Thursday, August 13, 2009

Contra Costa Times: Cerritos connection pays dividends for Bears

By Jonathan Okanes

right and early on National Letter of Intent Day, one Cerritos College alum called a current Falcon to make sure they would be united.  Cal coach Jeff Tedford, who played at the Southern California junior college from 1979-80, placed a call to current Cerritos linebacker Ryan Davis to confirm that his oral commitment to join the Bears was solid.  "He called me and woke me up," said Davis, who signed his letter of intent with Cal later that morning. "It was all cool because I know Coach Tedford is a good guy. We both come from Cerritos." Tedford didn't call every potential recruit that morning, but Davis had just orally committed a few days earlier after decommitting from Washington. That followed a decommitment from Cal. Almost one week into training camp, Davis is happy with his decision to come to Berkeley. He's battling Devin Bishop, Chris Little and fellow junior college transfer Jarred Price for the starting job at weakside outside linebacker, the spot that former standout Zack Follett vacated.

"My expectation coming in was just to learn more, get better and adjust to a new system," Davis said. "They told me I would have an opportunity to compete. What I need to do is learn the plays more and ask more questions. I really do have a long way to go." Davis played defensive end at Cerritos, but the Bears believed he was a perfect fit to play rush linebacker. Problem is, Price, who was recruited to play both inside and outside, has separated himself during the early days of camp. And Little, who was the star of the spring scrimmage, is pushing Bishop more than anyone. Bishop has been taking the first-team reps at that position.

Link to rest of article.

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