Ranking the Best Pac-10 Players - According to Sporting News

Matt Hayes from SportingNews has just ranked the best Pac-10 players by position. A couple of surprising choices, and a couple of no-brainers.

Here were the Cal players who made the list:

Quarterback
1. Willie Tuitama, Arizona
2. Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
3. Mark Sanchez, USC
4. Jake Locker, Washington
5. Nate Longshore, Cal

Offensive line
1. Alex Mack, Cal
2. Max Unger, Oregon
3. Jeff Byers, USC
4. Eben Britton, Arizona
5. Alex Fletcher, Stanford

Quick thoughts: Mack is a mauler; he could’ve left for the NFL this season and been a first day pick.

Linebacker
1. Rey Maualuga, USC
2. Brian Cushing, USC
3. Reggie Carter, UCLA
4. Worrell Williams, Cal
5. Zack Follett, Cal

You can check out the full article here.

My Thoughts

• On one hand I'm surprised Longshore made the list based on last year's second half slide and the fact that he's embattled in one of the country's biggest college QB controversies . On the other hand, this may be even more of testament to the depth of Cal's QB situation if Longshore doesn't even win the starting spot. But keep in mind, Longshore was the top junior QB in the nation last year in preseason reports, and nearly led the Pac-10 in passing and TDs the season prior. Most forget what people were saying about Longshore before the 'Callapse." You can't blame 'em. a 1-6 regular season finish will do.

• No Jahvid Best? Completely understand. But to have Joe McKnight top the RB list? In my look at Jahvid Best vs. Joe McKnight, I thought both showed a lot in their freshman year. So for McKnight to deemed the best RB in the Pac-10 is a stretch at this point in the preseason, in my opinion.

• Alex Mack as the best O-Lineman in the conference? Even a young Lloyd Christmas could have told you that.

• No Squid on the list? Yeh, I could see that...

No surprise to see at least one linebacker on the list, considering our strength at that position. A little surprised to Worrell Williams ranked higher than Follett with consideration that Follett has gotten in preseason awards. The Ziger is undoubtedly one of the best pass rush forces coming off the edge, but you might argue that Williams has shown more ability as a complete linebacker.

I dunno, it could go either way.

What are your thoughts on the list? Bogus? Generous? About where it should be?