SF Chronicle: Players enthused by cutting down of trees

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By Rusty Simmons

The Cal players started cheering when they returned to Berkeley on Saturday night, and it had nothing to do with their 66-3 drubbing of Washington State earlier in the day.  "It was dark, but you could tell the trees had been cut down," senior outside linebacker Zack Follett said. "It was a beautiful sight." While the team was in Pullman, Wash., arborists removed 35 of 42 trees from a Berkeley grove in preparation to build a $124 million athletic-training center. Four tree-sitters climbed down from a redwood Tuesday, ending a nearly two-year-long standoff that appeared headed to this conclusion when a state appeals court declined to block the university's construction plans last week.

"I was shocked; I didn't think I would ever see this," senior fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou said. "I know it won't be done until I'm gone, but it's a relief to know there's a conclusion to what's been going on. "I think it became a form of entertainment for us. We got so used to it that it became our own personal YouTube."  Coach Jeff Tedford said he had become numb to the situation during the last two years, a timeframe that included a number of court hurdles and setbacks. "It's a circus out there, but you're kind of used to it by now," Tedford said. "Every day, there's an event going on. Somebody's chanting something or beating some drum, so you kind of stop paying attention to it."

Cal's recruiting classes have regularly been among the nation's top 25 since Tedford's arrival in 2002, and the upgrades in the facilities at Memorial Stadium could help even more.  "Do I think it will affect our recruiting? Yeah, I think it will," Tedford said. "Now, we can say with confidence and clarity that there's progress being made with our facility, and this recruiting class will realize the advantages of having a new facility during their time here."  

Day-tripping: Maryland barely beat Delaware in Week 1 and lost to Middle Tennessee State on Saturday. Still, the cross-country trip and 9 a.m. PDT kickoff offers plenty of tests for the Bears this week. Cal isn't going to College Park, Md., until Friday, because Tedford believes the players can get acclimated to the time change while in Berkeley. The players' curfews and wake-up calls will be switched to East Coast time this week, and the practices are on the rugby field because Maryland's Byrd Stadium has natural grass.

"I don't think I've played a game this early since junior high, so that's going to be our biggest challenge," Follett said. "I think talent-wise, we're the better team, but we have to be mature enough to go across the country and show up to play."

Briefly: Sophomore quarterback Kevin Riley wore a red T-shirt under his Cal polo, a no-no in Berkeley because of the rivalry with Stanford. "I guess I need to do laundry," Riley said. ... Follett joked that Tedford reneged on a promise to let him return a kick if he could run a 4.5-second 40-yard dash as a senior. "I don't think they'll give me my chance, but I'll definitely keep lobbying," Follett said.