Jordan, Tennessee, Best

ESPN’s Bruce Feldman put up a piece on Cal and Robert Jordan with some interesting bits of information. Jordan, a cousin of Marshawn Lynch, is apparently also related to #1 draft pick JaMarcus Russell from LSU to the Raiders. (If you weren’t aware: earlier this month, a certain SEC coach, bashed the Pac-10 and the Bears in an often-repeated but ill-founded claim:

“I would like nothing better than to play USC for the [national] title,” Miles reportedly said in a speech to a heavily pro-LSU gathering in New Orleans. “I can tell you this, that they have a much easier road to travel. They’re going to play real knockdown drag-outs with UCLA and Washington, Cal-Berkeley, Stanford — some real juggernauts — and they’re going to end up, it would be my guess, in some position so if they win a game or two, that they’ll end up in the title [game].

This coach was LSU’s Les Miles.) So,

Russell was actually with Jordan when they learned about Miles’ comments… “[Jordan] said ‘J, what’s up with your coach?’ And he was like ‘Ah man, he’s a hothead don’t listen to him,'” Jordan recalled.

Predictably, Feldman talks about Cal-Tennessee next:

Jordan and a few of his Cal teammates though say they don’t feel any additional pressure to uphold the Pac-10’s honor in their big rematch against Tennessee in the season opener…

“I think about that game everyday, at every workout about how their crowd and their players were able to talk to us and all that,” Jordan says. “We do represent the conference, but really we’re playing for us. Last year we let ourselves down.

“We really weren’t focused on football. We let the media hype it up… Now we’ve got a veteran team. It’s not going to be like that. We’re going to keep fighting regardless. I’d be real shocked to have another outcome like that again. I don’t see how that could happen again.”

Said DeSean Jackson, Cal’s star WR-KR: “It is a little bit of extra pressure on us as far as how people think of the Pac-10, but all we can do is just play hard.”

Cal QB Nate Longshore, admits he watches the UT game, start to finish, all the time. “Everytime I watch it, I see something different,” he says. “It’s interesting to see the whole flow of the game and how turnovers affect teams and things like that in retrospect. Like instead of just going down and losing a yard, we try and make a play and they get to gang-tackle us and that builds momentum for them.

“There’s so much that you wanna do over, but at the same time you have to treat it like another game.”

The article ends with this about incoming freshman Jahvid Best:

A little debate about who is the fastest Golden Bear: Jackson or incoming freshman TB Jahvid Best, the player Longshore touted as the guy who is going to really surprise some people this fall.

“He is ridiculous quick,” Longshore said of the 5-foot-11, 182-pounder, who once won a Gold Medal in the 200m at the 2005 USTAF Junior Olympics. “He could beat DeSean in a race, no doubt in my mind. No doubt. He’s the fastest I’ve ever seen.

WA d-lineman commits

Trevor Guyton, a highly rated defensive lineman out of Redmond (WA), has committed to the Bears’ 2008 class. He is a 4 star prospect according to Scout and a 3 star on Rivals.Guyton turned down offers from Nebraska, Oregon, and the Pac-10 schools in Washington and Arizona when picking Cal. He has a very positive attitude and appears to be an excellent fit for the Bears. With the departure of NFL talent Brandon Mebane and no DT’s taken in last years’ class, this fills a great need on Cal’s roster.

Honors for Jahvid Best

Jahvid Best, one of the headliners for the Bears’ 2007 recruiting class, is getting some big recognition as he graduates from high school.

He’s been honored with NorCal Athlete of the Year from CalHiSports:

Best’s numbers and awards could take up an entire book, and when the new Cal-Hi Sports Record Book was updated recently for this web site, Best’s name was there in more than a few places, both in the football and track and field categories. …

However, when we talked with [Coach Chad] Nightingale, all he could do was rave about Jahvid as an athlete, and a person. What he is most specially proud of is Best’s top times in the 100 and 200 which at 10.36 and 20.65 are fourth and second fastest in the nation this year respectively, and qualify Jahvid for status as a 2007 Track and Field All-American. “You know,” said Nightingale. “Those 100 and 200 marks are a few ticks better than Reggie Bush,” he gushed. In fact, they are. Bush’s best marks were 10.42 and 21.06. “Plus, he’s a little bigger than Reggie.” Nightingale said grinning. And that is also true.

He also received the Boys Track Athlete of the Year honor from the Contra Costa Times:

His time of 20.65 seconds would have won every California state meet in history prior to this year. But he faced Long Beach Poly’s Bryshon Nellum, who set a state meet record (20.43). Best’s time was also under the previous state meet record.

To give you an idea about the quality of those times, they would have placed Nellum and Best second and third, respectively, in this year’s NCAA 200 final.

Congratulations to Jahvid. Needless to say, we’re excited about what he will do in his next few years at Cal.

Cal lands big TE

Spencer Ladner (6’7″/235) has given a verbal to Cal. He comes out of Kansas City, MO and lists Cal’s reputation as the #1 public school in the nation as a primary reason for choosing Cal. He is rated as a 3 star TE by Scout.com and a 4 star recruit by Rivals.

There’s a couple reasons that this signing means a lot. First, this guy is BIG. Just for reference, Lebron James is 6’8″/250. Craig Stevens is 6’5″/254. With a year in the weight room, Ladner can be a great endzone target or a blocker in the Tedford tradition. Second, Ladner comes from Missouri. This shows that Cal’s reach on the national recruiting front has grown even further after last year’s record number of out-of-state commits. Third, this confirms that Cal’s reputation as an academic leader will continue to land some top recruits.

EDIT BY ERIC: Also, it’s noteworthy that Ladner turned down offers from traditional powerhouse schools like Michigan and Oklahoma, showing that Cal is really on its way up in terms of nationwide recruiting.

QB commit Beau Sweeney

Last week, quarterback Beau Sweeney (6’1.5″, 200 lb, 4.65 forty) out of Clovis West High School (Fresno, CA) committed to Cal’s 2008 class. As pointed out by Scout, Sweeney is not only a great athlete but an excellent student (4.0 GPA), and he has an incredible football pedigree with connections to Coach Jeff Tedford:

Sweeney’s uncles played at Alabama, Ohio State (2) and Montana State and Sweeney’s father, Kevin set an NCAA record for career passing yards with 10,623, passing Doug Flutie of Boston College in the process in 1986. Sweeney’s grandfather, Jim was the longtime Fresno State Head Football Coach as well. …

Tedford played quarterback under Jim Sweeney and was teammates with Kevin during Sweeney’s redshirt freshman season…

Sweeney picked Cal over offers from other Pac-10 schools and some interest from USC as well. He looked good after participating in the Elite 11 workout and Nike camp per Rivals:

Fresno, California’s Clovis West quarterback Beau Sweeney made a name for himself as he attended both the Elite 11 Workout and the Nike Camp the following day.

Also, here’s a brief from ESPN and longer pieces from the Fresno Bee and the Contra Costa Times about Sweeney’s commitment.

JC WR Tucker commits

Verran Tucker, a wide receiver from El Camino Junior College, is the fourth recruit to commit to Cal’s 2008 recruiting class. Tucker is a fast (4.42), tall (6’2″), and athletic (36″ vertical) receiver who appears to have a lot of upside. A look at the recruiting videos make him out to be a tough receiver willing to hang on to tough throws and take big hits. With 3 years to play 2, we’ll probably be seeing Tucker become a big part of the offense in future seasons.

WLB Shaun Mohler commits

Shaun Mohler verbally committed to Cal yesterday, intending to transfer from Orange Coast City College. The 6’3″ 225 pound weakside linebacker, ranked by Scouts as a 4-star recruit, is an excellent addition to a defense that has lost many core starters. He is a strong athlete, capable of benching 20+ reps of 225 and running a 4.62 forty, and with his prior JC experience he is expected to make an immediate impact.

Cal adds second recruit

J.P. Hurrell, a linebacker out of San Mateo, CA, verbally committed to Cal today. He is listed at 5’11″/195 lbs and runs a 4.58 40. Although he played linebacker in high school, he is expected to play as a safety in college.

While probably not a big name recruit, it is good to see the Bears get a second recruit on board. It is also significant that Hurrell comes out of the Bay Area, showing that Cal can keep recruits at home. He also had offers from BYU, Washington, and Oregon. Hurrell joins Tyler Rigsbee as Cal’s second recruit of the season.

Jahvid Best: speed

One of our committed recruits coming in the fall, RB Jahvid Best, is currently blowing away the competition in track and field.

In the Sacramento Meet of Champions this past weekend, Best posted a 10.36 in the 100m and 21.16 in the 200m and won both events. Neither was wind-aided, and these times are the fastest in the state of California this season.

This guy is fast. Look for him to have the potential to make an impact as a freshman.

DE Justin Gates invited to walk on

Justin Gates, a 6’3″/255 high school OG/DE out of Nevada has committed to Cal as an invited walk-on. He looks like a solid prospect and great addition to an already-strong class.