Bears' preseason 'bling' includes lofty rankings, three All-Americans
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY — Preseason projections and expectations are descending on Jeff Tedford's Cal football program like a meteor shower.
Cal's fall camp opens Aug.6, four weeks before the Sept.2 opener at Tennessee, and the Golden Bears will have to live up to considerable hype.
Cal has received four top-10 rankings: No.7 (ESPN.com), No.8 (SI.com and Athlon Sports) and No.9 (Lindy's). "I don't take it any differently," Tedford said of those lofty projections. "The expectations have kind of grown on us. We've kind of been in those spots the last few years."
Well, Cal was rated No.4 in the country late in the 2004 season. But the latest preseason evaluations are much greater in number. Individually, three Bears have been named as preseason All-Americans: defensive tackle Brandon Mebane by Athlon, Lindy's and The Sporting News; running back Marshawn Lynch by Lindy's and The Sporting News; and cornerback Daymeion Hughes by Blue Ribbon Defense and Playboy magazine.
Hughes also is projected as a second-team All-America by Lindy's and The Sporting News, as is Lynch by Athlon. There's also the preseason watch list for postseason awards. The Maxwell Award honors the country's best collegiate player, the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Award the best defensive player, the Hendricks Trophy the best defensive end, the Outland Trophy the best offensive or defensive lineman, while the Lott Award recognizes athletic performance and personal character. Lynch is up for the Maxwell, Nu'u Tafisi for the Hendricks, Hughes and Mebane for the Bednarik, Lott and Nagurski, and Mebane for the Outland. Wait, there's more. Various groups rate players. Lynch is the No.2 running back in the country, Mebane the No.2 defensive lineman, Desmond Bishop the No.9 linebacker, and DeSean Jackson the No.10 wide receiver.
Wait, there's still more. Cal's defensive line is rated the nation's best, while Cal's running backs are No.2. And the Sporting News has picked Mebane as its Pac-10 defensive player of the year. Whew! Tedford is digesting it all while trying to lend some perspective.
"Going into two years ago," he said, "there were high expectations for that team, but it had a lot of experience with Aaron (Rodgers), J.J. (Arrington), Chase (Lyman), Geoff McArthur and that whole group. "Last year, there was high expectations going in, but we were the youngest team in the conference. This year, there's still high expectations, but we have a little more experience." Along with expectations comes reality. Cal hasn't yet named a starting quarterback, it will present a new hybrid offense of the T-formation and shotgun, the offensive line must be rebuilt, and new safeties will be starting for the third straight year. "We'll be fine at the quarterback spot; there's good competition," said Tedford. "The offensive line is very capable, and we have talent at the safety positions. "The only thing I don't know about completely is our punting situation because I haven't seen (Andrew Larson) yet (at Cal)." Then Tedford noted the defense could be his fastest at Cal, and the linebacker group definitely is his fastest. "Regardless of expectations," he cautioned, "our preparation will determine how well we do this season." One more projection: Cal's season-ticket sales, which were 16,000 when Tedford took over in 2002, are ahead of last year's record number of 40,134. Single-game tickets, except for Stanford, go on sale July 11.
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