Play in Big Game, bowl should earn chance to start'06 as No.1 Cal QB
By Dave Newhouse
BERKELEY — There are no absolutes in sports. Things don't always turn out the way they appear, therefore the element of surprise is ever-present. Take the quarterback position at Cal. No Old Blue in his right mind would have believed at the start of this season that Cal would win a bowl game with Steve Levy at quarterback. Coach Jeff Tedford wouldn't have believed it, either. Otherwise, why has Levy been mothballed during Tedford's four years in Berkeley? This is why. Tedford is a quarterback guru, but he's like every other football coach in that he wants a quarterback who is, at least, 6-2 and weighs 225 pounds. Levy is 6-1, 215, but coaches can't stereotype quarterbacks, because the good ones come in all shapes and sizes. Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia are just two cases in point. What Tedford should be asking himself is how did Levy overcome all that inactivity to win his first two starts in critical situations — Cal had to win the Big Game to get the Las Vegas Bowl bid — and also pull off managing the game so expertly each time? Every Bears backer should be asking himself the same question. That a rusty Levy had only one turnover in those starts — an interception against Stanford — is not only noteworthy, but it's also remarkable. Tedford won't say it, but he wasn't ever thinking of entrusting his offense to Levy. Not until Nate Longshore broke his leg and Joe Ayoob didn't live up to his junior college reputation his first year at Cal.
So Levy was thrown a bone — a start by elimination — and he came through. Big time. If he hadn't, Cal might be 6-6 now instead of 8-4. Once again, there are no absolutes. Levy, the team clown, has emerged as Levy, the team leader. For that reason, plus his 2-0 record as a starter, he must be Cal's No.1 quarterback next season. He certainly hasn't done anything to lose the job he wasn't supposed to have in the first place. On the contrary, he played better against BYU in Las Vegas than he did at Stanford. Forget size. The kid is a winner as well as a leader, and Tedford will need those qualities in 2006. Cal loses considerable leadership with Donnie McCleskey, Harrison Smith and Marvin Philip having used up their eligibility. Replacing what they brought to the team will be difficult because Cal will be a young team next season, except for Levy, a fifth-year senior.
Levy brings a spark, a toughness and a charisma at quarterback that hasn't been seen at Cal since Mike Pawlawski and Joe Kapp. Teammates play well behind a storm-the-beach kind of quarterback. Longshore and Ayoob will return. Redshirt freshman Kyle Reed, who has the strongest arm and the quickest release among Cal quarterbacks, will be active for the first time. Kevin Riley, from Beaverton, Ore., will enroll next fall as a freshman, but he will be redshirted. Levy, however, deserves to be the starter at Tennessee on Sept.2. Then it's up to him to hold onto that role. Don't bet against him. Cal is thinking national championship, and it could even happen during these next two years, especially if running back Marshawn Lynch returns for his senior season in 2007. Lynch and freshman wide receiver DeSean Jackson showed in Las Vegas how they can take over a game. Tedford must replace McCleskey and Smith at safeties, Chris Manderino at fullback, Ryan O'Callaghan and Andrew Cameron at offensive tackle, Aaron Merz at guard and Philip at center. Cameron has a year of eligibility remaining, but three major surgeries and a concussion in the past 10 months have convinced him it's time to give up football. There is depth in the offensive line, although there is no O'Callaghan in ability. Still, Cal will have a ton of returning players, unlike this year, with the best linebacker corps in the Pac-10 and possibly the nation. Remember the names Mickey Pimentel, Zack Follett and Anthony Felder. Sophomore defensive end Phillip Mbakogu, who jarred BYU's John Beck into throwing the game-ending interception (by Daymeion Hughes), improved his pass rush this fall and could be another Andre Carter. Cal will be loaded with receivers. And redshirt freshman Cameron Morrah has size and speed not seen with recent Cal tight ends. The Bears are envisioning something like a 10-2 regular season in 2006 and something even better in 2007, if Lynch hangs around.
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