DailyCal: New Attitude, New Players

[oldspart]

Wielding a new slogan-"Every game counts"-and sporting jerseys without names, the Bears are purportedly a team without individuals. In public, coach Jeff Tedford and his players have said and done all the right things thus far in the preseason.
...

Aside from changes under center, the most dramatic overhaul can be found in a defense that moved to a 3-4 formation.
The new look aims to benefit from Cal's strength at linebacker. Alongside the usual suspects in seniors Anthony Felder, Zack Follett and Worrell Williams, junior Eddie Young is slated to roam on the strong side. Key reserves Devin Bishop, D.J. Holt and Michael Mohamed also provide depth at the position.
Among others, true freshman backer Mychal Kendricks showed he has enough mettle to hang with the veterans during fall camp and will join the rotation as well.
"We've got a lot of talented guys, guys that we feel like can do the job, so the competition is tough (at the position)," linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson said. "We feel really good about the choices we have, and we're just trying to get the right guys out there."
The most unproven unit, meanwhile, remains the wideouts. While it's not the first time the Bears have had to revamp their receiving corps in recent memory, one might take less of a risk predicting standouts in the stock market than on the Cal flanks.
Redshirt freshman and 2007 Scout Team Player of the Year Michael Calvin seems to have penciled his name into the starting lineup, but is still recovering from a sprained toe. Seniors LaReylle Cunningham and Sean Young could emerge as solid contributors, but their forte seems to lie in their reliability rather than big-play potential.
With higher ceilings comes more uncertainty for Cal. Freshman Marvin Jones looks a lot like DeSean Jackson in that No. 1 jersey, though he's several inches taller. At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, transfer Nyan Boateng boasts all the physical tools in the world, but coaches have at times lamented his lack of consistency, which might have cost him a starting role.
The one sure thing about this year's unit, though, is its size with nine receivers listed at 6-foot-1 or taller.
"In certain situations, (their size) could possibly affect some play calls," newly hired offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti said. "They have a nice catching range. Not only are they tall, they've got long arms and the catching range is pretty big."
The offense being relatively green, Cignetti certainly has his job cut out for him, but the fact that three-fifths of the offensive line is returning is a very good place to start. And behind Playboy Preseason All-American center Alex Mack, tailback Jahvid Best seems to have fully recovered from a hip injury that drew a premature end to his freshman campaign. Redshirt freshman Shane Vereen should provide the second half of the one-two punch that Cal so often employs in its backfield, while sophomore Tracy Slocum could spell either one of the speedsters.

The Daily Californian - For Team-First Bears, 2008 Is Clean Slate

[Nals]

bad college newspaper writing