Sonny Dykes is Saying All the Right Things

Sometimes, hiring a new coach is kind of like getting back into the dating scene after getting out of a longtime relationship.

In this case, Sonny Dykes is like that date who’s saying all the right things in the first week. You know, things like, “I hate the ballet! Let’s go watch football!” or “Would you like another beer, sweetie?” Seriously, if what Dykes (and his staff for that matter) have been saying since taking the job is any indication, then fans should be stoked.

Of course, as we all know, a date can appear to be Mr/Ms perfect in the weeks 2 and 3 and turn out to be a complete nightmare. We all know a true relationship isn’t evaluated by what the person says but what they do, in good times and in bad. Dykes could say all the right things now, but it won’t mean a thing until we see how this team looks once they hit the field in September.

Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with what most are hearing and reading so far. Let’s get into some of the choice bits.

Preventing Player Entitlement
"After every practice, we rank every player. Jerry Rice said 'that every single day I was afraid of losing my job.' If it's good enough for Jerry…"

"Sometimes, "they (student-athletes) think this is all about them. It's not theirs, it's not mine, it's the Cal fans'.

I got to say, I love this quote from Dykes. It’s not really the competition bit that strikes a chord with me, though I love the idea of building competition in every level of the team. Rather, I love the mentality that the entire program, from the players to the coaches are working to represent the university. It’s not about what the players can get out of it and how much media or NFL scout attention they get, but rather what they can do to represent Cal athletics. Dykes seems to give every indication that the players who “get it” and “buy in” are going to be the ones who will most contribute, and thereby reap the most rewards. It may sound simple to most, but I don’t know if I’ve heard a Cal coach phrase it this way, and it sure sounds a whole heck of a lot like a bit of a paradigm shift. I’m all for it.

Open Practices:
"We'll open the gates and come on in. We don't have any secrets. People can watch our film; they can rewind it, fast-forward it. This is not my program. This is Cal's program."

Again, Dykes is emphasizing that no one coach or player has ownership over the Cal team. But c’mon, the news that Cal’s practices will be open is huge. Clearly, as a fan, this is uber-exciting as it seems like fans are welcome to stroll in and watch practices any time. No more getting caught in the bushes and being chased away by portly security guards. This does so much for building a connection between the team and the fans. You have to think this also only help to build more media interest in the football team as well.

But more than that, Dykes seems to almost challenge skeptics by inviting them to observe and film practices. I can’t begin to tell you how much this statement simple exudes confidence in what Dykes believes his team can do if they prepare and execute.

I’m not going to turn this post into an anti-Tedford rant, because that’d be like (going back to the new date analogy) having your date go on and on about how much of a loser their ex-boyfriend was. No need for that here. But remember when Tedford got pissed about a few Cal reporters documenting and reporting on the formations and plays they observed in practice? I understand that you don’t want to divulge any information that’s going to give opponents any competitive advantage. But I always felt that it was no coincidence that increased security and privacy around a team’s practices always seemed to go hand-in-hand with increased insecurities in a team’s ability.

It’s just refreshing to hear a coach essentially say, “Gee, great, now you know we’ll bring our Z receiver in motion to the opposite side, fake the screen before handing it off to our back. Now try and do something about it.” The best teams aren’t the best because they are continually outsmarting or tricking their opponents. They’re outworking them. I’m not saying Cal is anywhere close to that right now, but it’s encouraging to hear a coach have that mentality that they have to shroud everything in mystery in order to be successful.

Recruiting
Recruiting has been great. We've added five new commits since we got hired, so that's been exciting. The response has been great. Kids are interested in Cal. The university sells itself. If we do a good job of presenting a unified message, then I think the recruiting part of it is going to be great. To me, we have a chance to have one of the top recruiting classes in the country at Cal.

This is less about what he’s saying and more about what he’s done. Despite the coaching change, Cal hasn’t had a single decommitment (though things are shaky with Cameron Hunt), and they’ve actually received 5 new commitments (1 OL, 1 WR, 2 DE, 1 WR). They’ve moved up into the Top 25 rankings in the nation according to Rivals’ recruiting site, and are pretty close in ESPN. This isn’t a staff that’s taken a wait-and-see approach. Almost all the new coaches have hit the recruiting road as soon as they signed on to Cal. We’re talking aboutlLiving out of suitcases, spending more time on planes and in recruit’s homes than in their own hotel rooms, etc. It’s been really impressive.

Residing in Berkeley:
"I think you need to live in the community if you can. It's important for people to see you in restaurants and shopping and we need to be involved in the schools. I think that's important. For me, I like to have my kids at practice, my wife at practice, hang around and get to know the players. It's important ... we create a family environment." This isn’t a huge a point, but it does speak to Dykes’ emphasis on continuing the Cal tradition of having a family and “home” culture at Cal. Tedford did this pretty well, but Dykes does take it an extra step further in residing in Berkeley. Good moves Coach. The hills are gorgeous. Just be sure not to hang out too much south of the Jack in the Box on Telegraph past 9 PM.

On the Use and Recruitment of Tight Ends:

"Six scholarship tight ends is a little out of whack…There's not enough running back depth and we have 10 scholarship offensive linemen; that number needs to be 16-18."
The above quote I think has been immediately misconstrued by many. Some are adding it to their “Dykes is anti-TE” though stockpile. Of course, I could be reading it wrong, but I don’t necessarily see it that way. Dykes has clearly stated that he’ll utilize the best players. I’m paraphrasing Tony Franklin when he said the reason Louisiana Tech didn’t play any tight ends last year was because they didn’t have any. Or at least none that warranted playing over their playmaking WRs. If Cal’s tight ends can play, I have a lot of confidence that Dykes and Franklin will find a way to incorporate them into the offense.

Also, I think Dykes touches upon a real important point in that our offensive line and RB recruiting in recent years have most certainly been out of whack. Football is won in the trenches, and when you consider that the offensive line makes up 5 out of your 12 players on the field at any given moment, it’s hard not to agree with the notion that 10 scholarship offensive linemen is a bit of a killer. Fortunately, the previously coaching regime had a very solid recruiting class with this corps last year, but it’ll be up to the new one to bring in another haul of about 4-5 big uglies.

So what do you guys think? Any thoughts on Coach Dykes’ early comments?