BERKELEY -- There's something decidedly different about Cal quarterback Nate Longshore this year. No, I'm not talking about his hair, which has gone from short to long and from blond to blue then blue to black with gold highlights. Or his engagement to Rachel Gibson -- they plan to get married next summer. I'm talking about the way Longshore looks on the practice field as he directs the Bears offense during training camp drills. Longshore's passes seem sharper and crisper than a year ago. His body appears stronger and quicker. He seems more poised, confident and comfortable. And his football IQ, compared to a year ago, appears to have spiked as sharply as the price of Google stock after it went public.
"Until you have that experience, that comfort level really isn't there," Longshore said Wednesday after practice. "I'm excited because I played a little bit. My receivers played with me a little bit. "So we're pretty comfortable with each other and have the experience together. So we're on the same page and things are just smoother." The old Nate Longshore wasn't half bad, despite a season-opening nightmare against Tennessee last season. As a sophomore, Longshore became Cal's second member of the 3,000-yard, single-season passing club, joining Pat Barnes. He threw 24 touchdown passes, had three four-touchdown games and was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week three times. The new Nate Longshore, with a complete season of starting experience in the bank and the return of his top three receivers -- DeSean Jackson, Robert Jordan and Lavelle Hawkins -- should blow those numbers away. Don't take my word for it. Take it from Jordan. "Nate's going to have a real good year," Jordan said Wednesday. "No doubt about it. He's understanding the offense better, the concepts and everything. "We've got chemistry as a receiving group. Everything's like clockwork now." Take it from Jackson.
"He has some experience under his belt now," Jackson said. "That year was huge for him. He knows this offense inside and out. "I think this year is going to be big for him just because of all the hard work he's put in and the dedication he has for this football team." Take it from running back Justin Forsett. "I anticipate a big season from this guy. The kind of things he needed to work on during the offseason, he went out and did it. "And we fed off that. He led by example. I expect big things from him."
Entering last season, Longshore had exactly one career start, the 2005 opener against Sacramento State. His 2005 season ended when he suffered a broken ankle in the second quarter. Longshore was still hampered a bit by that injury last year when he outdueled Joe Ayoob in training camp for the starting job. What's more, Longshore and his teammates on offense were adjusting to a new offensive coordinator, Mike Dunbar, and trying to learn elements of the spread offense. This year, Dunbar is gone, and coach Jeff Tedford has reclaimed the play-calling duties. Longshore and the Bears have that spread package down pat. As he prepares for a Sept. 1 rematch with Tennessee, Longshore is reviewing plays instead of learning new schemes. "We still have it in the playbook," Longshore said of the spread package. "We still have our old stuff in the playbook. We just want to be able to take advantage of whatever the defense is giving us." After last season, Tedford told Longshore to lose a few pounds from his 6-foot-5, 233-pound frame. Longshore obliged, then he put those pounds back on as muscle. Longshore did more than pump iron, count calories and throw passes during his summer "vacation." He added Pilates to his workout regimen. He wanted to become more flexible, strengthen his core muscles and prevent a return of the back soreness that plagued him throughout much of last season. "I found it easier to throw the ball," Longshore said. "I just felt looser and fresher on a daily basis. "I haven't been this healthy since before I broke my ankle. As active and as healthy as I am right now, I feel great. I'm out here being able to focus on football and not the pain." For Longshore, change is definitely good.
No comments:
Post a Comment