SF Chronicle: Levy back with Cal after plea

Rusty Simmons, Michelle Smith, Chronicle Staff Writers

Cal quarterback Steve Levy, suspended from the team after being charged with assault in a bar fracas in June, has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and will rejoin the squad for training camp.  "His situation was resolved yesterday," coach Jeff Tedford said Thursday. "He will report Sunday with everybody else, but he still will not make the trip to Tennessee" for the season's opening game Sept. 2. The school had announced earlier that he had been suspended for training camp and the first game.  Levy threw a pint glass at a doorman at a North Beach pub, authorities said. The senior was put on probation for three years and must do 100 hours of community service as part of Wednesday's plea agreement that reduced the original felony charge to misdemeanor battery.

"He's been held accountable -- we are requiring him to pay restitution and serve three years on probation," Bilen Mesfin, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's office in San Francisco, said in a statement.  Levy, who led Cal to wins against Stanford in the Big Game and against BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl last season, is competing for the starting position with sophomore Nate Longshore, senior Joe Ayoob and redshirt freshman Kyle Reed.  "I understand my actions were not appropriate for a Cal student-athlete," Levy said in a news release. "I would like to apologize to my family, my teammates and the Cal fans, as well as anybody else affected by what happened.''  

 

Everyone's watching: Cal cornerback Daymeion Hughes was named to the "watch list" for this season's Jim Thorpe Award, which goes to the best defensive back in the nation. The senior, who led the Bears with five interceptions last year, already has been listed for the Bednarik Award, the Lott Trophy and the Nagurski Trophy.  Senior defensive tackle Brandon Mebane is on the list for the Bednarik, Lott, Nagurski and Outland awards, junior tailback Marshawn Lynch is among Maxwell Award candidates and senior defensive end Nu'u Tafisi is being watched for the Hendricks Award.  

 

Denying a stigma: Cal's defense is predicted to be one of the nation's top units by a number of preseason publications, but senior linebacker Desmond Bishop believes a stigma remains that there isn't much defense being played in the Pac-10.

"We take it personally," he said. "When they say the Pac-10 can't play defense, then they're talking about us. All we can do is work hard and try to prove them wrong."  The Bears return eight starters from a defense that finished second in the conference in total defense and scoring defense last year.