazine

GQ Magazine has released its list of the top ten douchiest colleges in the nation. And your favorite junior university has made the list.

It's hard to argue with them, but I think I'd still rank them higher than Penn State.

And yes, because what GQ says does matter.

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Zach Kline at the Elite 11 (Days 1 and 2)

Cal has somewhat of a notorious history with its previous Elite 11 quarterbacks. A number of quarterbacks under Jeff Tedford were invited to EA's Elite 11 QB Camp which invites some of the nation's top QB prospects. The list includes: Nate Longshore, Kyle Reed, Kevin Riley, Brock Mansion, Allan Bridgford, and incoming QB Kyle Boehm. In fact, pretty much all of Tedford's QB highly touted QB recruits since Aaron Rodgers have been invited to the camp other than former Bear Beau Sweeney.

Despite the high accolades in high school and the subsequent camp invitations, most Bears fans are very much aware of the varying levels of success these prospects have had at the collegiate level with the Bears. It's yet to be determined with some of them, but needless to say, by now most know it's no sure thing that an Elite 11 QB equals quarterbacking success at Cal.

However, most have keenly watched the development of Cal's next QB recruit Zach Kline is who is ranked as one of the top pro-style quarterback prospects in the nation. Naturally, he was invited to the Elite 11 Camp this year, which actually interestingly enough has expanded its field of participants to 24 this year.

So it goes without saying that any have been interested in Zach Kline's performance at this year's camp. You can follow along with the day's writeups over at ESPN's recruiting site, but I've gone through the trouble of including some key blurbs about Kline after the jump.



Prior to the camp starting

Adam Gorney from Rivals asked if Kline could bounce back from his "subpar" performance at the Opening.
The Danville (Calif.) San Ramon Valley quarterback who's committed to California had a sub-par performance at The Opening and could use the Elite 11 to wrap up another fine summer.

Kline, the second-best pro-style quarterback in the class, was out of sorts at times at The Opening, throwing too many bad passes and interceptions and not looking comfortable in the pocket.

Numerous times, including the Stanford Elite 11 regional camp, Kline has looked really sharp and skilled so we expect him to return to that form. He has one of the strongest arms in the class and could use this opportunity to bounce back.

Note: Gorney also has a writeup on Kline's performance at the opening here.

Day 1
ESPN's Tom Luginbill had the following to say about Kline after Day 1.
"While we wish Kline did not prop the ball up so high in his carriage, there may not be anyone in attendance who consistently spins the ball as tightly as he does. Many prospects who prop the ball to ear level are "pushers," not passers. Kline is a passer. As we have mentioned in the past, he reminds us of a stronger-armed Jake Heaps with more natural wrist velocity."

ESPN's Mike Grimala included Zach Kline's group as the most impressive which also included Gunnier Kiel and Nick Patti.
"Kline, a wiry gunslinger from San Ramon Valley (San Ramon Valley, Calif.), showed impressive arm strength, throwing several rockets while on the move in mobility drills.

“I think my arm strength is pretty good,” said the ever-confident Kline, who has committed to Cal. “I like throwing routes where the windows are tight, because I can throw hard and I can get the ball in places where a lot of other guys can’t.”

Kline declined to call his arm the strongest at Elite 11, but the denial wasn’t very convincing."

Day 2
Kline was included in the "On the Rise" group by ESPN's Tom Luginbill:
"The most important trait Kline needs to develop is touch and how/when to use it. His natural inclination is to drive and hum the ball with speed and velocity, but there are times for him to become a finesse passer depending on the route or coverage. This goes against his nature so it is a challenge for him and a good one. There is no doubt he can fit the ball into tight spaces, but he needs to be able to just play pitch and catch, too. Can't get enough of that release though."

Scott Kennedy of Scout has Kline the 10th best QB based on the first 2 days of camp.
"Kline is just a notch below the arm strength of guys like Winston and Kiel. For him, it's a matter of trusting his arm. Scout's No. 1 quarterback of 2010, Jeff Driskel, had a similar transition through the Elite 11 week as he over threw the ball early, only to settle in and put on a show the rest of the week. Kline has the arm strength, but he needs to relax more and not try to over throw everything."

CBS Sports writes that Zach Kline has been "repping" the West Coast.
Danville (Calif.) quarterback Zach Kline had one of the shortest commutes to the Elite 11 from the Bay Area and though he is used to going down to the beach or enjoying a cool summer day, the experience with 23 other top quarterbacks at the Elite 11 has been eye-opening for him.

"It's been awesome," Kline said. "Nothing is like it, ever. It's the best thing I've ever been to and you have the best players here."

The California kid was sporting a Rafael Nadal-like look on Tuesday with long hair and a headband. Though he was one of the most outgoing and relaxed players on the field, that masked his workman-like approach to learning as much as he could from the coaches and counselors at the event.

"A lot of things like making every throw count and the little things matter the most," he said about what he learned. "Even the smallest thing down to a drop, the fake on the play action matters more than anything and is the difference between a completion and an interception. And just kind of getting to know these guys and the things that they see."

In between meals and film sessions, the Cal commit has been able to take time to bond with his fellow campers, many of whom he is already close with.

"I know these guys real well," Kline said. "Connor Brewer I've been friends with for awhile, for a couple of years. Jake Rodrigues I've been friends with for a long time as well. Tyler Matthews same deal. Gunner Kiel, I was at the Elite 11 last year as a ball boy with him. He's the man, he's a great quarterback and just a cool dude to hang around with. Same for all of those guys, every single one of them."

Regarded by many as the top quarterback on the West Coast, the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is confident in himself and showed that he can make all the throws on the field, going neck-and-neck with other highly ranked players like Winston and Kiel. Still, despite actually belonging with the best in the nation, Kline knows there's still something left for him to prove.

"Definitely," he says before identifying the biggest reason why. "Tanner Mangum is giving me a run for my money. He's good, a great quarterback and a great dude too. He's a good friend of mine as well and he's going to do big things at BYU, just an awesome quarterback, can't wait to watch him."

Kline so far has yet to win any of the challenges that we know of, with BYU commit Tanner Mangum taking the Golden Jersey Acuracy Challenge two days in a row, and Austin Appleby taking the honors with the playbook portion of the camp.
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Rivals' Look at 5 star recruits of past decade

Rivals looks at the collegiate careers (thus far, in some cases) of the decade's five star recruits.

Three Cal players were mentioned in the article.

On current Cal WR, Keenan Allen:

5. CALIFORNIA DB KEENAN ALLEN
BUZZ: Listed as a defensive back during the recruiting process, Allen emerged as a standout receiver during his freshman season. He made nine starts and caught 46 passes for 490 yards and five touchdowns. Allen caught a touchdown in three consecutive games during a midseason stretch against UCLA, USC and Arizona State.

After the jump, check out what Rivals had to say about Cal's other two 5 star recruits. You can probably easily guess one, and may have already forgotten the other.

(And no, Joe Ayoob, Lavelle Hawkins, and Desmond Bishop don't count as they were JC players.)



Before there was Allen, Bears fans were overjoyed with their first 5 star recruit in the 2010 class, Chris Martin.

18. CALIFORNIA DE CHRIS MARTIN
BUZZ: Martin, an Oakland native, announced in July that he was transferring from California because he was encountering too many distractions in the Bay Area. He landed at Florida, but despite a good spring practice, he left UF over the summer and his future is unknown.

Bleh.

And back in 2005, Cal snagged one of their most prized recruits ever.

18. WR DESEAN JACKSON, CALIFORNIA
BUZZ: In his first game with the Bears, Jackson scored on offense and on special teams. He never looked back during a stellar career that saw him leave Berkeley holding Pac-10 records for punt returns for touchdowns in a season (four) and career (six). He also caught 162 passes for 2,423 and 22 touchdowns in three seasons. He left Cal a year early and was a second-round pick in the 2008 draft.
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Alex Mack makes Rival's Best Two Star Recruit List

Former Cal offensive lineman Alex Mack continues to earn collegiate acclaim, two years into a Pro Bowl NFL career.

Mack was named as one of the best two-star recruits of the decade by Rivals. It's basically a "my bad dawg, we had you all wrong," type of list to recognize players who went under the recruiting radar, but ended up tearing it up at the collegiate level.

Other Pac-12 players include OSU's James Rodgers and former Stanford fullback Owen Marecic.

One could have made the case for former ILB Mike Mohamed as well, a two star prospect who was drafted in the 6th round by the Denver Broncos in April.
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Season Opener Time Set

Cal Athletics has announced that the Bears' season opener against Fresno State will kick off at 4 PM PST. You can catch the coverage on CSN California.

A late kickoff ensures that fans will have plenty of time to make it out Candlestick Park, as it seemingly takes hours to get to the stadium. It also ensures enough time for fans (cough FSU fans) to be boozed up enough to thoroughly enjoy the game.

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Vote on New Field Design

An email has been sent out asking Cal fans to vote on the new field design for the stadium retrofit.

There are seven options in all, with some a bit more "lavish" than others.

You can vote on the designs here.

Check out my thoughts after the jump (I don't want you just going with what I chose, after all!).


I'm personally a fan of the traditional one we have right now. I did think it'd be nice to have a blue endzone and a gold endzone though.

Much talk has been made of options 6 and 7 which are throwbacks to a historic endzone.



At first, I thought, "No way, Jose!" And the more I looked at it, the more I thought, "You know, it could work!"

But I was promptly shut down by friends who thought otherwise.

I also wish they had chosen an option that shows "California" in its classic script. Alas, no option.

My final votes went as:

#3, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 4.
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NCAA Football 2012 Preview

Those who have followed my blog over the last few years know I'm a big NCAA Football videogame fan. In my 2011 dynasty, you're truly was 182-0 with 14 national championships before remarkably being let go for not meeting team goals. Word???

Anyway, NCAA Football 2012 comes out soon, and much doesn't seem to be improved over last year's version. I did catch a glimpse of Cal in the gameplay preview video below.



Yes, the one shot of Cal is of Kevin Riley (KEVIN RILEY?!) throwing a pick over the middle at the 0:58 mark. Blech.

This is about as bad as the time EA made Mike Mohammed a black player in an early edition of NCAA Football 2010.
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