RB Lynch, DB Hughes conference's top offensive and defensive players
SAN FRANCISCO — Cal didn't win a Pac-10 title, but it did garner two major awards on Monday. Junior tailback Marshawn Lynch was named the Pac-10's offensive player of the year, while senior cornerback Daymeion Hughes was named the defensive player of the year. The awards were selected by the conference head coaches. Lynch has rushed for 1,178 yards, and his 107.1 average per game leads the conference. He also leads the Pac-10 with a 6.3 yards per carry average.
He is the first Cal player to win the offensive award since quarterback Mike Pawlawski in 1991. Hughes leads the conference in interceptions with eight, including two that were returned for touchdowns. He also leads the conference in passes defensed with 19, and he has 62 tackles. The last Cal player to win the defensive award was Deltha O'Neal in 1999. The other major award, coach of the year, went to USC's Pete Carroll. Cal players named to the All Pac-10 first team were Lynch, Hughes, sophomore wide receiver DeSean Jackson, sophomore center Alex Mack, senior defensive tackle Brandon Mebane and senior linebacker Desmond Bishop. Jackson also was selected as the first-team punt returner. Second-team picks were junior tight end Craig Stevens, junior offensive tackle Mike Gibson, senior defensive end Nu'u Tafisi and special teams performer Byron Storer. Honorable mentions were senior offensive tackle Andrew Cameron, sophomore linebacker Zack Follett, junior wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, junior wide receiver Robert Jordan, sophomore quarterback Nate Longshore, senior linebacker Mickey Pimentel and senior offensive guard Erik Robertson.
BUILDING MOMENTUM: Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour was emphatic Monday after the Big Game media luncheon at Perry's Restaurant in San Francisco that construction on the Student-Athlete, High-Performance Center would begin on time.
"We're moving forward," Barbour said. The environmental impact report and the building's design are expected to be approved by the UC governing Board of Regents' grounds and building committee on Monday. The approval was delayed since Nov.14 so that the regents could study complaints from the city of Berkeley about the project. Although Cal faces possible lawsuits aimed at stopping the construction — the city of Berkeley has indicated it would file a lawsuit once the regents approve it — Barbour said she was confident that the project had fulfilled all the necessary safety and environmental standards in order to proceed. A ground-breaking for the project originally had been scheduled for Friday but was scrapped when the UC Board of Regents delayed its approval. Although no new date for a ground-breaking has been set, Barbour said the project will have lost zero days of construction time should it be approved Monday. Breaking ground could be huge for Cal's football team in a couple ways. First, it would come at a time when other programs are certain to make an attempt to lure away coach Jeff Tedford. Tedford has said all along that the project's completion is key to attracting top-level talent to the university. Second, the project needs to begin on time so it won't affect the start of Cal's 2007 season. The Golden Bears host Tennessee on Sept.1. Although the project has been estimated at 14 months for completion, enough of the building is supposed to be completed by August 2007 that it would allow Memorial Stadium to host events.
EXTRA POINTS: Hughes and Mebane have been invited to the Senior Bowl, while Bishop has been invited to the East-West Shrine Game. ... Sophomore defensive end Rulon Davis has a stress fracture in his leg and won't be available in the Big Game. ... Tedford said that true freshmen Michael Costanzo of Monte Vista High and Derrick Hill of McClymonds, who are both doing rehabilitation work after knee surgery, won't be able to practice when Cal prepares for a bowl game. ... Tedford said there remains no good news about junior defensive end Phillip Mbakogu's damaged knee, which is threatening to end the ex-Hayward High star's career if it doesn't respond to treatment. ... Junior linebacker Chris Purtz, suspended since Oct.12 for breaking team rules, has rejoined the team.
No comments:
Post a Comment