By Jay Heater
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
BERKELEY - It appeared to be no way to treat a freshman who had dreams of being a Pac-10 sack master.
Phillip Mbakogu arrived at Cal with visions of being the terror from the edge, the guy who'd force quarterbacks to run for cover. A consensus All-American out of Hayward High School, Mbakogu appeared to be Cal's next Andre Carter.
But as the 2004 season progressed, defensive line coach Ken Delgado had other plans. He saw an athlete who had the tools to contribute as a defensive tackle.
Playing defensive tackle isn't as glamorous as coming off the edge. Even so, Mbakogu made the move.
"They moved me to defensive tackle because that was where I could get the most playing time," Mbakogu said. "I think coach Delgado often puts his young defensive ends into the middle to get toughened up. He was going to put me in the deep trenches, a way to show me that there are two different levels from high school to college."
Delgado said he doesn't make a habit of moving ends into the middle early in their career, but it's a move he's made in the past.
"Sometimes young defensive ends don't like to mix it up in there," Delgado said. "You get all those double teams coming at you real fast. But it's like a christening to what lies ahead.
"And sometimes the hardest part is the mental part, absorbing the mechanics of playing both inside and outside."
Such a move might have frightened a young player who saw himself as a defensive end.
"But he told me exactly what they were going to do," Mbakogu said.
Delgado said the Cal coaching staff prides itself on communication.
"It's a trust issue," Delgado said. "I told Phillip the move was a temporary thing, that he was a defensive end."
Mbakogu only played in six games in 2004 and with just three tackles in those appearances, it might seem the year was wasted. He could have red-shirted.
"I'm glad I got the experience, it is something I can take with me," he said. "I learned a lot playing with the No. 2s (second team).
"In high school, I used to just play, use my athletic ability. Here, you have to use your techniques. I keep working on my foot speed, my hand placement and my struts ... the way you strike somebody. Everything comes into play. I want to get to the point where I just do it all."
Currently second-team defensive end on the right side, Mbakogu figures to see a lot more time on the field.
"Did I expect a transition from high school? Yeah," he said. "But I expected to go forward a little faster. I just had to ride it out and go with it."
Cal certainly needs a pass rusher to replace Ryan Riddle, who led the conference with 141/2 sacks in 2004.
"That's something I would like to be," Mbakogu said. "I think I'm coming along well."
Senior Tosh Lupoi is the starter on Mbakogu's side and junior-college transfer Nu'u Tafisi is taking the first-team snaps at left defensive end. Junior Fahim Mujaahid Abd Allah has made a major push for playing time, and former starter Steve Kelly, a junior who missed much of last season due to injuries, also figures into the mix if he gets healthy.
"We've got a tough corps of defensive ends, a lot of athletes ... people who can play," Mbakogu said. "Right now, the only thing I think about is playing the best I can."
Delgado said he usually plans to use a three-man rotation at defensive end but the development of Mujaahid Abd Allah might cause him to go to a four-man rotation with Tafisi, Lupoi, Mbakogu and Mujaahid Abd Allah.
"They're talents are all quite different," Delgado said.
Note: Coach Jeff Tedford has shifted junior wide receiver David Gray to tight end. Gray (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) will give Tedford the kind of down-the-field threat at tight end that he had last season with Garrett Cross, who graduated.
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