Cal Bears ready for Michigan State opener

August 25, 11:03 AMCal Bears ExaminerRob Calonge

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Cal Bears Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

2008 will be on Riley's shoulders if he doesn't falter

By now I'm sure you've heard the news about Kevin Riley getting the starting nod as the Cal Bears' starting quarterback.  Being Cal's starter going into the season hasn't been a guarantee, during the Tedford era, that you'll end the season that way.

In 2003, Reggie Robertson started over Aaron Rodgers.  But by week five Rodgers would take that spot and use it to catapult him to the NFL.  Two years ago, Longshore started the season as the man behind center only to suffer a season-ending leg injury and leave Cal with a hodgepodge of players to fill in.

The position played poorly until former fullback Steve Levy stepped in and played well enough to finish the season with a win in the Big Game and a bowl victory against BYU. 

For those of you not excited about Riley as the starting leader of the Bears, Longshore still has the opportunity to wrestle that title away before the end of the season.  The great thing about the Bears' quarterback position is that they have two guys that could easily lead the team back into the top 25 rankings and into a BCS bowl game.

Getting back onto the national stage is the main focus for the program in 2008.  Camp is over and from what Coach Tedford and his players are saying to reporters, it's pretty easy to figure that these guys are more than ready to begin the season.  On offense, besides the lack of hype, Bears Backers can expect to see more of the same prolific play that they've grown accustomed to.  On defense is where some changes may show a different type of team.

Coach Bob Gregory has switched to a 3-4 alignment and the Bears have one of the best collections of linebackers in all of college football returning to action.  Zack Follet will be a pivotal leader on this defense and his high motor play can do nothing but help the Bears when the offense is not as 'prolific' as Berkeley fans would like.

Tedford seems confident about the defense.  When asked about the defensive front he said, "I think we have a pretty good understanding of what's going on, but you never really know until you play the game so we'll find out. I feel good about their effort; I feel good about the work that they've put in, so now it's just a matter of seeing them at game time. That's the true test."

As of now, the depth chart is still in flux, but the following is what I've been able to track down at this time:

Offense
QB - Kevin Riley
TB - Jahvid Best
FB - Will Ta'ufo'ou
LT - Chet Teofilo
LG - Chris Guarnero
C - Alex Mack
RG - Noris Malele
RT - Mitchell Schwartz
TE - Cameron Morah
WR1 - Michael Calvin
WR2 - Sean Young
WR3 - LaReylle Cunningham

Defense
DE - Rulon Davis
NT - Derrick Hill
DE - Tyson Alualu
OLB - Zack Follet
MLB - Worrell Williams
MLB - Anthony Fielder
OLB - Eddie Young
CB1 - Syd'Quan Thompson
CB2 - Chris Conte
ROV - Marcus Ezeff
FS - Bernard Hicks

The Bears begin practicing for the game today and it should be a nice change of pace for a team that has been performing very physical in camp.  "It was a good camp," said Tedford,"We improved through camp. We had a physical camp; we got a lot of our new guys acclimated to all phases of the game so it was very productive. Now it's time to hone in one game-planning."

One Bear admitted that the players were more than ready to get some live action under their belts.  Fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou said, "Banging against each other, it gets old sometimes. We're ready to see some new faces across from us."

After Saturday, the Bears and their fans will know just how good this team is.  A convincing win against another big program like Michigan State could gain them some believers, while a close match could keep them outside of the polls looking in.  On the other hand, a loss could be a sign of things to come and the beginning of a very long year.

As the anticipation mounts to opening kick off, we'll keep you informed.

Other Cal Sports

• Cal's two time defending champion Men's Water Polo team goes into the season ranked number one in the Men's Preseason Collegiate Top 20 Water Polo Poll.  The team is trying to win their third National Championship, which will be the first time since the '90-'92 squads were able to accomplish that feat.  Cal holds the NCAA record for most titles with 14 all time.
• With the gold attained by the U.S. 'Redeem Team' in Beijing, Cal broke it's school record for most medals in an Olympics with 17.  Jason Kidd was the medal winner for Cal as the U.S. Basketball team defeated Spain to win their first Basketball gold since 2000.  Kidd became only the 13th U.S. player with multiple Olympic gold medals.
• The Bears female soccer team opened the season with a convincing 3-1 victory over San Jose State on Sunday.  Lisa Kevorkian scored two goals to lead the 15th ranked Bears to their first win of the season.  Next up for the Lady Bears - Cal faces Cal State Fullerton in its home opener Aug. 29 at 4:30 p.m. at Edwards Stadium.
• Cal's female field hockey team defeated Stanford 5-1 in a scrimmage on Saturday.  They will host the University of Victoria in a scrimmage at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Maxwell Family Field in Berkeley before officially opening the season with a 1 p.m. non-conference game on Saturday, Aug. 30, against the Tigers in Stockton, Calif.
• In the month of August, a few of Cal's lady golfers brought home titles.  Cal Junior, Roseanne Niven, won the Ladies British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Malone Golf Club near Belfast, Ireland.  Senior, Shannon Yocum won the Santa Barbara City Open.  Senior Allison Goodman won the San Diego City Ameteur Championships.
• Not to be outdone, Cal's golfing men had their most representation ever at the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship.  Senior George Gandranata, Sophomores Stephen Hale and Eric Mina and Junior Andrey Mindirgasov all advanced via sectional qualifiers.  Unfortunately for the men, none of them made the cut with Hale leading the pack tied for 89th shooting a plus six for the tourney.
• Cal's men's soccer goalkeeper, Junior Stefan Frei, was named to the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch List.  His Bears team was selected 14th in the Soccer Times preseason national rankings on Wednesday.  They look to three-peat a Pac-10 championship this year.