Personnel notes

The Contra Costa Times has a few notes on the current playing positions. Bryan Deemer is looking to have the edge for starting at offensive right guard (in front of Norris Malele, Brian De La Puente, and Duke transfer Tyler Krieg). Walk-on quarterback Bryan Van Meter is the third string quarterback flying to Tennessee in place of suspended Steve Levy, instead of the expected Kyle Reed. And, defensive back Virdell Larkens (cousin of Marshawn Lynch and Robert Jordan) is transferring to Laney College due to a lack of playing time.

ESPN: Cal will lead league in rushing

ESPN‘s Pat Forde has written an article with 5 predictions for the Pac-10 season. His second prediction is about Cal’s ground attack:

2. California will lead the league in rushing again, and the nation will realize that Jeff Tedford is the Mike Shanahan of college football. Shanahan’s reputation was built as a West Coast passing-game guru, but his success has been built on the running game. Tedford has been thought of as a throw-it-around guy as well, but check his stats at Cal: His teams led the Pac-10 in rushing in 2003 and ’04 and were second to USC in ’05, and he’s had a different 1,000-yard rusher in each of his four years. With uncertainty at quarterback and great talent at running back, look for the Golden Bears to pound the rock even more in ’06.

Mixon out for the season with torn ACL

Bad news: cornerback Tim Mixon tore his ACL during Thursday’s scrimmage and he is out for the season. This is a huge blow to the defensive secondary and punt return game, but hopefully senior Randy Bundy or redshirt freshman Syd’Quan Thompson will be able to fill in for him.

Lynch getting love on ESPN

ESPN has put up a good bit on Marshawn Lynch, including a feature article and chat transcript. “Lynch lets his production speak for itself” describes Lynch’s good-natured and humble personality, while highlighting his accolades on the football field. Lynch’s chat on Sportsnation also shines light on him being a great guy. Thanks Chris B.

SportingNews.com also has a short interview with Lynch. Take a look.

Cal #9 in AP poll

The Associated Press has ranked Cal #9 in their poll. Take a look here.

First scrimmage highlights

The team has posted about highlights from today’s scrimmage, the first of fall camp. Both DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins returned kicks for touchdowns, hopefully indicative of their explosive abilities and not a lacking coverage unit.

All three quarterbacks appear to have performed well, but Coach Jeff Tedford stated that they still have to work to improve execution. On the defensive side of the ball, Rulon Davis (DE) made a big splash in his debut with 3 sacks and 5 tackles. Things look pretty good overall, but check the site for more details.

ESPN ranks Cal #10

ESPN has ranked Cal #10 in its Power 16 rankings. Take a look here.

SI: Cal is BCS bound

CNNSI is predicting that Cal will face Texas in the Fiesta Bowl this postseason in their 2006 NCAA Football Preview. It also projects USC and Michigan in the Rose Bowl (meaning they think USC will win the Pac-10 while Cal will receive an at-large bid). This is in addition to their #8 preseason ranking for Cal and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane making their All-American list. Thanks Chris B.

Jackson returning punts, Lynch returning kickoffs

The Oakland Tribune wrote a feature article about receiver DeSean Jackson today. It also notes that Coach Jeff Tedford has decided to have Jackson returning punts (teamed with Tim Mixon) and will again have Marshawn Lynch returning kickoffs (teamed with Marcus O’Keith).

Now, we really have our most dangerous players in the open field. Hopefully, this will be an improved year on special teams.

Jackson ranked #6 preseason receiver

Rivals/Yahoo has named DeSean Jackson the #6 receiver in the nation for the preseason. They write:

6. DeSean Jackson, Cal, So., 6-0, 166
Despite missing one game due to injury, this true freshman led the Golden Bears in receptions (38), receiving yards (601) and TD receptions (seven). He also returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown. Jackson had perhaps his best game of the season in Cal’s bowl game with 130 yards and two TDs on six receptions. With a year of experience and no health problems, Jackson is poised for a breakout year.

See the article here.