SOME RECRUITS WERE TURNED OFF BY CAL'S RECORD
By Jay Heater
EUGENE, Ore. - When No. 23 Cal faces 15th-ranked Oregon today at Autzen Stadium, Golden Bears Coach Jeff Tedford will be facing some of the top players the Bay Area has produced. Oregon starting wide receivers Demetrius Williams and Cameron Colvin are De La Salle High products who chose Oregon over Cal. Ducks starting cornerback Jackie Bates is also from De La Salle, and likewise spurned Cal (6-2 overall, 3-2 Pacific-10 Conference). The Ducks (7-1, 4-1) line up several other Bay Area products at key positions, including their leading tackler, senior strong safety Anthony Trucks, a former Antioch High star. And taking center stage in today's game will be former San Leandro High quarterback Dennis Dixon, who will be making his first start after Kellen Clemens broke his left ankle in a victory at Arizona on Oct. 22. Both teams had byes last weekend. As Oregon Coach Mike Bellotti noted, outside of Portland and Seattle, the Bay Area is the closest major urban area to his university. To succeed, he has to recruit successfully there. It used to be easier for Bellotti. Tedford has reversed a trend by scooping up many of the Bay Area's top high school stars. Tedford didn't have much chance at most of the Bay Area players currently at Oregon because they had been partially turned off by years of losing at Cal. ``I grew up watching Oregon play,'' said Bates, a sophomore. ``Cal was my second team. If Cal had been good, it would have been more reason to stay at home. ``Of course, they are doing great now.''
Williams, a senior, played his final high school season at De La Salle in 2001 while the Bears were going 1-10. ``Yeah, of course it would have made a difference if they were good,'' Williams said. ``I was a fan of Cal, but not a die-hard fan. I liked Florida State and Miami. ``Being from the Bay Area, it might have been good to stay home. Some kids need to go away, but I'm a family oriented guy. But I'm happy here. Leaving home taught me lessons in life.'' Leaving the area was important to Colvin, but he acknowledged that Cal would have had a shot if it had a better history of winning -- and showed more interest during his senior season in 2003. ``Cal drifted away from recruiting me,'' Colvin said. ``They would have had a good chance, but then they came back and started calling me again too late. I had schools already in mind.'' Even so, Colvin said he probably would have chosen Oregon. ``I chose a college because I wanted to be comfortable where I was at,'' he said. ``I wanted to be away from home. I wanted to get away from any of the distractions that you get when you stay close to home.'' Being away from home gives the Bay Area products a little extra incentive to win today. ``This game is big for my family,'' Bates said. It's big for everyone. Both teams are hoping to land major bowl berths. A loss by either would damage that goal. ``This is a big game for us,'' said Williams, who has 46 catches for 895 yards and eight touchdowns. ``We know that these guys are good and they will be hungry.'' With so many local players at Oregon, the game takes on the kind of rivalry feel that used to be reserved for Cal-UCLA or Cal-USC. ``I know a lot of those guys, and I know what they can do,'' Colvin said. ``Every game is kind of like a rivalry game, but this game does have a little more significance to me as a personal thing.''
No comments:
Post a Comment