Hughes and more recognized in Steele’s 2006 Preview

Similar to other publications, Phil Steele‘s 2006 College Football Preview has named three Cal players on its preseason all-star teams. The breakdown:

First-team: Daymeion Hughes (CB)
Second-team: Marshawn Lynch (RB)
Fourth-team: Brandon Mebane (DT)

The publication also has several of our players ranked nationally:

Hughes (#1 cornerback)
Lynch (#3 running back)
Mebane (#7 defensive tackle)
Desmond Bishop (#9 inside linebacker)
Tim Mixon (#14 punt returner)
Anthony Felder (#19 outside linebacker)
DeSean Jackson (#33 wide receiver)
Nu’u Tafisi (#34 defensive end)
Phillip Mbakogu (#38 defensive end)

Here’s the listing of Cal’s preseason All-Americans and rankings. Kudos to Hughes for getting so much preseason respect. As an aside, he’s also tied for the #1 cornerback rating in the NCAA Football 2007 video game.

Athlon ranks Cal’s RBs #2 and D-line #1

Athlon Sports has given Cal the honor of the number 2 running backs in the nation and also the number 1 defensive line in the nation for the upcoming season. These are in their 6th Annual Athlon Awards for the best units in college football. They write:

2. California (Running Backs)

California returns players who accounted for 98 percent of its rushing yards last fall, most of it in the persons of Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett. The 5’11”, 223-pound Lynch rumbled for 1,246 yards and 10 touchdowns despite missing two games and most of another with a hand injury. Forsett, at 5’8″, 183, darted for 999 yards at 7.6 per carry with six scores. They enter their junior year with a combined 2,922 career yards and averaging over seven yards per carry. Lynch, in fact, averaged 8.8 yards on 71 carries with eight touchdowns as a 2004 freshman backing up J.J. Arrington. Marcus O’Keith also returns after averaging 11 yards on 22 carries in ’05, including a 71-yard touchdown run against Washington.

1. California (Defensive Line)
Tackle Brandon Mebane is an Athlon preseason first-team All-American. Mebane broke through the line in ’05 for 9.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. Matt Malele and Mika Kane both bring in excess of 300 pounds and extensive experience to the tackle rotation. Nu’u Tafisi, a second-team all-conference honoree, and Phillip Mbakogu combined for 20 tackles for losses and nine sacks and return at the ends. Abu Ma’afala started four games after sitting out 2004 following his transfer from Hawaii. He is as ornery against the run as he is rushing the passer and is available at both tackle and end.

Georgia is the one RB unit that placed ahead of ours. I can’t see how any group (especially Georgia?) could be considered better than the combination of Lynch, Forsett, and O’Keith.

Cal #8 in SI’s Spring Top 25

Stewart Mandel from Sports Illustrated recently released his post-spring Top 25 rankings. Cal took the number eight spot on this list:

#8 California Golden Bears

Key returnees: RB Marshawn Lynch, RB Justin Forsett, WR DeSean Jackson, CB Daymeion Hughes

Spring star: LB Worrell Williams. The athletic sophomore was a standout in practices and will likely earn a starting spot.

Lowdown: New offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar installed components of the spread offense, a scary thought considering Cal’s plethora of weapons. The only question is which quarterback, Nate Longshore or Joe Ayoob, will run it. The defense, extremely young last year, should be improved.

Take a look at the whole list here.

Cal #7 in Maisel’s (ESPN) preseason rankings

Ivan Maisel of ESPN has named Cal #7 in his post-spring, preseason rankings.

ESPN.com says: Marshawn Lynch should be in the same Heisman breath as Peterson. The defense is experienced. If Nate Longshore stays healthy …

Take a look at his list here.

Cal #8 in Athlon Sports’ preseason rankings

Athlon Sports has named Cal #8 in its preseason college football rankings. Read their preview here. Quote: “If USC has a serious challenger in the Pac-10, it’s these guys.”

2006 Preview on College Football News

College Football News has put up a rather lengthy preview on the team for 2006. They praise the potential of the team, giving a lot of specific details on players, stats, and the schedule. In addition, the article includes some breakdowns and analysis that make for good reading and overall excitement for the upcoming season. Check it out here.

Cal “sleeper” for nat’l championship?

Sporting News mentions Cal as the “sleeper team for the national championship game” during a discussion of our QB situation. I’m not sure how informed this writer really is, but it’s nice to see the team getting some respect. See the article here.

News is pretty slow these days, but the Spring Game is coming up on April 22.

EDIT: There’s an interesting article on CBS Sportsline with some insight from Tedford on the upcoming spread offense. Check it out.

Cal’s QB receives more media attention

Nate Longshore is gracing the front page of ESPN’s College Football site. It appears as if our QB is one of the big question marks in college football right now.

ESPN.com says: Cal should be one of the nation’s best teams in 2006. The Golden Bears have a stingy defense, two impressive tailbacks and downfield threats at wide receiver. But who starts at quarterback? Coach Jeff Tedford has four candidates to choose from this spring.

Nothing much is new in the corresponding article; it rehashes Longshore’s unfortunate history, this season’s QB battle, and the introduction of Mike Dunbar‘s spread to the offense.

However, it does note that “this could be a top-10 team… if things work out at quarterback.” Let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best.