Spring update

Originally scheduled to begin today (Monday, March 17), spring practice has been delayed until March 31 and will run through April 26. J. Okanes singles out RB James Montgomery and DT Derrick Hill as players who will benefit from the extra time to recover to 100% strength:

“Coach Tedford thought it would be most beneficial for the team to delay the start of spring practice. It will give some players some time to recover from injuries so they can participate fully in spring ball.”

Meanwhile, the CC Times reports that Coach Jeff Tedford has reinstated “Tedford Law” during conditioning:

“At some point we lost our confidence,” Cal linebacker Worrell Williams said. “We lost the fun in the game. So (Tedford’s) bringing a whole new attitude.”Tedford is drawing on some of the team- and morale-building skills he used six years ago when he arrived in Berkeley and took over a demoralized group coming off a 1-10 disaster. …

“Coach Tedford’s on us harder than he’s ever been,” [LB Zach] Follett said. “He’s reinforcing the ‘Tedford Law’ around here. When I first got here, I saw how it was. Then two years went by, and I saw how much lenience was being allowed.  He kind of recognized that. That’s the No. 1 change that he’s been making. That’s helping our team.”

Follett said he welcomed the return of a tougher, more demanding Tedford. After what happened last season, it’s not surprising that Tedford’s players are receptive to anything that will help them avoid a repeat.

Finally, the courtroom battle over the construction of the new athletic facilities is still raging on. A final hearing was originally scheduled for last Friday, March 14, but the presiding judge has delayed the hearing without giving a reason. The judge previously asked for expert testimony about the specifics of the project, and it appears that UC made a stronger case. This Scout.com article covers some of the background and recent news of the situation.

Rodgers gets his chance: Favre to retire

 

Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre has announced his decision to retire.  This finally opens the door for former Cal QB Aaron Rodgers to get his opportunity to play after being chosen in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft:

The team will now shift to Aaron Rodgers, a former first-round pick, who has had few opportunities to play since being selected with the 24th overall pick in the 2005 draft. But when Favre was injured in a Thursday night game against Dallas this past season, Rodgers looked pretty good in relief. The former Cal star completed 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown — the first of his career — and nearly rallied the Packers to the win.

Signing Day

EDIT: No recruiting surprises — all commits are official. Cal’s 2008 class is rated #35 in the nation by Rivals and #32 by Scout.com.

Today is Signing Day, when verbal commitments from high school and junior college recruits are finalized in official letters of intent.

Coach Jeff Tedford usually lands one surprise recruit at the last minute, so we’ll keep you updated on the progress of the 2008 class.

In the meantime, you can see the list of received LOIs in real-time on the Cal Bears website, as well as the list of verbal commitments on Scout.com.

DeSean: NFL decision today

EDIT 1:40 PM: DeSean Jackson has declared for the NFL. Listen to an audio recording of his Q&A with the media here (from Scout.com). Read ESPN’s article about his decision here. Good luck in the league, DeSean.

EDIT 12:15 PM: 45 minutes until Jackson’s announcement. In the meantime, here is a clip from the Chronicle:

It’s widely suggested that a player being assured a first-round selection should not risk injury with a return to college. …

“I don’t even get with that,” Bill Jackson said. “He could be like Brady Quinn, sitting there all day. Education is the most important thing to our family.”

Bill Jackson said he was under the impression that his message had resonated with his son.

“I really think he was leaning toward coming back to school,” he said. “If he was going to go (to the) draft, he would have to be working out. He’s been relaxed and hanging out with his partners.

“Of course, he blew my mind with his last decision. I thought he was going to SC.”

DeSean Jackson ranks third all-time at Cal in receiving yards (2,423) and receiving touchdowns (22) and sixth in receptions (162). He has 28 touchdowns in 36 games, including a school- and conference-record six punt returns for scores.

He has 52 career plays of 20 yards or more – 23 percent of his 226 touches – including a 40-yard touchdown reception in the Armed Forces Bowl. DeSean Jackson came off the bench from an undisclosed rules violation to catch five passes for 81 yards from backup Kevin Riley in Cal’s 42-36 comeback win over Air Force.

“With Riley’s performance, it’s going to be a really hard decision,” Jackson said after the Dec. 31 game. “I could come back and get like 100 catches. The way he played gives me something to think about.

At 1pm today, WR/PR DeSean Jackson will announce whether he intends to stay his senior year at Cal or declare as a junior for the draft. Throughout this past season, Jackson has been pegged as a definite first-round pick.

Today is the deadline for underclassmen like Jackson to make their decision — he has waited to literally the last minute to make his decision. Given this drawn-out delay, there might be some slight hope that Jackson will return. We’ll see in a few hours.

Hired: OC, DB and DL coaches

Head coach Jeff Tedford has hired Frank Cignetti to be the new offensive coordinator for the Bears. This season, he was the 49ers quarterback coach; he formerly was the OC of Fresno State and UNC.

Tedford also hired Al Simmons (Cal’s DB coach in 98-00) to be the new defensive backs coach, replacing R. Todd Littlejohn. Simmons previously coached for teams like ASU, SJSU, the 49ers, and Oregon State.

Finally, Tedford promoted graduate assistant Tosh Lupoi (see profile) to be the new defensive line coach spot (replacing Ken Delgado).

As previously reported, current QB coach Kevin Daft will be the new receivers coach, replacing Dan Ferrigno.

Here is the official Cal release as well as an article by the Associated Press [/jj].

4-star RB Deboskie commits

Photo: Rivals.com

Today, running back Covaughn Deboskie made an announcement of his commitment to Cal at the Army All-American Bowl (see video). He favored Cal in the recruiting process over the past several months, and news of his unofficial commitment has circulated for a few days.

Deboskie is a 4-star recruit out of Chandler, AZ; he is 6’0″/195 lbs and reportedly has a sub-4.4 40-yard-dash time (see profile on Scout, Rivals). An excellent student with a GPA above 4.0, Deboskie plans to enroll at Cal in the spring and participate in spring practice.

He chose Cal over ASU and Stanford with offers from Florida, Michigan, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia Tech as well.

WR, DB coaches fired

Confirming rumors floating around the internet, the CC Times reports that Coach Jeff Tedford has axed two assistant coaches: receivers coach Dan Ferrigno and defensive backs coach R. Todd Littlejohn.

Also in the rumor mill is the possible hire of former Tedford pupil and current 49er quarterback Trent Dilfer as a new offensive coordinator, as well as current QB coach Kevin Daft taking over the WR coach duties.

EDIT 1/5: Additionally, reports are circulating that defensive line coach Ken Delgado is leaving for Louisville on his own (not fired by Tedford).

Armed Forces Bowl: enter Riley

Photo: My Bear Territory

QB Kevin Riley entered the game with the Bears looking hopelessly behind, with 0 points to Air Force’s 21. In the face of adversity, the bowl’s MVP played magnificently and led the Bears to a 42-36 victory.

Riley completed 16 of 19 passes for 269 yards while tossing 3 touchdowns and rushing for another, all with no interceptions or mistakes — racking up a stunning 255.54 passer rating.

Some may suggest a quarterback controversy, but I see no such thing. 2008 should be a great season, as the Riley era has begun.

QB, news from Fort Worth

First thing: Coach Jeff Tedford made it clear that all positions will be open come spring, specifically the quarterback position (including freshman Brock Mansion).  Tedford said this about the competition:

Asked to define compete, Tedford said: “It’s going to be wide open to compete for all positions.”  Junior Nate Longshore is the two-year incumbent – and would be a three-year starter if not for a broken ankle in the 2005 season-opener – but he has struggled in comparison to his sophomore numbers. …

“Oh yeah, there’s going to be competition (at quarterback),” Tedford said. “Last year, (the young quarterbacks) really hadn’t been in our system. Now, there are guys in the system, and they’ll all get a chance to play in the springtime.”

Though Tedford hadn’t said publicly that any position would be open in the spring, he apparently announced the decision to the team after its loss to Stanford in the regular-season finale.

He had these words to say about Mansion:

“He has a lot of talent and has a bright future,” Tedford said. “He’ll compete, there’s no question about it. He’ll have an opportunity to compete in the springtime.”

In other news, WR DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan, and FS Thomas DeCoud will not start the bowl game due to a violation of team rules.  Jon Okanes reports:

Tedford didn’t elaborate but said it wasn’t a major violation. He said the three players still will play but didn’t know how long they would stay on the bench at the beginning of the game.

This doesn’t sound very serious, but I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Best: good news

Freshman RB Jahvid Best‘s hip injury is not as serious or career-threatening as previously speculated.  The Chronicle reports:

Dr. Cindy Chang on Thursday spoke positively about the freshman tailback’s recovery.  “Most people equate crutches to a bad injury, but actually, (Best) is doing very well, clinically,” said Chang, the head physician of Cal’s 27 athletic teams since 1995. “We haven’t seen anything that we have to go in and fix. There’s no reason to be invasive and operate at this point.”  …

There have been all kind of mysterious theories or worst-case scenarios for Best, the player viewed as the centerpiece of the Bears’ future. “It’s the unknown that makes people start to second-guess,” Chang said. “We’ve been in very clear communication with Jahvid, his parents and the three hip specialists we’ve consulted nationally. Everyone agrees with us on our diagnosis and on the plan we’ve set.”

As Cal coach Jeff Tedford originally said, Chang called Best’s injury a bruised hip bone.

This is great news for Best and the team, but he will not play in the bowl game nor participate in track this spring.