No.3 QB led Cal to Big Game, bowl wins to end 2005 season
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY — This is Steve Levy's September song, the days dwindling down on his Cal career, once more submerged on the depth chart, wondering what October will bring, and will he once more emerge as November's hero? There wouldn't have been much of a December for Cal last year if Levy hadn't risen from four years of obscurity to rescue the Golden Bears by quarterbacking victories in the Big Game and Las Vegas Bowl. But come spring, Nate Longshore was reinstated as No.1, and Joe Ayoob had worked his way back up to No.2. And there was Levy, No.3 and experiencing that familiar left-out feeling. By the time September rolled around, Levy had added to his burden by throwing a beer glass in a bar that led to his one-game suspension for the season opener in Tennessee, a 35-18 Cal defeat. Longshore and Ayoob played well enough in Knoxville to earn a second chance Saturday against Minnesota. Levy will be available at Memorial Stadium, though uncertain if he will be used or even needed.
"It's a difficult feeling," he said, "but you prepare just like you're going to start, because you don't know what's going to happen. I learned that last year." Cal coach Jeff Tedford, a quarterbacking guru, has had three-year starters at tackle, guard, center, cornerback and kicker — every position, it seems, but quarterback. Thus Levy has a chance to play.
"He's real close, right there, but we can't 'rep' all three of them," Tedford said. "We gave him a couple of reps (Wednesday), so a lot of his stuff has to be individual work. He did well in camp. We know he's going to stay prepared. If his opportunity comes, you can't have any regrets." Regrets, Levy has had a few at Cal, but he's in sync with his coach. "I have to be ready, because if I'm not and I get in there and make a fool of myself, it's a big regret," he said. "So I have to take advantage of every rep I get in practice." On Wednesday, Levy threw the ball as ably as Longshore or Ayoob, even with fewer opportunities. "My arm strength is better; I worked hard on that in the off-season," Levy said.
"I got tired of hearing the critics, because I'm short. I'm the same build as (Chicago Bears quarterback Rex) Grossman, but he's got a rifle. "When you see a 6-1 quarterback, kind of stocky and muscular, you don't think of him as a pocket passer. I try to prove everybody wrong." Mentally, Levy feels "light years" ahead of last September. So, then, what does he bring to the offense? "Leadership," he said, "and that excitement in the huddle, looking in the guys' eyes, and they're looking in mine knowing that I'm not scared, I'm determined, and they're going to run their routes better. I'm going to run harder, I'm going to block better. "And I have fun in the huddle. If someone makes a good play, I'm right in there. If someone makes a mistake, I want them to shake it off and get better. I bring charisma and a funny personality. There's a time to be serious and a time to be funny."
There's no doubt Cal's offense plays hard for the underappreciated but dynamic Levy. Hey, he's 2-0 as a starter. "Knowing they have a level-headed guy who gives 110 per cent and who wears his heart on his sleeve, it makes it a little more special," he said, "especially with the circumstances last year, taking limited reps and getting thrown into a difficult situation."
And excelling. Levy likely won't wind up in the NFL, but Canada is a possibility, if he doesn't go to work for ESPN or enter politics in his home state of New York. With Levy, you learn to expect the unexpected. "A lot of people have asked me, 'Are they gonna make a movie or write a book about your experience?'" Wait until this Cal season ends first to see if Levy even gets on the field. The odds are he will, perhaps as a starter again.
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