Daily Californian
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Give it a Rest, Lute—The West Gets Respect - Mar 15, 2005
Dropping back in the pocket Monday evening at Memorial Stadium, Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob prepared to fire the ball down the field during a passing drill.
Suddenly, the junior transfer’s vision was obscured by defensive end Phillip Mbakogu.
Ayoob, known for his elusiveness in the pocket, took a couple quick steps to his right. But it was too late, as Mbakogu swatted the pass away.
A couple of snaps later, another pass sailed over the head of Robert Jordan due to miscommunication.
But at the end of one of the final sessions, Ayoob threaded a perfect spiral between two safeties, drawing impressed murmurs from his onlooking teammates.
Indeed, the prized product of City College of San Francisco had a consistently inconsistent first practice in the blue and gold.
Which is exactly what the Bears faithful should expect from Ayoob at this point.
After all, it took a certain transfer from Butte Community College almost a year to fully grasp coach Jeff Tedford’s complicated offensive system and become a full-time starter.
Yesterday was only Ayoob’s first day on the job.
“I thought we had a pretty complex offense at City College,” he said. “But
here, the quarterback controls pretty much everything that happens on the field. It definitely is an adjustment.”
At CCSF, Ayoob was sometimes called the white Michael Vick. He often worked out of the shotgun set with four wide receivers that spread the field and allowed him to break off huge chunks of yardage on the ground.
But the Cal offense has recently been molded to fit the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Kyle Boller, quarterbacks who prefer to stay in the pocket.
“The mental part will be a challenge,” Tedford said. “The speed of the game is different at this level. Joe is more elusive than Aaron. I think he will need to learn when to take off and run and when not to.”
Ayoob will not be able to run from the questions comparing him to Rodgers, who many predict will be chosen as the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
But comparing Ayoob and Rodgers is like comparing apples and oranges.
Rodgers was surrounded by a veteran core of receivers.
Ayoob will throw to a relatively inexperienced bunch, headed by sophomore Robert Jordan.
Rodgers benefited from the veteran experience of Reggie Robertson.
Ayoob has no such tutor to rely on when things get rocky.
Rodgers had no expectations to live up to in his first year.
Ayoob’s every move will be scrutinized, a given when you are the No. 2 rated overall junior college player in the nation by SuperPrep.
“Aaron was a great player here, probably the best quarterback to ever play here,” Ayoob said. “I think the main thing for me and (the other quarterbacks) is to come in and play how you play, and things will take care of themselves.”
And things will take care of themselves eventually, because Ayoob is an awesome talent and he will only improve under Tedford’s guidance.
Cal fans just need to remember to have patience with the kid, especially if things look rocky after a few games.
Soon enough, we won’t have to worry about the next Rodgers.
We’ll have the first Ayoob.
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