Things looked so promising for Cal in early January. It had finished the 2011 season well, and a number of key players were returning, including QB Zach Maynard, who had improved considerably over the latter part of the season. And the Golden Bears were on their way to landing a top-10 recruiting class, probably their best recruiting haul in school history.
Then assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Tosh Lupoi left to take a job at Washington, and the recruiting aspect of things all unraveled. Or at least that's the perception.
Offensive lineman Arik Armstead, the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit, according to Scout.com, who seemed set to commit to Cal, instead signed with Oregon. Safety Shaq Thompson, Scout’s No. 3 overall recruit, had already committed to Cal, but when Lupoi left, he changed his mind and opted for Washington.
Two other top-100 recruits – DT Ellis McCarthy and WR Payton Jordan – also decommitted from Cal, with McCarthy going to UCLA and Jordan to Washington. Payton said the departure of both Lupoi and Cal passing-game coordinator Eric Kiesau to Washington played a major role in his switch.
The one piece of good news came late on signing day when WR Bryce Treggs, the most highly rated of the Bears’ remaining commitments, had signed with Cal. He had committed to Cal during the fall, but in the days leading up to signing day, he wavered a bit and was also considering USC and UCLA.
The Bears also got a signing-day commitment from WR Kenny Lawler. They also signed WR Cedric Dozier, who had committed to Cal but was wavering in the final days, so the Bears did get a number of quality wide receivers, any of whom could see action immediately as freshmen.
By the afternoon of Feb. 1, a Cal class that had been ranked among the top 10 by most recruiting services dropped to No. 42 in the nation, according to Scout.com, and to No. 25 in the nation, according to Rivals.com.
“It’s been a challenging couple of weeks,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “It’s a challenge to build relationships at the last minute. But offensive line and wide receiver were the big needs for us, and we did well there.”
Tedford expects to sign three or four more players in the coming days, bringining the class to a total of 18 or 19 recruits.
As far as all the decommitments to Cal, Tedford said, “I don’t think that was unique to us. You see decommitments all over this year. It’s the time we live in.”
The Bears retained Zach Kline, a highly rated quarterback who could become a starter as soon as the 2013 season. He enrolled early and will participate in spring ball, but for now the quarterback will be Maynard, who will head into spring ball as the undisputed No. 1 quarterback for his senior season.
Cal also will return TB Isi Sofele, WR Keenan Allen and a number of other elements from team that played pretty well down the stretch. Plus the Golden Bears will be returning to renovated Memorial Stadium in 2012, making things look pretty promising for next season despite the recruiting debacle.
Coach Jeff Tedford no doubt would like to start spring practice immediately to put the sting of the recruiting damage behind him. There will be some things to iron out in spring, too, because Kiesau was the Bears’ passing game coordinator. Presumably that means Tedford and quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo will play a bigger role in that category, along with offensive coordinator Jim Michalczik.
The Bears did retain defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, and that is good news.
TOP OF THE CLASS
WR Bryce Treggs (St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, Calif.) – Scout.com rated Treggs the fifth-best wide receiver prospect in the country and the No. 43 recruit overall. He is the son of former standout Cal receiver Brian Treggs, He’s not very big at 5-11, 175, but he runs good routes and has sure hands. The Bears have immediate need at wide receiver and he could see playing time right away.
QB Zach Kline Ramon Valley High School, Danville, Calif.) – Rated the nation’s second-best pro-style quarterback prospect by Rivals.com, Kline has a strong arm and good leadership skills. He will get a jump on things because he’s already enrolled a Cal and will participate in spring drills.
LB Michael Barton (De La Salle High School, Concord, Calif) – Barton was named the San Francisco Bay Area player of the year by the San Francisco Chronicle after racking up 103 tackles. He was the leader of a De La Salle defense that not only won the state title for the third straight year, but shut out high powered Westlake Village 35-0 in the title game. He may be moved to strong safety at Cal.
NOTES
--- Two Cal coaches – Tosh Lupoi and Eric Kiesau – left to join the Washington staff, partly because they were given big contracts Cal could not match. Kiesau was named the Huskies’ offensive coordinator and signed a three-year deal that will pay him $375,000 in 2012, $400,000 in 2013 and $425,000 in 2014, according to the Seattle Times. Lupoi got a three-year guaranteed deal worth $350,000 per year, plus a $100,000 bonus and another $100,000 if he stays all three years. That’s an average salary of $416,000 per year.
--- Cal coach Jeff Tedford admits he not much of an expert in social networking, but says he’ll get better acquainted with it now after seeing the part it plays in recruiting these days. “I don’t Twitter, and have a Facebook page but I don’t use it much, but I’m going to get much more involved. I used Twitter only once, and that was to say I was going to a concert, and my wife almost threw me out of the car.”
--- Cal’s two new assistant coaches are Wes Chandler, a former NFL player who last coached with the New York Sentinels of the United Football League in 2009 and was out of football for two years before landing the job as Cal’s wide receivers coach, and Todd Howard, the Bears’ defensive line coach who had the same job at Washington State last year.
---The announcement of Cal’s 2012 schedule was met with some anger, because the traditional rivalry game with Stanford, known as the Big Game, will be played in October, in the middle of the season, not at or near the end. Athletic directors of both schools protested, but the majority of the athletic directors in the Pac-12 approved the schedule. The Big Game had to be moved to Oct. 29 because of television commitments.
SPRING OVERVIEW
Practice begins/ends: March 13/April 21 (tentative)
Practice priorities: The Bears must rebuild the offensive and defensive lines and decide who will play the important inside linebacker spots. The Bears lose two stalwarts in the offensive line – Mitchell Schwartz and Justin Cheadle – and there will be competition for those two spots among a variety of players. The Bears have a number of sophomores-to-be who will compete for the defensive end vacancies left by Ernest Owusu and Trevor Guyton, but the most intriguing coaching decision will come at inside linebacker, where the Bears must replace Mychal Kentricks, the Pac-12 defensive player of the year, and D.J. Holt, a three-year starter. The Bears have a wealth of talented young outside linebackers, so there’s a decent chance one of those players – perhaps David Wilkerson or Chris McCain – will move inside. Kendricks made that move from outside to inside with great success. The other mission is to find a wide receiver to complement Keenan Allen, now that Marvin Jones is gone. There is no apparent replacement for Jones, so that competition is wide open. And the other mission is for QB Zach Maynard to continue to improve, and that will be the focus of head coach Jeff Tedford and quarterback coach Marcus Arroyo. The Bears may try to find new ways to get him involved in the running game with the spread option.
QUOTE: “We did everything we could. We adjusted our resources to try to do this; it’s not like we haven’t made an effort. But each program is different. We have to follow the structure of what we are here at Cal. … If you look at average [salaries], we’re competitive, but [Tosh Lupoi's offer] was at the very high end. We try to stay competitive within reason.” – Cal head coach Jeff Tedford, to SI.com, on Cal’s efforts to keep defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Tosh Lupoi, who left to take a job on the Washington staff.
KEY LOSSES: Cal has several significant losses. The biggest may be ILB Mychal Kendricks, who was the Pac-12 defensive player of the year. There is no ready replacement, and the Bears may move an outside backer inside to fill that slot. The next biggest concern is wide receiver, because three-year starter Marvin Jones is gone after having 62 receptions in 2011. The Bears don’t have a good replacement at that spot, which is why the Bears recruited so many wide receivers. The losses of ILB D.J. Holt, S Sean Cattouse, OLs Mitchell Schwartz and Justin Cheadle and DEs Trevor Guyton and Ernest Owusu are significant too. Guyton had developed into one of the best linemen in the Pac-12 with his 12 tackles for losses last season, and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast probably will be looking at some freshmen, some of whom redshirted last season, to take those spots.
PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:
TB Isi Sofele – His 1,322 yards in 2011 were the sixth-highest single-season rushing total in Cal history. Though he had only 52 yards in the Holiday Bowl against Texas, he got better as the season wore on, averaging 142.3 yards over the final four regular-season games.
WR Keenan Allen – His 1,343 receiving yards were the second-highest single-season total in Cal history. He was a first-team all-conference selection in 2011, and he has All-American potential. He won’t have the luxury of having another established wide receiver on the other side now that Marvin Jones is gone, though.
QB Zach Maynard –Maynard improved dramatically in the final four games, although Texas’ pass rush made him ineffective in the Holiday Bowl. If he continues to improve, the Bears could contend for a conference title.
OLB Chris McCain – Even though he missed three games with injuries and was not a starter when the season began, McCain had 7.0 tackles for loss in his freshman season, and he has the makings of a big-play defender. The Bears may consider moving him to the inside, because they have a need there.
NG Aaron Tipoti – Tipoti stole the starting job at this overlooked but vital position with his strong play. He got better as the season progressed, and he figures to improve further in 2012 as a senior.
PLAYER NOTES
--- QB Zach Maynard is still scheduled to participate in spring drills despite a flurry of January rumors that he had become academically ineligible. Cal administrators insist he is academically eligible, although that could change at the end of the semester or in the summer.
---WR Marvin Jones caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in the Senior Bowl.
---Cal punter Bryan Anger averaged 60.0 yards on three punts in the East-West Shrine game.
---OL Christian Okafor and QB Zach Kline, two of the Bears’ top recruits, graduated from high school in December and enrolled at Cal for the spring semester. They will participate in spring practice.
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