Cal quarterback Joe Ayoob keeps his optimism in a difficult debut, then beats the Huskies
Friday, October 14, 2005
KEN GOE
BERKELEY, California quarterback Joe Ayoob can be knocked off his feet. What endears him to his teammates is the way he gets back up. "I've never seen him down, in any point in a game," tailback Justin Forsett said. "I've never seen him mad." That includes Ayoob's rocky introduction to major college football, in the Golden Bears' win against Sacramento State. Ayoob, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, stepped in for injured starter Nate Longshore and threw 10 consecutive incompletions. "I came in when we were in the two-minute offense, and we were throwing the ball downfield every play," Ayoob said. "My first six Division I plays came within a minute of each other. They were all passes, all 20 or 30 yards downfield, and I couldn't hit one of them. "I missed the first one and the crowd goes, 'ahhhhh.' I missed the second one, and it's 'AHHHH.' It kept getting louder." California coach Jeff Tedford finally yanked Ayoob, as much to protect his mental state as anything. "It was my first game, and because it was a home crowd, and there were all these expectations, I felt I let them down," Ayoob said. "It bothered me, but I got over it quickly. I figured if I miss 10 balls in a row, I miss 10 balls in a row. I'll get the next one." Longshore was done for the season with a broken left ankle. So Tedford gave Ayoob his first start the next week at Washington. Ayoob passed for 271 yards and four touchdowns. His mental state? Fine. Ayoob's teammates had that figured out early in the week, when he laughed at himself in an interview with a Bay Area reporter. Ayoob said he went home after the Sacramento State game, nodded to his father, Joe Sr., tossed his coat in the general direction of a chair. The coat landed on the floor.
Ayoob said his dad deadpanned: "0 for 11."
"I know his dad, and that's pretty funny," Cal tackle Ryan O'Callaghan said. "It sounds like something his dad would say." Father and son connect with humor, the jokes often barbed. Joe Sr. is a bank executive who played college basketball at Clemson before settling in suburban San Rafael, north of San Francisco. The elder Ayoob avoided formally coaching his son in youth sports, afraid he might be too hard on him. "I had coaches who wanted him to come out and help, but he wouldn't do it," Ayoob said. "Especially in basketball. He was always telling me I loafed. He said I would be his worst nightmare to coach." Ayoob contends he just got tired at times. The best player on his team, he guarded the opposing center on defense, then brought the ball up on offense. No wonder he dragged at times. "He used to get on me for that," Ayoob said. "But I never took it personally. I just learned from it." Part of the elder Ayoob's message was that humor can lessen the sting of a critical comment. But Joe Sr. was deadly serious about driving home a message that nothing mattered more than hustle and hard work. The message was important. Because although the younger Ayoob is bright and has a fluid athleticism, he also has dyslexia, a learning disability often characterized by difficulties in recognizing shapes. He learned to compensate when young and refused to blame the dyslexia for his inability to meet NCAA qualifying standards for freshman eligibility. “I think that had more to do with not wanting to do the school work and just slacking off," Ayoob said. "I think a lot of high school kids can relate to that." He landed at City College. There he made a transition from an option offense to a pro-style attack, throwing 55 touchdown passes in two seasons as a starter. After last season, SuperPrep rated him the No. 2 junior college prospect in the country. Ayoob also bore down in the classroom. "You have to have decent grades to transfer here," he said. Many Cal fans expected Ayoob to pick up where Aaron Rodgers left off. Rodgers, the Bears' quarterback the past two seasons, plays for the Green Bay Packers now. But not many quarterbacks make a quick transition to Tedford's complex offense. Longshore, a redshirt freshman, already had a year in the system, a factor that helped him earn the opening-day start. From the beginning, Tedford planned to get Ayoob onto the field, too. Longshore's injury simply accelerated the process. As it turns out, it also accelerated Ayoob's development. "He matured in a week faster than anybody I've ever seen," Tedford said. "Before that, he was a happy-go-lucky guy who I don't think appreciated the focus it takes to play that position at this level. "After the Sacramento State game, I think he realized he was the guy. His attitude in practice totally changed. Before, when the other guy was taking reps, he could be in the back talking to somebody or whatever. Now, maybe because he is the one who is taking the reps, his focus and his dedication have improved dramatically." Ayoob isn't a finished product. At times this season, his dyslexia caused him to confuse some playcalls signaled from the sideline.
"Sometimes if the play is called one way, I might flip it the other way," Ayoob said. "Then I might call the play and not even realize I called it wrong. But the more I get comfortable with the signals, the fewer mistakes I make. I went through the UCLA game without making a mistake." His accuracy, particularly on deep balls, isn't always what fans expect from a Tedford quarterback. Tedford has put a huge emphasis on fundamentals and mechanics. Despite the 0-for-10 start, Ayoob is sixth in Pac-10 in passing efficiency heading into Saturday's 12:30 p.m. game as Cal (5-1) plays host to Oregon State. "Every week you can see him settling in a little bit more," Tedford said. His teammates? They've loved him from the start.
"No matter what happens, you can see the big smile on his face when he's calling the play," Forsett said. "It's never like he's yelling, and he's never angry." Knock him down, he gets up, the smile just as wide, the good-natured enthusiasm infectious. "We feed off that," Forsett said.
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