Note to skeptics: Aaron Rodgers completed just 9 of 34 passes for 52 yards in one of his first starts as California's quarterback in 2003. So before doomsayers start throwing the Bears from the upper levels of the college football mountain, remember that Cal coach Jeff Tedford is considered one of the best-ever developers of quarterbacks. Sure, this might be his biggest challenge ever, but give the man - and his quarterback - some time. Replacing Rodgers, Tedford's latest first-round QB pick - after Kyle Boller, David Carr, Joey Harrington, Akili Smith and Trent Dilfer - already was going to be hard to do. Rodgers had led Cal to one of its greatest two-year runs ever. But now that tabbed starter Nate Longshore is likely done for the year, after breaking his left leg in the second quarter of the Golden Bears' 41-3 win over Sacramento State, how Tedford deals with his quarterback situation is critical to the program's long-term success. Tedford is not one to back down from a challenge, which probably is why he has chosen to go with junior college transfer Joe Ayoob for Saturday's Pac-10 opener at Washington. Yes, this is the same Ayoob -he came to Cal as one of the most highly praised JUCO quarterbacks in the country - who made his Division I debut Saturday in place of Longshore, and then saw his first three passes fall incomplete.
And then three more. And another four after that.
Ayoob's line: 0 for 10, 0 yards, and a seat on the bench after being replaced by junior Steve Levy, last season's backup fullback. So why is this guy starting? Because during the course of grooming so many great quarterbacks, Tedford has learned to look beyond the stat lines that appear in the paper. "After watching the tape, I thought he made the right reads. He made good decisions. He was just a little bit off on some of his throws … and it mounted on him," Tedford said. "I thought he got thrown into a bad situation for his first time out of the gate." How Tedford has handled his QB situation this year is similar to two years ago, when the Bears were trying to replace Boller, who was a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. The choices were Rodgers, a JUCO transfer, or junior Reggie Robertson, a Sahuaro High School product who had been in the system for a few years. Robertson started the opener at Kansas State, although Rodgers was inserted, as planned, in the middle of the game. "When he got in his first game against Kansas State, he wasn't what he ended up being," Tedford said of Rodgers. "He was still feeling his way around. Aaron was a special guy, and there is a learning curve there. Joe will get it, too." Rodgers went on to take over the starting job from Robertson, and then last year, he led Cal to its best season ever. Similar expectations have been put on Ayoob, almost unfairly, Tedford said.
"People get used to almost perfection," Tedford said, referring to the high passing accuracy of Rodgers and Boller before him. "Once the comfort level gets there with (Ayoob), I think he'll be fine. I called him on Sunday and told him to come in and talk for a little bit, because he was pretty disappointed. I felt like it was important to know we have confidence in him."
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