Contra Costa Times: Cal's Follett has passion to play

BEARS SOPHOMORE IMPROVING WITH EVERY GAME

By Jay Heater

For the family of Cal linebacker Zack Follett, home movies have a different feel.  As in ouch. Naomi Follett often replays one of her son's first football experiences as a fifth-grader, in which he launches an opposing player into the air while making a tackle. ``I knocked his helmet off and gave him a bloody lip,'' said Follett. ``Right there I knew. I could do this and not get into trouble.'' Ever since that day, bodies have been flying when Zack Follett is around. ``He always has been a rough player,'' said Naomi Follett. ``I remember that year when Zack was in fifth grade. This kid had a birthday party but Zack didn't get invited because he played too rough. The mom didn't want her house messed up.''

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford doesn't have to worry about saving the furniture. He saw a naturally gifted linebacker who could become an impact player for the Bears. ``He is a tough, hard-nosed, competitive guy,'' Tedford said of his sophomore. ``He is becoming a great leader.'' And he already has old-school passion. ``Today's linebackers are quicker, faster, stronger,'' he said. ``But I don't know that they play with the passion that the old linebackers had.'' Passion is the lead ingredient for the 6-foot-2, 240-pound player, who is tied for seventh in team tackles with 23 despite not being a starter. He has earned more playing time each week and has registered 2 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles. ``I love his willingness to sell out every play,'' said Cal starting middle linebacker Desmond Bishop. ``He is coming along like crazy. The next year or two, he is going to be doing a lot of things.'' As a freshman just out of Clovis High School, Follett played in every game and had 32 tackles. Rivals.com named him a freshman All-American.

There was, however, a difficult moment in his freshman season. In a scene caught on camera, Follett head-butted USC tailback LenDale White, who had lost his helmet. Follett admitted he made a mistake but didn't realize how big that mistake was until later that night when he was out having dinner and saw himself on ``SportsCenter.'' ``Here I was on this huge plasma TV. They drew a big circle around my face and pointed an arrow (toward White). Coach Tedford had told me, `It's your (butt) if this ends up on national TV.' ''

Follett was suspended for the first half of the next game. ``I learned my lesson,'' he said. The incident made Follett seem like one of those ``crazy'' linebacker types. Cal tailback Justin Forsett said anyone who thinks Follett is just some crazy linebacker doesn't know him. ``Zack is a cool guy on and off the field,'' Forsett said. ``A linebacker can get a bad rap when it comes to their personality off the field. They are supposed to have this `kill' mentality. There is this special passion about them because they have to go up against 300-pound linemen and then go cover a running back.  ``But Zack is more than that. He is a guy who looks after you off the field.''