The devil that you don't know

Sonny Dykes isn't Jeff Tedford. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Epigraph /ˈɛpɪgrɑːf/

noun

1 an inscription on a building, statue, or coin.

2 a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme. (Thanks oxforddictionaries.com)

Epigraphs are a ball and chain. They often shackle a reader, viewer or listener into one interpretation of a piece literature, art or music. They tell you “the theme” and that theme hangs around your ankles even after you’ve left the library, museum or concert hall. Epigraphs are like eating a side of garlic fries; all you can taste for a couple of hours afterwards are garlic fries.

Now, if you think that the above is a negative descriptor of what an epigraph is, let me share this, which—by the way—would have been the epigraph that started this piece if I had decided to start the piece with an epigraph:

Prediction Time!

This is the most unpredictable season in a long, long, time and I think our predictions reflect that:

• Chris went from the most pessimistic fan to the most optimistic in one year's time
• Meanwhile, Finn has become the ultimate pessimist
• Gerald is ever the poet
• Stephen wishes for injuries to Cal players
• Brian is going to be in attendance to watch the Bears lose in the Rose Bowl ... again

Have a look, get a taste, and feel free to confront one of us in the bathroom stall at In-N-Out for hatin' on Cal. (whaaaat?!)

See you guys at Memorial Stadium.

Let's rush this field once or thrice this season. (berkeleyside.com)

GERALD	STEPHEN	BRIAN	FINN	CHRIS
Cal def. Northwestern 45-35: Ghosts of Tedford’s Past show up early in Cal’s three-touchdown deficit before halftime, but Dykes rights the ship and Goff rallies the troops.	Cal def. Northwestern 35-30: Goff impresses; offense as advertised. Cal sells a few more ESP seats.	Cal def. Northwestern 34-20: Big 10 opponents don't scare me, especially at home.	Northwestern def. Cal 30-20: Good game, but inexperience proves fatal down the stretch.	Cal def. Northwestern 31-17: Three years of pent-up frustration explodes in the season opener.
Cal def. Portland State 52-10: Athletic Department is still trying to hand tickets out on the corner of Bancroft and Piedmont before kickoff.	Cal def. Portland State 42-13: Easy win in a half empty Memorial Stadium.	Cal def. Portland State 38-17: Jerry Glanville coached the Vikings once.	Cal def. Portland State 50-10: Fans get excited about the Dykes era.	Cal def. Portland State 38-13: Great time to get extra snaps for young'ns.
Ohio State def. Cal 42-35: Bigelow has his coming out party with over 200 yards rushing, but the Buckeyes continue their march to most overrated team in 2013 when 1-loss Alabama jumps them to get into the BCS title game.	Ohio State def. Cal 24-21: Two undefeated teams meet in Berkeley. Cal falls just short for second year in a row.	Ohio State def. Cal 41-28: Braxton will be hard to slow down.	Ohio State def. Cal 45-3: Back to reality.	Ohio State def. Cal 35-16: Ohio State doesn't mess around this time and puts Bears away early.
Oregon def. Cal 48-42: A shootout at Autzen, but the Ducks brought better guns.	Oregon def. Cal 48-21: A reminder just how far there is to go.	Oregon def. Cal 55-25: No contest in Eugene.	Oregon def. Cal 52-6: Oh boy.	Oregon def. Cal 35-31: First real sign that Dykes has Cal program going in the right direction.
Cal def. Wazzu 56-45: Sonny Dykes to Mike Leach after the game: "The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master."	Cal def. Wazzu 40-35: Bear Raid reigns supreme in this one.	Cal def Wazzu 38-10: Sonny's offense stretches its legs in 2nd half to open it up.	Wazzu def. Cal 35-28: Mike Leach is turning it around in Pullman.	Cal def. Wazzu 27-20: What is primed as a shootout turns into somewhat of a dud.
UCLA def. Cal 42-31: Bruins defense slows the Bear Raid, but late fourth quarter field goal by D’Amato continues Cal’s streak of scoring over 30 points per game.	UCLA def. Cal 38-35: Offense shines again, but problems on defense make this a familiar result for Bears in Pasadena.	UCLA def. Cal 31-21: Always sucks to lose at the Rose Bowl.	UCLA def. Cal 30-27 : Nice effort in LA, but FG for the tie is shanked.	Cal def. UCLA 31-28: No way I can pick against Cal in this one.
Cal def. Oregon State 45-42: D’Amato’s the hero again. And Goff remembers to throw the ball away at the end of the game to set up the game-winning field goal.	Cal def Oregon State 28-21: Cal pins first loss of the season on top-15 ranked Oregon State, who are heavily overrated after easy first-half schedule.	Oregon State def Cal 30-17: It's Oregon State. We don't beat them.	Oregon State def. cal 45-35: Beavs still own the Bears.	Cal def. Oregon State 21-17: Cal has to start beating OSU sometime right?
Washington def. Cal 35-34: Shaq Thompson interception ends Cal comeback.	Washington def Cal 30-17: Just when there's a shade of optimism, Washington gets by Cal easily. Goff hurt. Kline in.	Washington def Cal 35-31: Who predicts an injury? Chen does.	Washington def. Cal 24-10: Is Dykes on the hot seat already?	Washington def. Cal 38-13: One of those weird games that just gets away from the Bears really, really quickly for no apparent reason.
Arizona def. Cal 49-38: Bears out-gunned by another Pac-12 spread offense.	Arizona def. Cal 35-24: Fans excited to see Kline in person, but a couple interceptions turn game in the Wildcats' favor.	Cal def. Arizona 42-28: Big plays turn the tide in this one.	Arizona def. 40-20: A win! Finally!	Arizona def. Cal 35-34 - Carry over from weird Washington game haunts Cal.
Cal def. USC 42-28: It only took 10 years.	USC def. Cal 30-17: New offense does little to generate more points against USC.	USC def. Cal 30-29: Last minute FG leads to typi-CAL heartbreak loss.	USC def. Cal 52-6: Oregon all over again.	Cal def. USC 34-31: We beat USC!
Cal def. Colorado 56-21: And this is why Sandy Barbour hired Dykes over Mike MacIntyre.	Cal def. Colorado 30-10: Bears back on winning track. Bowl eligibility in play.	Cal def. Colorado 48-20: Can we rescind our offer of conference membership to these guys yet?	Colorado def. Cal 38-35 (OT): Bears fall short in best game of the season.	Cal def. Colorado 48-12: By far the easiest game of the year.
Stanford def. Cal 28-24: Had to be the one team on the west coast that plays SEC-style football to hold the Bear Raid offense to under 30 points.	Stanford def Cal 32-20: Maybe next year....	Stanford def Cal 30-10: Fundamental defense shuts down "gimmick" offense.	Stanford def. Cal 45-14: Ugh.	Stanford def. Cal 25-17: Hurts to write this one but Cal plays tough until the end.
Final Record: 6-6 (4-5 in the Pac-12)	Final Record: 5-7 (3-6 in the Pac-12)	Final Record: 5-7 (3-6 in the Pac-12)	Final Record: 3-9 (1-8 in the Pac-12)	Final Record: 7-5 (5-4 in the Pac-12)

GO BEARS!

Highlights of the TFS

If you want to get a peak of what the Tony Franklin System looks like at its highest level and how the Cal offense might look like by the end of the season, check out the video below.


I think a big misconception, even among educated Cal fans, is that the TFS is a complex offense too complicated for the average person to comprehend. In reality, however, the video above shows exactly what the TFS is about: KISS.

At its core, the main goal of the TFS is to keep it simple stupid. Of course, having a guy like Quinton Patton doesn't hurt, but the TFS is all about creating favorable one-on-one matchups to exploit (over and over again if need be). It'll obviously take some time for the Bears to gel, but I think if you sat down with Sonny Dykes and had a couple whiskeys, even he would admit this is the most talent he's ever had at his disposal.

If Louisiana Tech could average (AVERAGE!) 50 points a game, then I can't wait to see what Cal will be able to do once things start clicking the way Tony Franklin himself has intended his system to work.

Saturday can't come soon enough.

Go Bears!

Four More Days!

Who else is fired up for Saturday?!

I love these Hard Knocks-type videos because we fans truly learn a lot about the personalities of the team we cheer for.

What I learned from this one:

1. The videos produced by Cal Athletics have gotten a lot better.
2. This coaching staff has a ton of personality.
3. Chris McCain is definitely from the country.

Can't wait.


Go Bears!

Sonny Dykes and Tradition

Ran across this article not to long ago about the extra funding The Ohio State band garnered this off-season and the extra road trips they will now take (including one to Berkeley) because of the boost in their budget.

I think I can speak for all of my friends that seeing the band in action last year in Columbus was very cool. To be able to watch a true college football tradition live-and-direct was excellent and something we won't forget anytime soon.

Reading the article also reminded me of something Dykes said shortly after he was hired about bringing "college football tradition" back to Berkeley. For all intents and purposes, Dykes is college football through-and-through. His father was a long-time collegiate coach and Dykes, in more ways than one, was raised to become a football coach himself. When you add on to the fact that Dykes spent a bevy of time in Texas and you quickly understand how entrenched college football tradition is in his blood and what all that stuff means to him.

Sonny Dykes is bringing tradition back to Cal football. (Golden Bear Sports.com)

With that said, I wasn't surprised one bit when Dykes mentioned (albeit briefly) about creating more of an old-school traditional feel to the Cal football program. I don't think Dykes was talking about major changes when he said that but rather subtle tweaks - including implementing a post-game fight song sing along between the entire team and the student section. Other fanbases probably read that last point said thought what, Cal doesn't do that? as numerous programs around the country have done the post-game sing for a very, very, long time.

I also really liked when I read earlier this week that Dykes sat down with former Cal quarterbacks Troy Taylor, Mike Pawlawski, Dave Barr and Pat Barnes to pick their brains about Cal football and all things associated with it. Since the moment Dykes has been hired and his staff has been put together, they have said, done, and performed in a way that most Cal fans envisioned post-Jeff Tedford era.

In a way, it really does feel like Dykes is purposely doing everything edford would never do (publicly connecting with old alumni, open practices, smiling and laughing, etc ...). Initially, I was lukewarm on the Dykes hire but after hearing him in interviews and watching how he coaches and interacts with his guys in practice, I am now very confident that Sandy Barbour hired the right guy (or at least as confident as I can be considering no one has played a game yet).

Only time will tell if Dykes does indeed prove himself to be a great football coach in a BCS-level conference. What I can say though is that I am happy he's coaching the Bears right now ... and I'll probably be singing along right with him win-or-lose come Saturday night.

Go Bears!

Injury Bug Already Major Factor

The news that came out of the weekly press conference Tuesday wasn't great.

According to Sonny Dykes, middle linebacker Nick Forbes is out for Saturday's game due to a disc issue and defensive end Brennan Scarlett is also likely out due to a slower-than-expected recovery from hand surgery.

Although the news wasn't surprising, especially given the fact that neither Forbes nor Scarlett has really practiced yet, it is still a huge blow to a Cal defense already steeped in several question marks. I believe that the defensive line will be just fine in the long run, but given the pace that Northwestern plays at, having Scarlett opposite Chris McCain would've been a huge bonus.

With Forbes out, freshman Hardy Nickerson Jr. steps right to the forefront. (thebaymode.com)

The greater issue, however, is the health of Forbes's back. As many people will attest to (athlete or not), disc issues don't exactly just go away by themselves. Not having Forbes in the lineup for one game isn't that big of a deal but the concern is that Forbes might very well be out for a much longer period of time - which will hurt the Bears.

It does make sense now why Hardy Nickerson Jr. was listed as the starter coming out of Fall Camp. Although I think Junior will eventually be a pretty good player for Cal (he exhibits a lot of positive attributes that his Pops did), I just don't know if Nickerson is ready for be an on-field leader for Andy Buh's scheme. And even if Nickerson is ready, which I'm sure the coaches certainly feel he is, the depth behind him is scary bad.

Jalen Jefferson proved to be a functional contributor as a freshman last year and he has made tremendous strides so far this year. I have no doubt Jefferson is going to be a really good player for the Bears. Besides him, however, there are question marks all over the place for the Cal linebacking crew:

• Nick Forbes: Who knows when he will be 100 percent.
• Khairi Fortt: Hasn't played in two years. Injury concerns.
• Johnny Ragin III: This kid has gotten a lot of pub from coaches but he's a true freshman.
• Chad Whitener: Same as Ragin III.
• Michael Barton: Decent player but nothing special.
• Jason Gibson: Definitely intriguing but I think even coaches would agree it's going to take a while for Gibson to adjust.

Given how much the Cal defense will be on the field this season (in theory) depth is going to be a major issue to watch throughout the season. The Bears are going to need as many capable bodies as they can find and having your veteran middle linebacker out of the lineup isn't exactly a great start.

On another note, it does sound like Avery Sebastian (concussion) will play.

Go Bears!

Backfield Rotation

The word "potential" is overused and abused in sports but that term best describes Cal's backfield this season.

Between Brendan Bigelow, Daniel Lasco and Khalfani Muhammad, no one truly knows how good they will be or if they will even produce. One thing that probably can't be disputed, however, is the talent level all three guys exhibit. We were able to see a brief taste of what Bigelow is capable of and now that there is a new regime, there is ample evidence that Sonny Dykes and company are going to try to maximize the skills Bigelow brings to the table.

Hopefully we'll be seeing a lot of above this season. (AP)

What I am very interested to find out is how Dykes, Tony Franklin, and Pierre Ingram will use Bigelow. Long gone are the days where a running back garners 30 carries a game (although I guess Shane Vereen damn near did his last season). Instead, more and more teams on all levels of football are adopting the philosophy of split carries to keep ball-carriers fresh. Given how many plays the TFS runs on a game-by-game basis, I'd imagine there will be plenty of carries to go around.

I do wonder how much (by percentage) Cal will use Bigelow this season. Give how explosive the former Fresno standout is, I'm sure there is a temptation to give him the ball as much as possible, especially given the way the TFS is structured and how (in theory) running lanes open up as the game progresses. Looking at the splits at Louisiana Tech for the last two seasons, for instance, there is reason to believe the coaching staff will use the three running backs in much the same way that they have in the past.

2011

Player	Carries
Lennon Creer	198
Hunter Lee	135
Ray Holley	36

2012

Player	Carries
Kenneth Dixon	200
Ray Holley	142
Tevin King	46

Both Bigelow and Lasco have battled through some injuries over the last year (and in Bigelow's case a lot longer than that) so I'm sure Dykes is resisting the urge to throw Bigelow right in the mix. Ideally, if the Cal 'backs could garner a 200-142-46 split like the LA Tech boys did last season, I think that'll benefit the Bears tremendously.

I Don't Understand This Levi Stadium Hubbub

Word on the street is that Cal and Stanford have agreed to move the 2014 Big Game from Memorial Stadium to the 49ers' soon-to-be new stadium in Santa Clara.

In return, Cal will host the Big Game in 2015 and therefore "even out" its home schedule from being so lopsided. From Stanford's perspective, the Cardinal will now get to host Notre Dame and Cal in separate years (but who really cares about Stanford?).

If this plan goes through:

Even Years
Oregon
UCLA
Washington
Colorado or Utah
Arizona or Arizona State

Odd Years
Stanford
USC
Oregon State
Washington State
Arizona or Arizona State
Colorado or Utah

With the logistics out of the way, some thoughts:

1. Make no mistake about it, the only reason all three parties have agreed to this is only about money. Cal benefits from this by making its season ticket package more attractive in odd number years and so does Stanford. The 49ers benefit because it'll be more pub for their new stadium.
2. I have no idea why so many Cal fans are upset by this news.

The reaction to news like this is when I think Cal fans suffer from an issue that plagues a lot of fanbases around the country. Reading all the posts and comments out there (and boy are there many), fans have stated everything from the long commute to the South Bay to Berkeley businesses losing money as reasons for why the Cal administration should have never agreed to this. 

One game in this place isn't the end of the world. (49ers media relations)

One guy even said he was going to boycott the entire season because he's so disheartened.

What Cal fans truly and desperately need to understand is that college football is not what it once was when they grew up. The concept of "purity of the game" does not exist anymore. The belief that the Cal administration should play towards the all-day college experience of walking up Bancroft and giving its alumni ample time to reminiscence about the past on gamedays has left the station a long, long, time ago.

College football is a business and Cal needs to do all it can to stay with the curve and if that means "selling out" a little bit to get some extra bucks in the budget then so be it. The moment Sandy Barbour and the administration decided to re-model Memorial Stadium (anyone who thinks the re-model was strictly for earthquake reasons is fooling themselves) and build the Simpson Center, they symbolically said they were in it to win it.

Cal fans can't have it both ways. They can't complain, complain, complain all day about how poorly the product is on the field and then get mad at the Cal administration for doing what a bevy of other teams around the country are now doing - taking the money.

Bit of a tangent but related: A great story I heard a couple years back when I was still covering the team was about Rick Neuheisel. As most people know, recruiting is the lifeline of every college football program and people haven't seen an arms-race until they've walked inside a recruiting battle. Programs need good players to win. Period. Neuheisel knew that better than anybody so one day he rented/stole/borrowed/was given a helicopter and word from SoCal was that he visited seven recruits at seven different schools in a four-hour span and surprise, surprise, UCLA ended up getting a lot of those recruits to eventually commit (including Shaq Evans).

Or maybe Cal fans really want to spend the rest of their days in an empty stadium but at least they'll get to eat at Top Dog. (San Jose Mercury)

I bring that story up because it shows the ridiculous lengths coaches have to go to win football games and it also entails how much money every program needs to stay above water. Now, I'm not saying Sonny Dykes needs to start landing helicopters in East Oakland but I am saying that programs need all the money they can get to truly compete against the Alabamas and LSUs of the world.

Is Sandy Barbour the greatest Athletic Director in the world? Probably not.

But is she a dummy? No. C'mon man.

Barbour very much understands the Cal football tradition and what it means for Cal alumni to have pride in their prestigious and beautiful university. However, Cal fans also can't have it both ways. If Cal fans really want Cal to win in this day and age, then once in a while the administration has to give in to the mighty dollar.

Additionally, I don't believe for one second that this puts Cal at a competitive disadvantage:

1. Cal fans will outnumber Stanford fans at Levi Stadium (those that disagree should remember why the Stanford admin had to call the riot police in 2003).
2. If Cal is truly going to win a Pac-12 title, playing 30 miles from home shouldn't make a lick of difference no matter what the circumstances are, especially against a fanbase as fickle and piss-poor as Stanford's.
3. Cal still gets to host the next Big Game after 2013. It'll just come a year later than planned.

In the end, I guess someone needs to complain about something but in this case I really don't understand what all the fuss is about.

GO BEARS!

Great Read: Northwestern Running Game

I usually don't link to other posts but whoever this blogger is does an incredible job of breaking down the Wildcats's rushing attack.

Detailed doesn't even begin to describe it!

From the gist of it, the Northwestern running game sounds a lot like the Oregon rushing
attack. There's no doubt Deandre Coleman and company are going to be tested right away
come Saturday night. I can't wait to see if the Cal defense is up for the challenge.

GO BEARS!

Is Tiny Ready To Be Large?

Not since the famed 2004 season, when the Bears trotted out Lorenzo Alexander and Brandon Mebane, has Cal featured a pair of legitimately terrifying defensive interior linemen. There is a chance, however, that this season might be the first in a long, long, time.

Two years ago, Vilami "Tiny" Moala was one of the crown jewels of the 2011 recruiting class, heralded as a massive run-stopper that would clog up the middle of the trenches like a mini Gilbert Brown. And now, Moala might finally be ready to play up to his post-high school projection. The massive Moala put together a very good Fall Camp, which despite Cal's own struggles along its offensive line, is a great sign for the coming season.

Cal needs big #55 is to make a big impact. (SF Chronicle)

With the attention that Deandre Coleman is sure to see from opposing teams, Moala potentially gives the Bears a much needed asset that has been lacking from the Bears' front-7 for years and Tiny's presence couldn't have come at a more opportune time given all the question marks that surround the Cal defense. A couple years back, I was fortunate enough (thanks to a colleague and good friend of mine) to have the opportunity to get to know a little bit about the Nevada coaching staff (when Colin Kaepernick was still in school).

One name that kept coming up in various conversations about the Nevada program was Barry Sacks. Of course, Sacks is now the interior defensive line coach for Cal that I cannot underestimate how fortunate the program is to have a guy like Sacks. People around the "business" absolutely rave about Sacks and from what I understand his former and current players sing his praises as well. So count me in the not surprised category to hear and see first hand all the improvements that guys like Moala and Mustafa Jalil has made these past couple months working with Sacks. In other words, the guy can flat out coach.

And there might not be anyone on the roster who has benefited more from a new position coach than Moala himself. While his nickname is Tiny, the guys who are actually tiny along the Bears' defensive line would benefit greatly if Moala really ends up holding down the fort in the trenches this season. Chris McCain, Puka Lopa, and Brennan Scarlett -- for all their strengths (and there are many) -- are all on the smallish side as defensive ends. If Coleman and Moala draw attention inside like they could, that'll alleviate quite a bit of pressure off of McCain and company which in turn would allow them to do what they do best -- rush the passer.

Cal will get tested right away with Northwestern's Venric Mark coming into town come next week. Hopefully Moala will be up to the task.

Go Bears!

Thoughts On New Depth Chart

Sonny Dykes and his staff released an updated depth chart earlier today which means 1. Fall Camp is just about done and 2. the season is about to start. Double good news!!

We will definitely get more in-depth on the moving and shaking but some quick thoughts:

Quarterback

I felt Jared Goff earned the job with his play throughout Spring Ball and Fall Camp but I don't by any means think that Zach Kline is a below average quarterback. Quite the opposite actually. Kline is a tremendous talent in his own right and would honestly start for a lot of Division 1 programs out there right now. It's just that for this offense, at this particular time, given what Cal is trying to accomplish, Goff is simply the better fit. But, with a potentially shaky offensive line and daunting schedule ahead, I don't think anyone would be surprised one bit if Kline eventually sees some serious reps this season.

Running Back

Has Cal ever had a speedier group of ball carriers? Between Brendan Bigelow, Daniel Lasco and Khalfani Muhammad, there is some serious gas there folks. I am concerned about the health of all three of those guys and it'll be very intriguing to see how Dykes splits up the reps between the trio.

I'm pretty sure Chris Harper is going to be doing a lot of this. (Cal Athletics)

 Wide Receiver

Unproven? Sure. Young? Definitely. Talented? Absolutely. Of all the units on this year's squad, I am most excited about the wide receivers and how they potentially could perform this season. In my mind, Chris Harper is the clear star of this group but guys like Bryce Treggs (who has looked tremendous in Fall Camp), Richard Rodgers, Ken Lawler, and Darius Powe should make major contributions. Also, big standing ovation for Jackson Bouza, who entered the program as an unknown walk-on and has worked his tail off to earn a starting position.

Offensive Line

If the wide receivers pose the most potential excitement, the offensive line pose the most potential headaches. There are certainly some skilled players that will see time this year and I'm sure they will learn and get better. The concern is obviously their youth and inexperience. Freddie Tagaloa will be in the NFL - there's not much doubt about it. But is the Richmond native ready to pull a Mitchell Schwartz impression and hold down the fort as a freshman? I am happy to see that Jordan Rigsbee and Chris Adcock will round out the left side of the line if for nothing giving Cal two guys who have some playing experience. The right side of the line, however, is the major question. Is Matt Cochran ready to be a full-time starter? Can Steven Moore carry his strong Fall Camp performance into the season? So many questions.

Defensive Line

Super pumped to see Tiny Moala play alongside Deandre Coleman. Good luck blocking those two guys opposing offensive lines. Some fans out there in the blogosphere have expressed concerns about the defensive line but I am not one of them as I predict that the Bears' strength defensively will be the defensive line. Word coming out of camp is that Moala is finally playing up to his potential and I love the speed and quickness that Brennan Scarlett and Chris McCain bring off the edge.

Linebackers

Depth is an issue here and count me as surprised to see Hardy Nickerson Jr. listed as a starter. I watched young Hardy on several occasions when he was in high school at Bishop O'Dowd and I didn't feel he would adjust to the college game nearly as fast as he has so major props to him. Even though I think we all believe Nick Forbes will eventually be the starter at that position it is great news to see Nickerson Jr. doing so well. Also, if there is a player out there more anxious to finally play in a real game than Khairi Fortt let me know.

Secondary

The cornerbacks should be fine (if Stefan McClure is truly recovered from his knee injury) but I am very worried about the safety position. Even before Avery Sebastian went down with his concussion, I didn't feel the Bears had the talent there to really compete at a BCS (or whatever it's called now) level. With Sebastian out, I am even more concerned.

Go Bears!

Bears In Great Shape Under Center

No one really knows how this season will play out at the quarterback position, but I think most Cal fans are comfortable with where the Bears are at right now and the potential that both Jared Goff and Zach Kline possess.

If we take a look at the coming seasons, the situation under center looks even brighter for the Cal program - a line of thought that was far-fetched just a couple years ago. No matter what happens between Goff and Kline (and I think both will eventually see some time), the Bears will go into the 2014 campaign confident they have a leader who can win them football games on a week-to-week basis (unless both stink up the place ... an unlikely scenario).

This guy might not look all that, but he can ball. (AZ Central)

What really makes me happy is on the recruiting front, especially 2014 verbal commit Luke Rubenzer, a short and athletic quarterback out of Arizona. Rivals.com recently updated their player rankings and Rubenzer (pronounced roo-Ben-zer) made a slight jump towards the cusp of the four-star mark (Rubenzer is currently and likely to stay at three stars). Admittedly I don't follow recruiting nearly as close as I used to but this Rubenzer kid looks, talks, and carries himself like a great quarterback (all attributes that every program needs).

Rubenzer isn't the tallest guy in the world (only 5"11") nor the biggest (can't be anywhere close to 200 pounds right now) so his rankings and offer lists reflect his measurables. When you look at his tape, however, in conjunction with the incredible statistics he puts up, Rubenzer has all the tools to one day become that quarterback to finally lead Cal to The Promised Land (if Goff and/or Kline doesn't do it first).

I mean seriously, just check out Rubenzer's highlight reel:


In this Rivals.com video, the analyst compares Rubenzer to former Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who had a tremendous collegiate career himself and someone who I think Rubenzer will imitate once he steps onto campus. No one really knows what the term "it factor" actually means but we all have an idea in our heads. In my mind, Rubenzer definitely has that "it" factor that should make Cal fans really excited for the coming seasons.

What is also very important to note - and a theme that I'm sure Cal fans will be seeing in the coming years under Dykes' regime - is that Rubenzer's high school runs Tony Franklin's offense. As I'm sure most know by now, the TFS (Tony Franklin System) is very specific in what it wants and what it is looking for both schematically and the type of player it recruits. In Rubenzer's case, he fits exactly what Dykes and Franklin is looking for and someone (who after a redshirt season to bulk up) should be able to seriously compete for the starting position.

All in all, Cal looks to be in very good shape under center.

Oh yeah - the Bears are a finalist for this guy. I've heard he is kinda good too. Like maybe best quarterback in the country good.

Go Bears!

Are We There Yet?

I’m counting down the days like a kid waiting for Christmas but I have to constantly remind myself to curb my own enthusiasm. For all the bravado, confidence, and “new car smell” that Sonny Dykes and company exude, the bottom line is that Cal went 3-9 last year for a reason.

Still though, it is very hard not to be excited.  

From the few Fall Camp practices I’ve witnessed in person the last couple weeks:

Pace

Granted I haven’t watched a ton of football practices over the years (a whole bunch of Cal’s practices – not so much other teams) but I have been amazed at how fast Dykes makes his team practice. No wasted minute, no wasted rep. Everyone on the field has a purpose and a role on every snap. Beautiful.

Goff vs. Kline

For all the press clippings surrounding Zack Kline I was never super impressed with him and I mentioned that it in passing to a couple of fellow SCF members over the summer. I know that statement is easy to say now (since Dykes has named Goff the starter) but I honestly felt watching Kline that something was missing from his repertoire and that giving him the ball under center would make me a little uneasy if I was Dykes.

It's your show Mr. Goff. (San Francisco Chronicle)

 In that respect, Goff just made a lot more sense for what Cal is trying to accomplish offensively. By now, most people who follow Cal football closely understand the general goal of Tony Franklin’s offense and what he is trying to accomplish on a game-by-game basis. As discussed at length throughout the Cal blogosphere already, the key to his offense really is efficiency and being able to complete passes in a timely and accurate manner. There is no getting around a Tony Franklin offense without being able to keep the chains moving. That’s the bottom line.

Brian (a MCAL expert) was sold on Goff from the second the Marin Catholic star stepped onto campus, but for months I wasn’t convinced that Goff was quite ready. Goff slowly sold me on the idea with his play in practice, however, and since I suck at evaluating football it took me longer than others to actually realize it. Having said that, the true freshman is a tremendous talent. Goff is tall, accurate, and has a quick release. What has impressed me most about Goff has been his ability to place his passes in small windows where only quarterbacks years his senior would be able to see. I think that ability, more than anything else, is what ultimately sold Dykes and Franklin on Goff.

Injuries

Dykes actually mentioned injuries during his post-practice interview on 8/20. And while the head coach is absolutely correct in that Cal has been luckier than other teams in the injury department, there is definitely a level of anticipation there for us fans to be able to finally see all the key guys in action (which we haven’t and will not see until August 31). Dykes is obviously doing the smart thing by easing guys like Bigelow, Fortt, and Scarlett, among others into game action but I can’t wait until we get to see all of these playmakers in the mix.

Go Bears!