Daily Cal: Fight With Oregon Goes From Field to Phones

Bears’ Clash With Ducks Will Have Ramifications in Recruiting Battle, Tedford Says

By BRIAN BAINUM

Daily Cal Staff Writer

• When the No. 23 Cal football team faces No. 15 Oregon on Saturday at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., there promises to be plenty at stake for the bowl aspirations of both teams.  A lesser-known battle, however, may be taking place as well.  The Bears and Ducks have pursued many of the same recruits on numerous occasions in the past several years. Though Cal has managed to keep local talent like Marshawn Lynch away from Oregon, other Bay Area products-such as strong safety Anthony Trucks (Antioch, Calif.) and wide receivers Cameron Colvin and Demetrius Williams, who both came out of De La Salle High School in Danville, Calif.-have bolted for the Pacific Northwest.  A win in Saturday's game certainly would not hurt the recruiting clout of either squad.  "Oregon has a lot to offer," Bears coach Jeff Tedford said. "They are a very stable program and they have a rich tradition. They are tough to recruit against."  Part of what makes the Ducks a formidable recruiting foe is their sparkling facilities. Cal is in the early stages of renovating Memorial Stadium, a project Tedford said he hopes will help to put his program on more level footing with Oregon.  "Their facilities are the best in the conference," Tedford said. "Seventeen-year-old kids are very impressionable. When they go into very nice facilities, it makes an impression on them. It's something that sticks with them."  With groundbreaking scheduled for after the 2006 season, Tedford might be able to use facilities to his program's benefit as well.  "Hopefully ours is on the way soon," Tedford said. "We have to trust that is what is going to happen. We have enough here to do our job, but it's just not all the bells and whistles you'll see there."  

• With recruiting as competitive as ever, many schools-particularly on the West Coast-have been widening their scope to include Hawaii and Samoa.  The Ducks currently carry five players on their roster from that region. The Bears sport a trio of Hawaiian players-Mika Kane, Abu Ma'afala and Tyson Alualu.  "We recruit heavily in Hawaii and Samoa," Tedford said. "We are going to continue to recruit in those areas."

• After being torched for 423 passing yards against Washington State two weeks ago, Cal will shake things up in its secondary against Oregon.  Tedford said last week safety Harrison Smith will play some downs at cornerback.  "(The game against the Cougars) was a very shaky game for them," Tedford said. "Our secondary will be anxious to get back on the field and get that bad taste out of their mouth."

• Wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Robert Jordan should play against the Ducks, Tedford said.  Offensive tackle Ryan O'Callaghan, who is recovering from a concussion, practiced yesterday and will likely play Saturday as well, Tedford said.

The bye week did not provide enough time for defensive tackle Brandon Mebane to recover from an ankle injury.  Tedford said Mebane will probably not play this week.  "He wasn't as far along as those other guys with his rehabilitation," Tedford said. "He is going to have to progress a lot in the next few days to have any kind of impact on the game."