Ayoob challenging Longshore as starter

As reported yesterday, former starting quarterback Joe Ayoob appears to be doing increasingly well in spring practice. The SF Chronicle is reporting that he’s challenging Nate Longshore as front-runner for the starting spot.

Brace Adams says: Ayoob has been a surprise. He’s beginning to show the form that earned him junior college All-America honors at CCSF, where he led the Rams to a national championship as a freshman.

“He’s throwing the ball a lot sharper,” Tedford said.

Ayoob has been helped by changes in Cal’s offense, with Tedford incorporating elements of the spread-option, which Dunbar used at Northwestern in leading the nation’s No. 4-ranked offense last season. It is similar to the pure spread Ayoob ran at City College.

Read the whole article here. If he does take over the starting spot from Longshore, it’ll be a remarkable comeback after his meltdown of a season last year that ended with boos at home. I’d like to see Longshore take over after his nasty injury last season, but we’ll see who Tedford decides on.