Rusty Simmons
Cal is No. 2 in the country, averaging 7.8 yards a run, and is No. 6 in the country, averaging 297 rushing yards a game. Those yards have come when Jahvid Best has sliced through the left side and when Shane Vereen has spun through a tackler to the right. They've come when center Alex Mack has pancaked multiple players and when right tackle Mitchell Schwartz has wiped out a whole side. There's one seemingly unknown consistency in Cal's running game: senior fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou. "He means everything to our offense," running backs coach Ron Gould said. "I think he's one of the most underrated fullbacks in the country."
All Ta'ufo'ou has done is pave the way for Justin Forsett's 1,546-yard season last year and the ridiculous rushing numbers Cal has compiled in two weeks this season. All Ta'ufo'ou has done is perform at an All-America level and then silently limp back to the huddle for his next assignment. "He's invaluable to this team, beyond what he does as a blocker," senior fullback Zack Smith said. "The way he practices every day and the way he works in the weight room commands your respect. "You have to be somewhat selfless to play the position, but good fullbacks realize that there is something intrinsically rewarding about it." Ta'ufo'ou has spent his college career shunning praise. He arrived as a non-scholarship player, has performed through major injuries and has done his best to hide his face while the holes he has created have induced dancing in the end zone. Ta'ufo'ou was offered one scholarship - to Portland State - although he was the West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year while at St. Francis in 2003. He was a feature back in high school, but was told he wouldn't carry the ball in college.
He accepted it all, and his quiet significance might have proven best last season. He was supposed to accept a spot on the bench when he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in training camp and was predicted to miss 3-6 weeks. He was supposed to miss another three weeks when his medial collateral ligament faltered in Week 4, and his high-ankle sprain in Week 8 was supposed to end his season. Instead, he played. "We know a guy like that is in it for the team and it shows daily," senior linebacker Zack Follett said. "He is a tough, tough, tough guy," Gould said. "I can't emphasize this enough: He's a tough guy. You would have to kill him to get him off the field." Ta'ufo'ou says he's healthy now, which means only his head, neck, shoulders, back and legs hurt. At least no bones are broken and no ligaments are severed. "I do everything for my teammates and for self pride," Ta'ufo'ou said. "It's a grind, and I've learned to have a different appreciation for what I do. "I didn't really understand the position coming from high school where I got the ball a lot more." Ta'ufo'ou won the West Catholic Athletic League title for St. Francis as a senior, nearly single-handedly.
During a game that year, his coach took time out from play-calling to turn to a reporter and say, "He's good, isn't he?" Another coach in the league called Ta'ufo'ou "the best player in the league in probably a decade."
Forsett said, "Will is one of those guys who will jump off a bridge for you." That's uncomfortable flattery for a fullback, especially for Ta'ufo'ou. Informed of the quotes, Ta'ufo'ou tried to change the subject. He was saved by a mention of a 10-by-25-foot poster on the south side of the stadium, because it allowed for self-deprecation. "I thought my head was too big," he said. "I already have a big head; I didn't need it to be 10 times bigger."
Ta'ufo'ou's head would not get that big. He's as humble an essential player as there could be in college football, so others have to do the bragging. "He's vital; he's instrumental," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.
"He's been superb; he's a tremendous, tremendous player," Gould said. "He's the one who makes the play go or fail; he's an unbelievable stud," quarterback Kevin Riley said.
Briefly: Defensive lineman Kendrick Payne had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee and is expected to miss at least two weeks.
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