There are two things that give me great optimism for next year (and the future under Wilcox). The first is the quality of our recruits and how they are being bulked up, healthy style. I am impressed as hell with Coach Wilcox figuring out how, in the Covid era, to get growing kids lifting heavy, the nutrition they need to muscle up. This is just a little coaching item that will pay huge dividends come fall. If you look at the recruiting for CAL since Wilcox arrived we basically started with low level three star kids and some two stars and are now attracting high three stars and a fair number of four star kids. Does this guarantee success by itself? No. As Wilcox has stated a bigger guy most often beats a smaller guy if both have similar abilities. Our receivers are longer and heavier as is our secondary. Our linebackers are getting big, typically at 6'2" 240-250 lbs. Same with our RB's. We finally have some real depth at D-Line, but could use more. And our O-line is long, athletic and big. Wilcox is building a 'Program' and we are soon to see the dividends. It's exciting to watch. The second item that excites me is when a head coach says there is so much to teach and that he sees things that he could teach EVERY POSITION GROUP. Wilcox is a brilliant coach with a deep knowledge of the game and of each position. This is rare. He hires position coaches that are solid teachers. When you have the ability to look at highly skilled and trained player groups and can say that there is so much more you can teach them, that's an awesome thing. As fans we will most likely see the conclusion of Spring Ball as an indicator of significant team progress. Wilcox will see it as a point to start reviewing and planning his offseason teaching to keep taking the kids to another level. I cannot say if I've ever been this excited about a CAL head coach. We'll still stumble as we get better, but if we can keep Wilcox another 5 years and maintain our level of improvement and our recruiting trajectory, we will be a powerhouse.
Big and strong is fantastic, but speed kills. I don't see enough speed on the offensive side of the ball. I can't think of anyone on the offensive two-deep who can break open a game with one play and keep the defenses honest. Oregon has a bunch of those guys, as does USC and even lower tier programs like Oregon State with their running backs. Wilcox needs to find some burners with talent to truly elevate the program in my opinion.
Agree...in time. There are only 35 Five star players in the country this year (which is up...there are usually less than 30). Those are the types of players that usually have the speed AND ability to use it. DRob was the last one of those players we had, and sadly, he never lived up to his hype here or in GA.
Don't disagree with anything you are saying, either. When I think of the Cal guys who could bust a game open on any play, I think of Russell White, DeSean Jackson, Beastmode and Keenan Allen. All of those guys were 5-star talent coming out of high school. But I also think of a guy named Sean Dawkins, who was not a 5 star and could score from anywhere on the field with deceptive speed. He played with White almost 30 years ago, and the current player he most reminds me of is Makai Polk. Oh well...
It has to be said in this conversation that the times have profoundly changed, and not much for Cal's benefit. The internet has brought an age of truly national recruiting. It's huge business. Hard to have CA players be unknown anymore. It's really hard to find that huge stud that Alabama doesn't know about. Cal used to get more of these guys, I think, from less competition. The current staff are doing well nationally, but it's hard for us to get the Marshawn Lynch's of the world today. Good news is that IF they do choose Cal, from among others, they are really Bears.
Look at how our recruiting has improved since Wilcox has arrived. It will continue to improve as we improve, win more game, and get to bigger bowl games and win. It takes time, but Wilcox is building a program. The internet and social media can be our friend as well; CAL is an awesome place and we had the #22 recruiting class this year.
A lot of our recent stars were luck too, like happening upon a Bay Area guy who really wants to stay close to home (Marshawn Lynch.. the self proclaimed "mama's boy") or a So Cal guy who wants to stay in state but get some distance from home (Desean Jackson.. not positive about the in-state part but definitely wanted to get away from home otherwise probably wouldve ended up at USC), or Cal legacies (Goff, though he wasnt a 5 star), or striking JUCO gold (Aaron Rogers, JJ Arrington, et. al), or D Robertson (who wanted to go to Stanford and we were his back-up plan after deciding he liked the area [before his personal plans changed]). You have to figure eventually your luck runs out or it's just unpredictable and streaky by nature..
He should of been there, too. The play I can't get out of my mind with him was the Oregon State game where he did the big leap to score a touchdown and came down the wrong way with a serious injury that ended his season.
That was very tragic. I never forget about it, but it actually doesn't really cross my mind either to be honest. I think of two 80 yard TD runs against WSU 2008.
DeSean and Keenan are special special players. Dawkins was awesome; Mr. Clutch. He was a Fred Biletnikoff type receiver...not much speed but he got open and if the ball was close he brought it in.
The good news is that we beat Oregon this year and almost beat them the year before with Modster at QB. Speed is always your friend when you have it, and I'd like more, but we have so many weapons and a very smart OC who knows how to utilize all of them. We will get more speed as our recruiting continues to get better and better. Hard to complain when we had a top 25 recruiting class this year. ;-)
Speed kills because it gives you separation that others can't match. I'm hoping Terry's size (and athleticism) gives him separation to catch passes that no one can match, even tho a TE will never be the fastest out there. I may be expecting too much, but I don't think so.....
Do we know what actually happened with Polk? I get that he wanted more touches, but I hoped having a new OC would have addressed that for him. Disappointed that Wilcox could not keep him with the program.
I would think he wanted to go somewhere where he believed he could be the focal point of the offense. Which wouldn't necessarily make sense to go to an Air Raid system since it's high quantity across the board. Maybe he just figured more touches equals more opportunities to shine, particularly in the SEC spotlight. I thought he was under-used last year, but think if he would've waited another year he would've been given the stage to shine here with this smart coaching staff.. But maybe not, if you dont trust that the QB can find you or the program's philosophy is simply defense-first with a "protect the lead" mentality. Then again, there could be plenty of other factors at play I couldnt know about..
I think even if you are just one of many WRs on the team, you can still put up highlight film in Air Raid system. I mean, Chris Harper, Bryce Treggs, Darius Powe, Maurice Harris, Trevor Davis, Kenny Lawler, Stephen Anderson all made it to the NFL. And except for Harper, the last six guys all went in the same year. Only two remain in the NFL today, but they all had their chances. Biggest surprise was that Kenny Lawler had the least NFL appearance in this group.
My mistake if I led you to believe our backs were 240#. I meant they were bigger and stronger than in the past. More leg strength. We have a solid QB and a stable of good receivers although we have been lacking that true break away threat. What they need is time in Musgrave's complex pro-style offense. They will all get better with time and repetition and game experience.
Did you hear him say that nothing beats running the ball through a tacklers facemask? Imagine that dude coming at you full speed? Even a LB will feel his impact.
There are two things that give me great optimism for next year (and the future under Wilcox). The first is the quality of our recruits and how they are being bulked up, healthy style. I am impressed as hell with Coach Wilcox figuring out how, in the Covid era, to get growing kids lifting heavy, the nutrition they need to muscle up. This is just a little coaching item that will pay huge dividends come fall. If you look at the recruiting for CAL since Wilcox arrived we basically started with low level three star kids and some two stars and are now attracting high three stars and a fair number of four star kids. Does this guarantee success by itself? No. As Wilcox has stated a bigger guy most often beats a smaller guy if both have similar abilities. Our receivers are longer and heavier as is our secondary. Our linebackers are getting big, typically at 6'2" 240-250 lbs. Same with our RB's. We finally have some real depth at D-Line, but could use more. And our O-line is long, athletic and big. Wilcox is building a 'Program' and we are soon to see the dividends. It's exciting to watch. The second item that excites me is when a head coach says there is so much to teach and that he sees things that he could teach EVERY POSITION GROUP. Wilcox is a brilliant coach with a deep knowledge of the game and of each position. This is rare. He hires position coaches that are solid teachers. When you have the ability to look at highly skilled and trained player groups and can say that there is so much more you can teach them, that's an awesome thing. As fans we will most likely see the conclusion of Spring Ball as an indicator of significant team progress. Wilcox will see it as a point to start reviewing and planning his offseason teaching to keep taking the kids to another level. I cannot say if I've ever been this excited about a CAL head coach. We'll still stumble as we get better, but if we can keep Wilcox another 5 years and maintain our level of improvement and our recruiting trajectory, we will be a powerhouse.
Big and strong is fantastic, but speed kills. I don't see enough speed on the offensive side of the ball. I can't think of anyone on the offensive two-deep who can break open a game with one play and keep the defenses honest. Oregon has a bunch of those guys, as does USC and even lower tier programs like Oregon State with their running backs. Wilcox needs to find some burners with talent to truly elevate the program in my opinion.
Agree...in time. There are only 35 Five star players in the country this year (which is up...there are usually less than 30). Those are the types of players that usually have the speed AND ability to use it. DRob was the last one of those players we had, and sadly, he never lived up to his hype here or in GA.
Don't disagree with anything you are saying, either. When I think of the Cal guys who could bust a game open on any play, I think of Russell White, DeSean Jackson, Beastmode and Keenan Allen. All of those guys were 5-star talent coming out of high school. But I also think of a guy named Sean Dawkins, who was not a 5 star and could score from anywhere on the field with deceptive speed. He played with White almost 30 years ago, and the current player he most reminds me of is Makai Polk. Oh well...
You never think about Jahvid Best?
Still one of my all-time favorite Bears and most exciting to watch. Great talent, great person, great alum.
It has to be said in this conversation that the times have profoundly changed, and not much for Cal's benefit. The internet has brought an age of truly national recruiting. It's huge business. Hard to have CA players be unknown anymore. It's really hard to find that huge stud that Alabama doesn't know about. Cal used to get more of these guys, I think, from less competition. The current staff are doing well nationally, but it's hard for us to get the Marshawn Lynch's of the world today. Good news is that IF they do choose Cal, from among others, they are really Bears.
Look at how our recruiting has improved since Wilcox has arrived. It will continue to improve as we improve, win more game, and get to bigger bowl games and win. It takes time, but Wilcox is building a program. The internet and social media can be our friend as well; CAL is an awesome place and we had the #22 recruiting class this year.
A lot of our recent stars were luck too, like happening upon a Bay Area guy who really wants to stay close to home (Marshawn Lynch.. the self proclaimed "mama's boy") or a So Cal guy who wants to stay in state but get some distance from home (Desean Jackson.. not positive about the in-state part but definitely wanted to get away from home otherwise probably wouldve ended up at USC), or Cal legacies (Goff, though he wasnt a 5 star), or striking JUCO gold (Aaron Rogers, JJ Arrington, et. al), or D Robertson (who wanted to go to Stanford and we were his back-up plan after deciding he liked the area [before his personal plans changed]). You have to figure eventually your luck runs out or it's just unpredictable and streaky by nature..
But we should still be able to get Brendan Bigelow or Chris Harper
He should of been there, too. The play I can't get out of my mind with him was the Oregon State game where he did the big leap to score a touchdown and came down the wrong way with a serious injury that ended his season.
That was very tragic. I never forget about it, but it actually doesn't really cross my mind either to be honest. I think of two 80 yard TD runs against WSU 2008.
DeSean and Keenan are special special players. Dawkins was awesome; Mr. Clutch. He was a Fred Biletnikoff type receiver...not much speed but he got open and if the ball was close he brought it in.
The good news is that we beat Oregon this year and almost beat them the year before with Modster at QB. Speed is always your friend when you have it, and I'd like more, but we have so many weapons and a very smart OC who knows how to utilize all of them. We will get more speed as our recruiting continues to get better and better. Hard to complain when we had a top 25 recruiting class this year. ;-)
Speed kills because it gives you separation that others can't match. I'm hoping Terry's size (and athleticism) gives him separation to catch passes that no one can match, even tho a TE will never be the fastest out there. I may be expecting too much, but I don't think so.....
Do we know what actually happened with Polk? I get that he wanted more touches, but I hoped having a new OC would have addressed that for him. Disappointed that Wilcox could not keep him with the program.
I would think he wanted to go somewhere where he believed he could be the focal point of the offense. Which wouldn't necessarily make sense to go to an Air Raid system since it's high quantity across the board. Maybe he just figured more touches equals more opportunities to shine, particularly in the SEC spotlight. I thought he was under-used last year, but think if he would've waited another year he would've been given the stage to shine here with this smart coaching staff.. But maybe not, if you dont trust that the QB can find you or the program's philosophy is simply defense-first with a "protect the lead" mentality. Then again, there could be plenty of other factors at play I couldnt know about..
I think even if you are just one of many WRs on the team, you can still put up highlight film in Air Raid system. I mean, Chris Harper, Bryce Treggs, Darius Powe, Maurice Harris, Trevor Davis, Kenny Lawler, Stephen Anderson all made it to the NFL. And except for Harper, the last six guys all went in the same year. Only two remain in the NFL today, but they all had their chances. Biggest surprise was that Kenny Lawler had the least NFL appearance in this group.
My sentiments exactly. Thank you.
I don't know how I could be any more in agreement with this statement. Well said, and "DITTO"!
#GoBears
Amen, brother.
My mistake if I led you to believe our backs were 240#. I meant they were bigger and stronger than in the past. More leg strength. We have a solid QB and a stable of good receivers although we have been lacking that true break away threat. What they need is time in Musgrave's complex pro-style offense. They will all get better with time and repetition and game experience.
Jermaine Terry = JT = Just Touchdowns.
Centennial (Corona) 4-star Defensive back Jaden Mickey puts Cal in top four with Notre Dame, Oregon, and Northwestern.
https://247sports.com/college/california/Article/Cal-football-recruiting-Jaden-Mickey-Top-4-Notre-Dame-Northwestern-Oregon-162083733/
What I learned from this article was that we have Tarik Glenn Jr. on our team.
His dad has been part of the Athletic Study Center for the last few years too: https://asc.berkeley.edu/about/staff/tarik-glenn
Yeah, and I also noticed that we have CJ Anderson as well. We have two Super Bowl champions on our football support staff.
Where did you see him?
on calbears.com football roster page
hes around as a volunteer helper.
Good to see lots of new Bears getting meaningful practice time, our overall depth should be improved this season.
Also Terry looked quick and athletic on his catch, despite his bulk. As you mentioned above, though, sounds like he could lose a few pounds.
He's a package for sure. ;-)
Did you hear him say that nothing beats running the ball through a tacklers facemask? Imagine that dude coming at you full speed? Even a LB will feel his impact.
My pick for 2021 breakout star, along with Timothy Chalamet and Anya Taylor-Joy