ESPN: Considering Longshore as Cal's Starting QB

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by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Coaches believe in preparation. So why shouldn't fans?  California fans need to prepare for a distinct possibility that many will not embrace, one that will inspire slapped foreheads and furious and outraged typing across the Golden Bear Nation. Nate Longshore could win the quarterback job over Kevin Riley.  So how will Bears fans handle that? Will the raucous booing Longshore faced walking off his home field in Sourberry Canyon in 2007 return the first time he hurls an ill-advised interception?

Not saying Longshore is definitely the man. There's still about a week to 10 days before a decision needs to be made as earnest preparations begin for the Aug. 30 opener against Michigan State. But folks who've watched more than a handful of practices -- when pushed to make a call -- suspect it will be Longshore.

So it might be good for fans to prepare. Let us suggest Dale Carnegie's lesser-known classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence Quarterbacks."  If Longshore does win job -- again, if -- it will happen for two reasons: 1. He won the competition with Riley; 2. He gives the Bears their best chance to win against Michigan State in the season opener.  It will not happen because Jeff Tedford feels loyal to Longshore. It will not happen because Longshore has seniority. That is not how things work in Division I-A football.

Experience, however, does matter. Longshore knows the Bears offense. He knows blocking schemes and the audibles and where folks are supposed to go. He knows how to run a huddle and he knows how to manage the game. "That's where Nate is really on top of it," Tedford said.  Longshore has started 26 games and has thrown 41 touchdown passes and was one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-10 in 2006. Before he injured his ankle last year, he'd thrown seven touchdown passes with just two interceptions -- neither of which came in big wins over Tennessee and Oregon -- and the Bears were 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country.

But, yes, it's fair to say that he was often terrible when he returned to action, particularly in the fourth quarter, when close games transformed into frustrating losses at a rate that Bears fans had believed was a thing of the past in Berkeley.  "He played admirably through three and a half quarters most of the time," Tedford said. "It was just one thing here or there. During inopportune times, we'd turn the football over. Some of it was Nate's responsibility and some of it wasn't, but he's the one who shouldered the blame for the whole deal." Tedford then digs through a pile of papers in his office and produces a telling stat.  Since he took over in 2002, the Bears are 27-2 when they win the turnover battle. The are 12-6 when they tie the turnover battle.  And they are 9-14 when they lose it -- including a dreadful 5-12 mark against Pac-10 foes.

That's why if Longshore wins the job he won't keep it if he gives the ball away. "You don't have to do everything by yourself," Tedford said. "Nate wants to win so badly that he's going to try to make big plays and sometimes they aren't the right decisions." Those bad decisions were magnified by the circumstances, as a team went from national title contender to losing six of its seven final regular-season games.

"It became even more magnified because of that," Tedford said. "Everybody was so excited and then so disgruntled. To be put in the middle of that was tough on him. That's part of being a quarterback, but it was hard on Nate and hard on Nate's family. I think it became too convenient to blame the quarterback instead of everyone taking accountability for it. That was something that was part of the off-season."  There were plenty of other reasons 2007 went rear-end-over-tea-kettle. There were locker room and chemistry issues. There were epidemic injuries. There were players regressing as the season wore on.

Longshore worked on his mobility during the off-season. He's also been drilled that sometimes taking a sack or throwing a ball away or accepting a failed third down play isn't the worst thing in the world. But there's only one way for Longshore and the Bears to regain their mojo: Winning. "I don't think you're really able to put the taste of last year away until you get back on the football field," Tedford said. Getting rid of that residual taste is the larger priority, but Longshore may have to deal with another challenge to his senses: The lingering sounds of 2007.