Link (beware the blockups!)
By Dave Davies
When he played at Pleasant Valley High, Tyler Rigsbee was a SuperPrep Magazine All-America choice, a member of the publication's All-Far West team, rated a four-star recruit by Scout.com and Rivals.com and one of the top offensive linemen in the country. Now that he's training to play right tackle at Cal, Rigsbee's just another talented freshman with a lot to learn. "It's definitely that the game's a lot faster," Rigsbee said. "Everyone here's the best from where they're from. There's a lot of talent on the field. Everyone belongs here. I had a lot of good players at my high school, so I was prepared pretty well. I've been around it my whole life. You just basically work really hard and good things come from it."
Rigsbee's life at the Golden Bears' training camp was a blur of two-a-day practices, weight lifting, conditioning and study, facing the challenge of a much faster game than he played at PV. "It's definitely a steep learning curve," Rigsbee said. "We've installed more in the last three weeks than I did all of high school. But it's the speed of the game. There's no standing around here. You're going against 300-pound, big-time (defensive) linemen. You have to go full-speed every day, and mentally, it's just about working really hard, that's what it's all about." Rigsbee will likely redshirt this season as the Bears have their usual large group of talented players on the offensive line, and while he's listed at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds on Cal's roster, he says he's actually grown and is up to 6-6 and 265, with a goal of getting up to about 285 pounds next year.
Rigsbee credits offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik, in his seventh year at Cal along with head coach Jeff Tedford, for recruiting him and working on his technique. Michalczik said Rigsbee has performed well in training camp. "He's a freshman, and it's the hardest position to come in and play," Michalczik said. "You have to pick up the entire playbook, but he's got a bright future here." Michalczik said freshmen on the offensive line pretty much always redshirt their first year, and there are a lot of advantages to that. "Physical maturity as a linemen is a big thing," Michalczik said. "Tyler's an athletic kid who's still growing and a year in the weight room and in the system is going to help him a ton."
Rigsbee's athleticism and intelligence are part of what have gotten him this far. "He's a bright guy," Michalczik said. "It's not easy to learn the offense. He's a smart guy and a good athlete and if he keeps his work ethic that he has right now he's going to be a really good player for us." Among Rigsbee's biggest challenges will be getting stronger. "This year, he's not going to play in games, he'll only be at practice," Michalczik said. "He's got to live in the weight room, and No. 2, he's got to keep working on his technique and fundamentals." Rigsbee said he's impressed with both Michalczik and Tedford, whom he credits for his decision to choose Cal.
"He's really close with all of us kids," Rigsbee said of Tedford. "He demands a lot out of us, but he's about winning on Saturday. We work really hard, but he keeps it fun. It's really interesting to work with him. He has a lot of knowledge." Rigsbee's father, Craig, is well-known in the local community for his playing days at Utah State and his unprecedented success as head coach at Butte College. "I feel like I've got a great advantage," Tyler Rigsbee said. "He played Division I football. My uncle also played D-I. (My dad's) been around me through my whole career, youth football and high school. He told me before I left, 'You're going to get beat up.' And he said be really coachable and work really hard, and that's what I've been doing."
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