By Jay Heater
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
BERKELEY - If there has been one thread of inconsistency during coach Jeff Tedford's three-plus seasons at Cal, it has been special teams play. Tedford lost his first special teams coach, Dave Ungerer, who left after one season to take a job at Alabama. Pete Alamar was hired after spring practice in 2003 and his late start at implementing his system was evident when Cal struggled with special teams play that season. In 2004, Alamar had to deal with freshman place-kicker Tom Schneider and punter David Lonie, a junior college transfer. Again, Cal's special teams had its ups and downs. However, this season, Alamar's squads have performed quite nicely and have been a key reason the Bears are 3-0. The Bears have returned two punts for touchdowns, have blocked two punts and forced the punter to try to run unsuccessfully on another. Lonie has dropped nine punts inside the 20-yard line in the first three games, and Schneider has hit a career-long 49-yard field goal. Tim Mixon leads the conference in punt returns at 24.7 yards per attempt. Cal is second in the conference in net punting at 41.3 yards. "Everyone has been taking pride in their roles," Tedford said. "And you have to credit Coach Alamar with having guys in the position to make plays. We've had a major special teams play in every game so far." Tedford said that any team that improves its depth at running back, wide receiver and defensive back prospers on special teams. Those speedy players usually are the ones coaches love to send down the field on kicks. When Cal junior tailback Marcus O'Keith began to play in his redshirt freshman season, Tedford told him he could have a huge role on special teams. It was O'Keith's block that cleared the way for Tim Mixon's 79-yard punt return for a touchdown against Illinois.
"When I got here, I was thinking more about playing running back," O'Keith said. "But when I didn't start, I needed a place to play on the field. And once I got on the field, I wanted to make a name for myself." O'Keith said it took him some time to realize how important his role was to the team. "At first, I felt I was just on the (special) teams. But then I started making some plays and I realized that it was making a difference in the game." Tedford preaches the importance of special teams. Therefore, those players are held in high regard by their teammates. So when the players review game film and see O'Keith throw a block to free Mixon, they know that play was as important as the two touchdowns that O'Keith scored playing tailback. "My teammates know that those special teams plays often mean a momentum change," O'Keith said. Perhaps Cal's top recruit in 2002, O'Keith came out of Narbonne High School-Harbor City, and looked like a good bet to take over the starting tailback job. While he hasn't been able to assume that role, he is one of the deep return men on the kickoff return team, a kick blocker or crunch guy on the punt return team and one of the key tacklers on the punt and kickoff teams. "When I first started on special teams, I looked up to Mike McGrath (Cal's former All-Pac-10 special teams player). He always was enthused about making things happen," O'Keith said. Said Tedford: "Nobody thinks you are bringing them here to play a role on the kickoff team. But we have to make young kids understand that special teams play is vital."
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