Polk is by far the biggest talent that Cal has had in their offense in the Wilcox era in my opinion. For those people who say this shortened season had no impact on anything, I beg to differ. I think Polk looked at the play calling in each game - particularly the way that Wilcox and Musgrave curled up in a ball in Q3 of the Oregon State - and concluded his resume was strong enough take his talents to a program that understands how to stretch the field. All you have to do is look at what Mack Brown has done in a short time at North Carolina to see how these young kinds want to be in those kinds of programs. This is a true loss for the program.
Dagger. This kid has legit NFL size & is local...losing him is not surprising tho, unfortunately. Musgrave was a bad hire, and Wilcox wants to play 2nd-tier, Big10-style football. Makai sees that a QB with better arm talent can maybe take better advantage of his tools...steady, unspectacular Garbers is not that. Polk will have plenty of elite programs interested, tho the chances of a Demetrius Robertson flame out is real for him at a school with a talented WR room.
Tough loss, but won't be the last we lose, given how easy the NCAA will make it to change schools in COVID.
I think he's aiming higher than San Jose St., despite a solid pandemic season by the Spartans. Campbell makes Iowa St interesting until he bolts for the NFL...Ridder returning to Cincy is big for the Bearcats as well. But I think he's aiming more for a better fit schematically to get to the NFL, and the vanilla Wilcox play-calling in Berkeley was all he needed to see.
Just speculating, but I think he showed enough upside at Cal to now draw interest from schools that showed little in him when he was a 3* at El Cerrito.
yes i see what you mean I'm just thinking of programs who have upper tier QB's returning that are either losing top WR's or don't have "that guy" established at WR those were just the first three of off the top of my head. Maybe a place like Oklahoma State would be best since Wallace is going pro and Stoner is a senior unknown at this point.
I wonder if he feels like he was getting recruited over. If Crawford stays and the WRs from the last 2 classes being extremely well thought of, maybe he thought he was going to get less run? Regardless, enjoy Starkville I guess
I'm not quick to blame coaches for a guy leaving, though it may be the case. I'm more of the mind that players these days have very little loyalty to a school or team, even a local boy like Polk. Perhaps that is a good thing, but players up and leave all the time. I always wish them well. It's too early to say Musgrave is a big mistake. We will know after next year. So for now, I just wish Polk well and remain convinced the Bears will be a top 3-4 team in the Pac next year.
Agreed. If one views this as a 1:1 trade then Cal is doing OK given Sturdivant is an upgrade in terms of talent and potential. We would rather have both of them but if Polk wants to bolt it is what it is.
Not very good news at all. So much for recruiting his brother. I wonder how many, if any, more dominos fall. One should always refrain from knee jerk reactions after a season such as this past one. Either way, losing a local kid is not good for the program especially a starter and bona fide PAC 12 player.
Can someone please start a petition prohibiting anymore players from either entering the transfer portal or sustaining major injuries. I'll be the first to sign. Thank you.
I feel due to the fullback and multiple TEs we just didn't play with that many receivers on the field at a time. Its hard to spread the ball to the different receivers if you are only playing two at a time.
Agreed. He was our only legit difference maker on offense, and I felt many times when the offense struggled it could have been rectified by putting the ball in Polk's hands, but they didnt.
Offensive philosophy definitely played a role, but for various reasons, Garbers was very quick to pull it down this year, which resulted in a lack of opportunities for big passing plays. Again, the OL issues did not help, but Garbers is not an incredibly accurate passer past the sticks.
From a pure speculation standpoint, this is probably about maximizing Makai's NFL potential. At 6'3". 190, he has size and Polk's stock will rise with a QB that can make throws downfield...Garbers is not that guy. The offensive philosophy may be predicated on Chase's limitations. Not saying you can't win with him, but Garbers is more game manager than game winner....
I'm pretty sure the number is 0 when it comes down to Wilcox receivers, I think the best is Jordan Veasy who is on some practice squad somewhere. Hansen was 2016 and Rodgers was 2015 I believe.
I would attribute Jones to Tedford and other than that I think Maurice Harris is also there somewhere in a practice squad last I hear he was on Washington, the rest you have right.
Dykes sent a lot of wide receivers to pro (Lawler, Treggs, Harper, Harris, Powe, Davis, Anderson, Hansen) but none of them played much. I know Hansen and Anderson are getting some playing time this year which is great. I would say Richard Rodgers was pretty much a Tedford player. He played one year for Dykes and left for pro. But I get your point. Wilcox is not getting offensive players into NFL.
Polk is by far the biggest talent that Cal has had in their offense in the Wilcox era in my opinion. For those people who say this shortened season had no impact on anything, I beg to differ. I think Polk looked at the play calling in each game - particularly the way that Wilcox and Musgrave curled up in a ball in Q3 of the Oregon State - and concluded his resume was strong enough take his talents to a program that understands how to stretch the field. All you have to do is look at what Mack Brown has done in a short time at North Carolina to see how these young kinds want to be in those kinds of programs. This is a true loss for the program.
Yes, this. Exactly.
Dagger. This kid has legit NFL size & is local...losing him is not surprising tho, unfortunately. Musgrave was a bad hire, and Wilcox wants to play 2nd-tier, Big10-style football. Makai sees that a QB with better arm talent can maybe take better advantage of his tools...steady, unspectacular Garbers is not that. Polk will have plenty of elite programs interested, tho the chances of a Demetrius Robertson flame out is real for him at a school with a talented WR room.
Tough loss, but won't be the last we lose, given how easy the NCAA will make it to change schools in COVID.
if were to actually leave through the portal I would say places Iowa State, Cincy, San Jose State(especially here) should be at the top of his list.
I think he's aiming higher than San Jose St., despite a solid pandemic season by the Spartans. Campbell makes Iowa St interesting until he bolts for the NFL...Ridder returning to Cincy is big for the Bearcats as well. But I think he's aiming more for a better fit schematically to get to the NFL, and the vanilla Wilcox play-calling in Berkeley was all he needed to see.
Just speculating, but I think he showed enough upside at Cal to now draw interest from schools that showed little in him when he was a 3* at El Cerrito.
yes i see what you mean I'm just thinking of programs who have upper tier QB's returning that are either losing top WR's or don't have "that guy" established at WR those were just the first three of off the top of my head. Maybe a place like Oklahoma State would be best since Wallace is going pro and Stoner is a senior unknown at this point.
can you spell M i s s i s s i p p i State? Utterly baffling move but ok, whatevs
Damn. He is easily one of my favorite players. Hopefully he ends up staying.
Nooooo!
I wonder if he feels like he was getting recruited over. If Crawford stays and the WRs from the last 2 classes being extremely well thought of, maybe he thought he was going to get less run? Regardless, enjoy Starkville I guess
I'm not quick to blame coaches for a guy leaving, though it may be the case. I'm more of the mind that players these days have very little loyalty to a school or team, even a local boy like Polk. Perhaps that is a good thing, but players up and leave all the time. I always wish them well. It's too early to say Musgrave is a big mistake. We will know after next year. So for now, I just wish Polk well and remain convinced the Bears will be a top 3-4 team in the Pac next year.
If we're looking for positives, tho, this could be a be a sign that Sturdivant is expected to see big minutes from Day 1...
Agreed. If one views this as a 1:1 trade then Cal is doing OK given Sturdivant is an upgrade in terms of talent and potential. We would rather have both of them but if Polk wants to bolt it is what it is.
Kind of a surprise. Wish him well in the future, though. He had some potential.
Damn. I thought we finally had a trio with Polk, Crawford and Nikko.
Not very good news at all. So much for recruiting his brother. I wonder how many, if any, more dominos fall. One should always refrain from knee jerk reactions after a season such as this past one. Either way, losing a local kid is not good for the program especially a starter and bona fide PAC 12 player.
Can someone please start a petition prohibiting anymore players from either entering the transfer portal or sustaining major injuries. I'll be the first to sign. Thank you.
Well the coaches didn't even utilize him this past year. I kept thinking why he's not getting more touches.
I feel due to the fullback and multiple TEs we just didn't play with that many receivers on the field at a time. Its hard to spread the ball to the different receivers if you are only playing two at a time.
Agreed. He was our only legit difference maker on offense, and I felt many times when the offense struggled it could have been rectified by putting the ball in Polk's hands, but they didnt.
For the last two games they kept trying to force feed Nikko and went away from Polk and Crawford. It was frustrating.
yeah, I would have liked more screen passes to Polk in the open field. I really thought he was like Keenan Allen.
Chase couldn't get him the ball
I'm not talking about downfield passes. Screen pass should be easy even for Chase.
That’s definitely a throw Garbers can make. Would like to have seen Cal try more things, especially WR-screens.
Question: Does Wilcox neuter his OC’s?
I disagree that it was a Chase issue, I think its more an offensive philosophy issue.
Offensive philosophy definitely played a role, but for various reasons, Garbers was very quick to pull it down this year, which resulted in a lack of opportunities for big passing plays. Again, the OL issues did not help, but Garbers is not an incredibly accurate passer past the sticks.
From a pure speculation standpoint, this is probably about maximizing Makai's NFL potential. At 6'3". 190, he has size and Polk's stock will rise with a QB that can make throws downfield...Garbers is not that guy. The offensive philosophy may be predicated on Chase's limitations. Not saying you can't win with him, but Garbers is more game manager than game winner....
Wow, did not see this one coming at all.
I'm pretty sure the number is 0 when it comes down to Wilcox receivers, I think the best is Jordan Veasy who is on some practice squad somewhere. Hansen was 2016 and Rodgers was 2015 I believe.
I would attribute Jones to Tedford and other than that I think Maurice Harris is also there somewhere in a practice squad last I hear he was on Washington, the rest you have right.
Come on, how can you mix Marvin Jones with any of the Dykes receivers? He was at Cal during Best/Vereen days.
There seems to be a few more NFL players in the pipeline as well. Kuony Deng, Brett Johnson, and Elijah Hicks all have a chance.
Dykes sent a lot of wide receivers to pro (Lawler, Treggs, Harper, Harris, Powe, Davis, Anderson, Hansen) but none of them played much. I know Hansen and Anderson are getting some playing time this year which is great. I would say Richard Rodgers was pretty much a Tedford player. He played one year for Dykes and left for pro. But I get your point. Wilcox is not getting offensive players into NFL.