TUCSON, Ariz. - Cody Jones, a Cal freshman defensive end trying to learn the tricks of the trade, said that fans wanting to see Brandon Mebane's impact on Saturday at Arizona shouldn't be looking in the statistics column. According to Jones, the best view of Mebane would be looking right down the line of scrimmage. "If you look at the side angle, you see guys going backward," Jones said of Cal's senior defensive tackle. Although Mebane is pushing opponents around on a regular basis, he has just 2.5 sacks, not exactly the kind of totals that will attract national attention. Named a preseason All-American by several college football publications, Mebane hasn't made the semifinals for any of the major national awards, such as the Lombardi Trophy or the Outland Trophy. It begs the question, what is wrong with Mebane?
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said that anyone paying attention wouldn't even ask the question. "Mebane has had a great year," Tedford said. "He has been dominating. But he is not going to have a lot of sacks or tackles. He is a gap control player. "He has been fighting through double teams and the penetration he gets is still great. It's been huge for us. I'm sure when the all-conference team comes out (as voted by the Pac-10 head coaches), he will be on it." Jones said that Cal's players know all about Mebane's impact. "If you watched tape, it would show you how he manhandles every opponent," Jones said. "If Brandon is up against somebody one-on-one, he gets in the backfield every time," said Cal free safety Bernard Hicks. "He just destroys one-on-ones and double teams. He brings a dimension to our defense that makes it easier on the rest of us. Somebody who knows football and watches our defensive line would know that." When Mebane decided to stay at Cal his senior season and not enter the NFL draft, he thought he had a shot at some national awards. "I'm pretty disappointed," Mebane said. "But it was an honor just to be named (to the watch lists). I do think that any fan who understands the game knows what I do." A first-team All-Pac-10 selection last season when he had 29 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss, Mebane already has surpassed his total tackles with 32. He has 6.5 tackles for loss and three games left in the regular season.
"I think I have improved," he said. When it came time to consider going in the 2006 NFL draft, Mebane said he thought of a couple things. "First, I wanted to get farther along in school," he said of his desire to complete his Cal degree. "Second, we had a young team with a lot of talent coming back. And I thought I needed to take my game to another level (for the NFL)." Although being double-teamed constantly has been tough, he said it has helped prepare him for the NFL. He also said that all the double teams he faces shows the level of respect he garners from opponents. But he added that coming out of a game, he sometimes feels like he has been in a NASCAR wreck. "It's kind of hard to explain," he said. "People try to test me. They try to wear me out." Arizona is bound to test Mebane on Saturday after having success pounding that ball at Washington State during a 27-17 upset victory last Saturday. Arizona running back Chris Henry had a team-record 35 carries and 94 yards rushing. Tedford said he doesn't anticipate Arizona will do the same against his team. "They are going to have to mix it up," Tedford said. "I don't know that you can be one-dimensional. I don't think we will find them just trying to run the ball." The biggest challenge for Cal (8-1 overall, 6-0 Pac-10) on Saturday might be keeping its mind on the Wildcats (4-5, 2-4) since the Bears have a huge encounter with USC looming next Saturday. "We always talk about no regrets," Tedford said. "We have prepared hard each and every day so we don't have any regrets at the end of the week. Our leadership has surfaced."
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