Jonathan Okanes
It turns out Devin Bishop wound up in Minnesota, after all. Cal's senior linebacker thought he would find himself in Minneapolis a lot sooner after he twice committed to play for the Gophers in 2007. After decommitting from Minnesota twice and Cal once before finally sticking with the Bears, Bishop is in Minneapolis again as No. 8 Cal prepares to play the Gophers on Saturday at the new TCF Bank Stadium. "I'm pretty excited about this game," Bishop said. "Even though I was only out there for a couple days, it seems like I still have some kind of small bond." Bishop narrowed his final choices to Minnesota and Cal while excelling at City College of San Francisco. He originally backed out of his commitment to the Gophers after coach Glen Mason was fired. Even though Bishop switched over to Cal, where older brother Desmond had excelled at linebacker as well, he was still confused. "I didn't see everything go as I thought it would," Bishop said. "I was just thinking about everything. It was a process." Bishop committed to Minnesota again before ultimately deciding to come home for good. The only time he spent on the Gophers campus was during his recruiting visit, and he said he enjoyed the people and players. "Everybody understood my situation," Bishop said. "I was confused. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I just decided to stay close to home."
Bishop has recorded 10 tackles and a half-sack while backing up both inside and outside this season. Saturday's game will feature an intriguing individual matchup between Minnesota wide receiver Eric Decker and Cal cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson, each regarded as one of the best in the country at his position. Decker caught 84 passes for 1,074 yards last season and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation's top wide receiver. Thompson was a preseason first-team All-American by multiple publications and is on the watch list for the Lott Trophy, Nagurski Award and Bednarik Award, all given to the country's top defensive player. "He's a good player. He makes a lot of plays for them," Thompson said of Decker. "He's obviously a big part of their game plan. I'm just looking forward to the matchup and the competition." In two games this season, Decker has caught 19 passes for 296 yards.
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