NorCalNick of California Golden Blogs gives us the lowdown on his beloved Golden Bears and the luminosity of coach Jeff Tedford’s star on the college coaching circuit.
1. There was a time when Jeff Tedford’s name was on top of every school’s coaching wish list. Have we reached the point where he’s possibly on the hot seat?
It’s certainly not absurd to put “Tedford” and “hot seat” in the same sentence, but it would take a really poor season for most Cal fans to seriously suggest firing Tedford after this season. Even if the team struggles he’s likely to become the all-time career wins leader in Cal coaching history, and the facility improvements started entirely because of his achievements will finally be finished next year.
True, expectations have been raised in Berkeley, but the expectations have been raised because of what Tedford has done. He’s earned the right to at least continue coaching with the new facilities on line, and with the chance to develop the last two years of dynamic recruiting classes.
2. Tedford became such a hot commodity in part through his work with quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers. What can we expect from the position this season?
This year could be like nothing we’ve ever seen from a Tedford quarterback, because Zach Maynard is the first Tedford quarterback with potentially game-breaking mobility. Dilfer, Boller, Rodgers, Longshore – almost every Tedford QB has been your traditionally statuesque pocket passer.
Since Maynard has a skill we’ve never seen Tedford try to utilize, there’s lots of uncertainty about how it will be used. It wasn’t unusual to see an option or zone read play once or twice a game, and the offensive staff has certainly used the wildcat formation to decent success over the past few year. So it’s not like it’s completely foreign territory. But the amount of designed runs should increase.
3. Give us a couple names to watch on defense.
The two names you’ll likely hear the most often will by Mychal Kendricks and D.J. Holt, the two inside linebackers in Cal’s 3-4 scheme. Both are the veteran leaders of what should be a well above-average defense. Kendricks is the more explosive of the duo, but he will be learning a new position as he transitions from outside to inside linebacker.
There isn’t an obvious, NFL-ready prospect on the defensive line like Tyson Alualu or Cameron Jordan this year, but there is an unusual amount of depth. Trevor Guyton is probably the best returning lineman but Cal fans are most excited to see what five-star, 350-pound true freshman Viliami ‘Tiny’ Moala can do. He will undoubtedly get a chance to play at nose tackle, and if he’s as strong and immoveable as reports suggest, he could make an instant impact.
4. What’s the greatest area if concern for this team? Strength?
I think most would agree the greatest concern is the offensive line, particularly depth. The line was generally mediocre last year, and third round draftee Shane Vereen had to make something out of nothing on far too many plays. I think most Cal fans believe that we have the talent at WR and RB to score points if the line can give Maynard time and our backs some space. There is talent in the assumed starters, and Cal replaced its line coach with the previous coach, who developed a number of NFL draft picks. But depth is a major concern.
The biggest strength has to be the front seven on defense. I think it could be argued that over the last two years no college in the country has brought in more and better front seven talent than Cal. Now, since that talent is still quite young, there’s a certain level of uncertainty, but there’s lots of faith in the defensive coaching staff to develop it.
5. Remember those filthy, tree-hugging “hippies” who drew Brent Musburger’s scorn a few years back? I would’ve just cut the trees down with those bums in them. Chalk that one up in the “L” column for “peaceful resistance.” Am I right?
In the sense that using your own bodily waste as a weapon can be considered peaceful! We’re certainly thrilled that the desperately needed seismic retrofitting is underway – when half of the stadium is sitting on what can be called a death trap, you know something needed to change. I’d call it more of a victory over blatant legal obstructionism, which is another Berkeley tradition, though one a bit more common in the rest of the United States. As visible (and bizarre) as the tree-sitters were, they just ended up being a vocal distraction from the true battle in the court room.
