Sacramento Bee: Young Bears were forced to grow up fast on field

Cal's future looks bright, as the underclassmen have performed well in key roles.

By Ryan Lillis

BERKELEY - The future of Cal football isn't just riding on the feet of tailback Marshawn Lynch, although that's a big part of it.  It's also in the hands of wideouts Robert Jordan and DeSean Jackson, on the shoulders of linebacker Anthony Felder and with the dozen or so other players on this Bears team who are sophomores or younger and have seen considerable playing time. After losing 13 starters from last season, No. 23 Cal has arguably the most talented young crop in the Pacific-10 Conference, a notion that has some around Strawberry Canyon already looking forward to next year. "Not to look past the rest of this year, but we're already trying to get things going in a positive direction for next season," said Jordan, a sophomore who is second on the team with 24 catches for 375 yards. "We're returning almost everyone."  As Cal (6-2, 3-2) has seen a 5-0 start transform into a fight for a bowl berth, the underclassmen have been asked to carry a big part of the load. Seven of the Bears' top eight receivers should return next season, as should their three top running backs and three quarterbacks.  The only other team in the conference that won't lose its top three receivers, top running back and starting quarterback to graduation is Washington. "I've been very impressed with how we've jelled for such a young group," coach Jeff Tedford said. "The goal is that you're able to build camaraderie so they hold more of an investment in the program." To Lynch, a sophomore who is averaging 108.8 yards rushing a game, Cal's youth is exactly the reason why the team gets along so well. "We're all young and we can all communicate the same way," he said. "It's easier for me to explain something to a freshman than it is an older guy." With Lynch and sophomore Justin Forsett, Cal is the only team in the nation with two running backs averaging more than 100 yards a game. While Lynch was nursing a broken left pinky earlier in the year, Forsett stepped in, rushing for 422 yards in the two games Lynch missed.

And while Lynch is getting healthier each week and is expected to see his workload increase starting with Saturday's vital matchup at No. 15 Oregon, Forsett will still be asked to carry the ball around 10 times a game, Tedford said. "We probably have more younger guys contributing on a consistent basis this year than we have in the past," Tedford said. In a season in which six offensive opening-day starters have missed playing time due to injury, Tedford has had to dig deep into his roster, pulling out guys like redshirt freshman LaReylle Cunningham. After Jackson, a freshman and Cal's leading receiver, went down with a shoulder injury, Cunningham was thrown into his first collegiate start Oct. 22 against Washington State.

He responded with a 57-yard touchdown reception that keyed a fourth-quarter comeback in a 42-38 Cal victory. "Having that depth has been the biggest thing for this team," said senior center Marvin Philip, a Cameron Park product. "These guys are young and enthusiastic and it's been such a huge thing." And the offense isn't the only place where young players are making a difference. A defensive unit that leads the Pac-10 in scoring average and is second in yards allowed will lose only safety Harrison Smith and rover Donnie McCleskey to graduation. "Unless someone told you who was a freshman or who was a sophomore on this team, you'd never know by watching them play," said Felder, a true freshman. For all the positives that come with having a young roster, however, there can be just as many negatives. Cal's two losses have been by a combined 10 points, both times the Bears failing to hold fourth-quarter leads. "I feel like if we were an older team, we would have been able to overcome those two losses," Jordan said. "With experience, things like that won't happen. We've had our growing pains. Everyone does." The Bears must put Jordan's visions of next season on hold and finish strong, however. They have a tough road ahead, as they face Oregon, top-ranked USC and Stanford. "We have a good young team and they're getting better," Tedford said. "The game preparation, the practice habits, all these things improve, and each week it gives them one more game of experience."