CAL NOTEBOOK

For injured lineman, it's look-and-listen time
Bruce Adams, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Cal offensive line coach Jim Michalczik has a goal for lineman Mike Tepper. He wants him to come out of training camp a better player than he was coming into camp -- despite the fact that he can't practice.
The 6-foot-6, 320-pound redshirt freshman is out for the year with a broken leg. On June 26 he came to the aid of a young woman friend being harassed by some men in a car near campus. The car ran over Tepper twice. Two convicted felons were arrested in connection with the incident.
Tepper, meanwhile, had surgery this week to remove eight screws implanted after the break.
He's usually at practice, on crutches, and attends team meetings.
"Mike is doing a great job," Michalczik said, taking "mental reps," doing upper-body weight work and rehabilitating the leg.
Williams update: Linebacker Worrell Williams has a high ankle sprain, and will be out one week to a month.
Williams, a redshirt freshman expected to play a key role this season, was injured in a scrimmage Thursday. X-rays were negative.
Jackson to play two: Freshman wide receiver DeSean Jackson, one of the most highly recruited players in the country, kept his choice of a college secret until the last moment last spring.
What's not a secret is Jackson's desire to also play baseball.
In fact, when he declared for Cal on television the evening of letter of intent day Feb. 2, he sat at a table with four caps -- one from Cal, another from his second choice, USC, along with baseball caps from the Dodgers and the Angels.
In addition to starring in football at Long Beach Poly, Jackson was a highly regarded outfielder on the baseball team and would like to continue the sport at Cal. "He can play both as long as his academics stay up," coach Jeff Tedford said.
Tedford said the Bears baseball schedule would conflict some with spring football practice.
"We'll work together on it," he said. "I don't have a problem."
Said Jackson, "Football is my favorite; I love football. But I definitely like to play baseball."