If you didn't see the other day, junior Cal WR/KR and former Heisman Trophy candidate DeSean Jackson announced that he is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. The decision isn't that surprising - he's Mel Kiper Jr.'s No. 1 rated junior wide receiver, and a solid mid-first round pick in most mock drafts. In short, he's going to be making a lot of money next year when he suits up for an NFL team.
But let's take a look at Cal for a second. Remember earlier this season, after they knocked off Oregon in what during a normal season would have been a Game of the Year candidate, how they were supposed to be the team that was going to stand up to USC, and how they had an inside track to a BCS title game berth?
Flash-forward to today. The wheels on the bus completely fell off in the second half of the season. After rising to as high as No. 2 in the polls, Cal lost six of their last seven regular season games, and needed to rally from three touchdowns down to beat Air Force in their bowl game. Quarterback Nate Longshore completely fell apart, and might be riding the pine next season in favor of Kevin Riley, who lead the bowl comeback.
And speaking of next season...yikes. As the San Jose Mercury News article points out, Jackson's departure leaves the receiving corp unusually thin:
Jackson's departure leaves the Bears without much experience at receiver. Jackson, along with seniors Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan, were Cal's top pass-catchers last season.
Junior LaReylle Cunningham is the only receiver left in the program who has caught a pass in a game. He has eight receptions.
Next season, the Bears probably will need immediate contributions from potential star Michael Calvin, who redshirted last season as a freshman; and redshirt freshman Jeremy Ross. Cal also could get a huge boost from Nyan Boateng, a transfer from Florida whose status on the team is up in the air after he ran into legal trouble last summer. Boateng, who had to sit out last season anyway because of NCAA transfer rules, was suspended from all team activities during the fall. Tedford said he will talk with Boateng about his status next week.
So think USC at the start of this season, except without the experience, and you have a pretty idea about what the possibly new starting quarterback will have to work with. And oh yeah, did I mention that the Bears have to replace the third-leading rusher in school history - Justin Forsett? The cupboard is looking decidedly bare around Berkeley these days?
How the hell did this happen? Needless to say, when your team collapses in what was supposed to be "their year", the head coach has to answer a lot of questions, and Jeff Tedford did make some changes, primarily bringing in former 49ers QB coach Frank Cignetti as the new offensive coordinator, and taking more of a hands-off role with the offense (including play-calling duties) so he can concentrate more on the overall team.
But is that enough? I remember just a few years ago, when Tedford's name was connected with all sorts of high-profile coaching positions (some even in the NFL). Now? He's reshuffling his staff and delegating duties to assistants in order to keep the fans and administration happy. I don't know how much longer this can go on: Cal desperately needs new facilities - their stadium has a giant crack running through it, for God's sake - and this has been a constant source of strife between Tedford and the school for years. Unfortunately, being 7-7 in games played in November or later the last three years doesn't exactly fire everyone up for the off-season.
As for upcoming seasons? Right now they are sixth in the PAC-10 in recruiting, and No. 34 in the country according to Scout.com. Of course, take that with a grain of salt, since that only includes signed commitments, and a lot of big names will wait until Signing Day (thus why USC is down at No. 19 nationally). But here's where to get worried: out of the Rivals.com Top 100, Cal has zero commitments and only one player (Cyrus Gray) even considering the school - and he is leaning towards Texas A&M. Meanwhile, USC has commitments or interest from 12 of the Top 100, while UCLA and Arizona St. have three each. Even Stanford has a verbal commitment from a Top 100 player.
So where does this leave Cal? Definitely at a crossroads. I have a feeling they could be looking at a sub-.500 this year, and that Jeff Tedford's hot seat might just become unbearable (no pun intended) before it's all said and done.
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