Cal selected for 3 primetime games on ABC

ABC Saturday Night College Football has pre-selected Cal for three of their primetime games this fall. They will be available in high definition (HD) for the first time.

Oct. 7, 8 p.m. ET: Oregon at California
Nov. 4, 8 p.m. ET: UCLA at California
Nov. 18, 8 p.m. ET: California at USC

Great to see recognition for Cal as a top football team. Take a look at the article here.

Cal on ESPN

Marshawn Lynch is now gracing the front page of ESPN’s College Football site with caption, “Marshawn Lynch and the Bears are taking aim on the Pac-10 title”. It’s the lead-in for their Pac-10 spring recap article, which highlights many of the developments from spring practice and things to look for in the fall. Take a look.

Blog names Cal one of 4 “best offenses” for 2006

College football blog Heisman Pundit has put up some interesting analysis about offenses in the upcoming season. Coach Jeff Tedford and the team get some high praise:

Cal already ran a balanced, air-tight scheme under Tedford, but now he has added elements of the spread. It’s a brilliant ploy which should help Cal’s young offensive line to make up for some of its deficiencies. Think this system isn’t buoyant enough to keep a team afloat? Last year, Cal lost its starting quarterback in game one. The replacement couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn and his replacement was a former fullback. Most teams go 4-7 in those circumstances. Cal went 8-4 with three losses by seven points or less. Think the running game is all about an uber-talent like Marshawn Lynch? Well, Justin Forsett–a former Notre Dame commit who no one else wanted–also approached 1,000 yards.

Take a look at the entire article here. Another good quote: “The sophistication of (Notre Dame head coach) Charlie Weis‘ passing attack–in the context of teams that have balanced offenses–is matched only by Jeff Tedford’s in all of college football.”

Cal alumni and NFL free agency

I will continue updating this as more news comes in.

Punter David Lonie has been signed by the Washington Redskins. Safety Donnie McClesky was signed by the Chicago Bears. Fullback Chris Manderino signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. DB Harrison Smith has signed with the Detroit Lions.

Great to see our players make it to the next level. Here’s an article detailing these free agent signings.

Cal alumni and the NFL draft

Former Cal offensive linemen Ryan O’Callaghan (tackle), Marvin Philip (center), and Aaron Merz (guard) have been selected in the NFL draft. O’Callaghan was selected in the fifth round (136th overall) by the New England Patriots. Philip was selected in the sixth round (201st overall) by the Pittsburg Steelers. Merz was selected in the seventh round (248th overall) by the Buffalo Bills. Congratulations to all of them.

In other news, there’s an article out about former Cal receiver Chase Lyman. Lyman was selected in the fourth round by the New Orleans Saints last year, and finally appears to be doing well enough to play. He suffered injury after injury throughout college and the NFL, but he was very good when healthy. Hopefully we’ll see him on the field next season.

Media on the spring scrimmage

Here’s a few articles from the past 2 days with insight on the spring scrimmage on Saturday:

• Associated Press: Cal steps up offense in scrimmage
• CSTV.com: Bears complete spring with Cal Day scrimmage
• Oakland Tribune: Tedford will wait to pick Cal’s starting QB
• Contra Costa Times: Cal’s quarterback race on hold
• SF Chronicle: Cal’s spring ends with Longshore in the saddle
• The Bear Insider: Longshore throws for 2 TDs in scrimmage
• Oakland Tribune: Cal’s deep defense has mayhem in mind

Impressions from the spring game

Today I had to chance to watch the annual spring scrimmage with a free burrito. To be honest, the game wasn’t too spectacular but seeing the team play increased my excitement for the upcoming season.

In addition to the starters, the second and third stringers got a great deal of playing time. In terms of the spread, we didn’t see too much of the predicted complexity in the offense, but some option plays out of the shotgun. Overall, it felt like there was a lot left to be seen.

Joe Ayoob did not get a chance under center (he was injured) but did hold for the placekickers. Of the other three QBs, Nate Longshore looked the sharpest throwing, having the luxury of running the first-string offense. While he had some touchdown passes, he did struggle somewhat in running plays. We also got a glimpse of Kyle Reed in play; he showed a lot of potential but definitely needs more experience before taking the starting position. Steve Levy showed a lot of heart and made some great runs, but had some difficulty with passes. I heard he hurt his hand early on in the scrimmage, but I’m not able to confirm that. A nice surprise was seeing him make a few punts as well. They actually looked pretty good.

We didn’t see much from the receivers, as most of the plays in the air were short passes. In the opening drive, DeSean Jackson caught a pass from Longshore and took it something like 75 yards to score. He also returned a punt for a touchdown. There were a few more catches from Lavelle Hawkins, Robert Jordan and LaReylle Cunningham, but nothing much to talk about.

Tight end Craig Stevens also caught a touchdown pass from Longshore in the red zone. I’m not sure if we saw much from the other tight ends.

Marshawn Lynch didn’t appear as explosive as usual and lacked any jaw-dropping plays, but looked solid up the middle. Justin Forsett looked good too, and had some nice moves.

The offensive line looked decent, but not as dominant with the loss of last year’s seniors. They could improve, but they don’t look bad either.

On the defensive side, things look very good. The players are strong and fast. The line always put the pressure on, sometimes overwhelming the offensive line. The linebackers made a lot of tackles, with Desmond Bishop making quite a few plays. The defensive backs did well and got close to a bunch of interceptions, with Tim Mixon returning a pick off Reed for a touchdown.

Overall, the team looked ready for the season. The offense seems to be progressing well, and with a more experienced offensive line they will be a powerhouse. Meanwhile, the defense is definitely solid and will be feared next season.

Lynch running better, smarter

The Contra Costa Times is saying that Marshawn Lynch is running smarter, making him even more dangerous on the field. In addition, it reports that he’s weighing in at 225, something like 10 pounds more than last year. At 5’10”, he’s going to be a monster. Here’s an excerpt:

Jay Heater says: Although Cal tailback Marshawn Lynch gained 1,246 yards as a sophomore, the third-best rushing year in team history, running backs coach Ron Gould said Lynch only has started to tap into his potential.

“He has gotten so much better (in the offseason),” Gould said. “He has gotten better in terms of work ethic, and I see a better back in terms of all-around play. He is running the ball harder inside. He has been great in meetings. He is smart like a fox.”

You can see the rest of the article here. It also mentions that fellow tailback Marcus O’Keith has put on 20 pounds to 200, and Justin Forsett is looking good as usual.

Cal the #6 “most intriguing system shift”

ESPN‘s Bruce Feldman has listed Cal sixth in his list of the most intriguing system shifts. He says:

Jeff Tedford has been considered one of college football’s sharper offensive minds. I think he could probably turn Steve Levy (the SportsCenter host, not the one-time Cal fullback) into a winning QB. However, Tedford is tinkering with his system. He hired Northwestern assistant Mike Dunbar to incorporate more principles of the spread offense into his attack, which the new OC reasons should help the Bear QBs see the field better while operating out of the shotgun. It also will open up wider lanes for star TBs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett. After all, it sure made unheralded freshman Tyrell Sutton look great. Dunbar’s offense led the Big Ten in total offense last season and was fourth in the nation in total yardage and seventh in passing.

To spice things up even more, Tedford visited West Virginia’s Rich Rodriguez for a better handle on the evolution of the spread and all that it can do with formations and disguising things. This should be fun. The Bears have a ton of firepower, although their O-line won’t be as experienced as last year’s unit.

Read the rest of the article here.

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.