John Dugan
SAN FRANCISCO - It's the question du jour around the Cal football program, and it took less than 3 minutes for coach Jeff Tedford to hear it at the Bay Area college football media luncheon Thursday. "Who's playing quarterback for Cal?" Neither Joe Ayoob nor any other quarterback was there to answer it, though Tedford was. By all accounts, the four-way battle is shaping up the same way it did before last season, with Ayoob, the Terra Linda High grad, as the backup to Nate Longshore. By the same accounts, Ayoob is eyeing that starter's spot like a puma on the prowl. "Ayoob had a great spring. His focus is much different this year than it was last year," Tedford said. "Joe realizes the importance of playing the quarterback position. I'm proud of what Joe has done this offseason." What Ayoob has done in the past nine months has drawn raves from everyone associated with the team. He gained close to 20 pounds on his 6-foot, 3-inch frame and spent months brushing up on the new offense from new coordinator Mike Dunbar. All in an effort to erase any memory of Ayoob's disastrous 2005 season, which ended in him being benched. "Joe's going to be able to draw on (his struggles) to become a stronger, more focused player," Tedford said. "He understands what happened last year and has done everything he can to move on. Last year got just about as bad as it could possibly get for Joe, so it can only get better."
Things have already gotten infinitely better for the senior, who transferred from San Francisco City College before last season. He had the strongest spring of all of Cal's quarterbacks and may have the best grasp of the new offense. He's also regained the trust of his teammates on offense. "The fact that he's been working hard and playing so well, it shows you how bad (Ayoob) wants to come back," senior offensive lineman Erik Robertson said. "This offense is really suited well for him." When Ayoob came to Berkeley he quickly earned the nickname of "The White Michael Vick," and stories of his speed became a thing of legend. It was Ayoob's arm that got him in trouble. He passed for 1,707 yards and 15 touchdowns, but 14 interceptions and completed just 49.2 percent of his passes. He was benched in the second-to-last game of the regular season and watched Steve Levy (a converted fullback) lead the team to three straight wins, including one over BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl. With the return of Longshore (who missed the remainder of last season after breaking his ankle in the season-opener) and the arrival of highly-touted redhsirt freshman Kyle Reed, it seemed Ayoob's time may have passed in Strawberry Canyon. But Ayoob wowed his coaches during spring practice and (with the help of Levy's arrest for drunk and disorderly conduct on June 25) has made it right back to where he started: As Longshore's backup, albeit a little older, wiser and thicker-skinned.
"Coming in as a JC transfer, (Ayoob) didn't really know what it was all about (in NCAA Division I)," Tedford said. "Getting that experience under his belt is big for this year." What Tedford means is: Should Ayoob be pressed into action again, he'll be more readily prepared for a job where he'll have less room for error. Cal is expected to be one of the top teams in the country this season and can't afford mental mistakes like Ayoob made last year. If Ayoob is up to the challenge, the question du jour for Cal football won't be a question at all.
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