By Jay Heater
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The old Cal, the pre-Jeff Tedford version, would have been in big trouble today at Oregon State. The old Cal could not have handled injuries to key personnel. When the Bears (3-1, 1-0 Pacific-10) line up today, sophomore Bernard Hicks will be at free safety for the injured Thomas DeCoud. DeCoud, who twisted his knee in last Saturday's victory over Arizona State, was tied for the team lead in tackles with linebacker Desmond Bishop and had become a key cog in a defensive backfield that has been rebuilt since last season. Tedford also has had to reshape his offensive line. Starting right tackle Scott Smith is out with a sprained knee, so junior college transfer Mike Gibson will be making his second start. Senior left tackle Andrew Cameron is recovering from a sprained ankle and should be available, but his ability to go the distance might be in question.
That could be a problem since his backup, sophomore Mike Tepper, is questionable because of a slight concussion he suffered early in the week during practice. Those kind of injuries would have doomed Cal five years ago. Not today. Three consecutive solid recruiting classes have changed the landscape. The Beavers undoubtedly will go after Hicks early, probably by attempting to draw him to the line of scrimmage with play action before going deep in his coverage area. But it's likely Gibson, rated the No. 55 junior college player in the nation last season by SuperPrep magazine, will hold his own. Tedford was asked to compare his current depth to the depth on his first team of 2002. ``I really don't want to say too much,'' he said. ``I don't want to say anything that would make the backups on the 2002 team feel bad. ``But, yes, at some positions, we are a lot deeper.''
On Tedford's first team at Cal, offensive line coach Jim Michalczik had to rotate a pair of walk-ons into the lineup when the injury bug hit. No starter on Cal's offensive line weighed more than 300 pounds. This week in practice, Michalczik rotated the Bears' offensive linemen to different positions just in case Cameron can't go the entire way and Tepper isn't ready. He had a host of 300-pounders to switch around. Included in the bunch was guard Tyler Krieg, a two-year starter from Duke who transferred to Cal yet can't break into the rotation. Cal linebackers Zack Follett and Anthony Felder, both freshman All-Americans last season, haven't cracked the starting lineup.
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