Sunday, August 06, 2006

SF Chronicle: CAL TRAINING CAMP PREVIEW

Bears might even live up to expectations

Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer

Cal junior tailback Marshawn Lynch had his picture taken from so many angles during the offseason that, on a recent trip to Berkeley, a Sporting News photographer had trouble finding a unique approach.  The photographer eventually tried to gain access to the roof of Wurster Hall in an attempt to shoot Lynch with the Campanile, an enduring symbol at Cal, in the background.  With the recent swarm of national interest in the Bears' program, it appears that everyone is searching for a different perspective, but the players and coaches are handling it the same way they would if no one were paying attention.  "There are external and internal expectations, and we focus on internal expectations," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "It's all up to us to go out there and get the job done."  The external expectations couldn't get much higher as the Bears report to camp today and start practice Monday. With good reason.

Consider:

-- Cal returns seven offensive and eight defensive starters from a team that finished 8-4, losing three games by a touchdown or less.

-- The offense returns players that accounted for 24 of its 27 rushing touchdowns and 20 of its 22 receiving scores.

-- The defense returns 13 of its top 16 tacklers and players who recorded 27 of its 32 sacks.

-- Seven Bears have been tabbed by preseason publications as All-Americans.

"Cal has got a lot of good players back," Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. "They have some big stars."   But before we name Cal the national champions, there are some questions.

-- Who plays quarterback? Starter Nate Longshore hasn't played a full collegiate game, and Joe Ayoob completed only 49.2 percent of his passes in nine games. Veteran Steve Levy and young hotshot Kyle Reed add to the intrigue, and coaches say all four have made marked improvement.

-- Who protects the quarterback? The Bears have to replace three linemen who were lost to the NFL Draft, but the return of Andrew Cameron and transfer Tyler Krieg will add experience to a deep group led by Erik Robertson.

-- Who defends in the pass-happy Pac-10? The front seven match up with any team in the country, and corners Daymeion Hughes and Tim Mixon are on preseason All-America lists. Still, the Bears have to replace safeties Donnie McCleskey and Harrison Smith.

-- Who punts? Cal's special teams were blamed in large part for the 2004 loss to USC and last year's loss to UCLA. The Bears hope junior college transfer Andrew Larson is the answer to their punting woes.

Senior linebacker Desmond Bishop thinks the team's strengths outweigh the questions, but he also knows that no games will be decided in newspaper print.  "It's good and everything that we're getting publicity, but it doesn't mean anything yet," Bishop said.  The most intriguing games on the schedule are the opener at recovering Tennessee and back-to-back road games in November against improved Arizona and three-time defending conference champion USC.  If Cal wins those games, the players will probably be granted access to the roof of any building on campus.

Training camp schedule

Monday-Aug. 26 at Memorial Stadium.

This week's practices: Monday 3:30-5 p.m.; Tuesday 3:45-6:15 p.m.; Wednesday 4-6:30 p.m.; Thursday 4-6:30 p.m.; Friday 4-6:30 p.m.; Saturday 9:15-11:30 a.m., 4:30-6:45 p.m.; Sunday 3:45-6:30 p.m.

Up for grabs

Quarterback: Joe Ayoob, Steve Levy, Nate Longshore and Kyle Reed. A four-man race currently led by Longshore.

Fourth Receiver: Sam DeSa and David Gray. DeSean Jackson, Robert Jordan and Lavelle Hawkins probably have the top three spots, but the fourth receiver could become important with the implementation of some spread sets.

Offensive tackle: Andrew Cameron, Scott Smith and Mike Tepper. The return of Cameron makes for a three-man battle for two spots.

Right guard: Bryan Deemer, Tyler Krieg and Noris Malele. Krieg, a Duke transfer, adds to an interesting competition for the starting spot and back-up duties.

Defensive tackle: Tyson Alualu, Mika Kane and Matt Malele. Kane is probably the leader, and whoever wins this job could make a huge impact playing beside Brandon Mebane, who is consistently double-teamed.

Outside linebacker: Anthony Felder, Zack Follett, Justin Moye, Mickey Pimentel and Worrell Williams. Linebackers coach Bob Foster doesn't talk about starters, choosing rather to talk about "players." Five good ones fight for playing time at two spots here.

Free safety and rover: Thomas DeCoud, Brandon Hampton, Bernard Hicks and Robert Peele. These position battles have been overshadowed by the quarterback competition, but replacing Donnie McCleskey and Harrison Smith in the defensive backfield could be just as important.

Punter: Andrew Larson. The junior-college transfer is the only punter on the depth chart, but he hasn't practiced with Cal yet, and Levy had two 40-yard punts in the spring scrimmage.

 

 

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