Contra Costa Times: Cal finds quarterback next door

Tedford's one-time neighbor gives Bears an oral commitment

By Jonathan Okanes

Beau Sweeney's welcome to Cal's football program was a little different than most.  Sweeney, a junior quarterback at Clovis West High School in Fresno, gave Cal coach Jeff Tedford an oral commitment last week. Sweeney's father, Kevin, was Tedford's teammate at Fresno State, when they both played for Sweeney's grandfather, Jim. When Tedford later became Fresno State's offensive coordinator, he lived just around the corner from the Sweeneys.  So after Sweeney committed, Tedford sent him some old photos that featured his kids and Sweeney at various birthday parties and holiday functions.  "I was a little kid, so I don't remember it too much," Sweeney said. "There were quite a few pictures. It was a good laugh."

Sweeney obviously has football tradition on his side, but only lately did he become prevalent on the recruiting radar. Sweeney performed well at recent camps at Stanford and Cal, and ended up securing offers from Oregon, Arizona State, Nebraska, Colorado, Boise State, Oregon State and Arizona, along with Cal.  Sweeney said he didn't want to wait to see what other schools might extend offers, partly because Cal was recruiting other quarterbacks and because of he and his family's history with Tedford.

"There are so many great things about Cal," Sweeney said. "I have a really good relationship with coach Tedford. It was a tough choice for awhile, but every time I kind of thought about what my priorities were, Cal kept coming up No. 1."

Tedford, who has been lauded for his work with quarterbacks throughout his coaching career, is stockpiling the program with highly regarded signal-callers. Starter Nate Longshore, along with backups Kyle Reed, Kevin Riley and Brock Mansion, were all considered blue-chip recruits coming out of high school.  Sweeney acknowledged there might be a fight for playing time when he arrives in Berkeley.  "I didn't really consider that because I was looking to go to a Pac-10 school, and wherever you go in the Pac-10 you are going to have to compete," he said. "Wherever I go, I am going to be competing with someone. So why not Cal?"