California 2012 Recruiting

California Golden Bears 2012 ... Head Coach: Jeff Tedford

California Golden Bears

2011 Record: 7-6

Sep. 2 Fresno State W 36-21
Sep. 10 at Colorado W 36-33 OT
Sep. 17 Presbyterian W 63-12
Sep. 24 at Washington L 31-23
Oct. 1 OPEN DATE
Oct. 6 at Oregon L 43-15
Oct. 13 USC L 30-9
Oct. 22 Utah W 34-10
Oct. 29 at UCLA L 31-14
Nov. 5 Washington State W 30-7
Nov. 12 Oregon State W 23-6
Nov. 19 at Stanford L 31-28
Nov. 26 at Arizona St W 47-38
Holiday Bowl
Dec. 28 Texas L 21-10

2010 CFN Prediction: 7-5
2010 Record: 5-7

Sept. 4 UC Davis W 52-3
Sept. 11 Colorado W 52-7
Sept. 17 at Nevada L 52-31
Sept. 25 at Arizona L 10-9
Oct. 2 OPEN DATE
Oct. 9 UCLA W 35-7
Oct. 16 at USC L 48-14
Oct. 23 Arizona State L 50-17
Oct. 30 at Oregon St L 35-7
Nov. 6 at Washington St W 20-13
Nov. 13 Oregon L 15-13
Nov. 20 Stanford L 48-14
Nov. 27 Washington L 16-13
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 California Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. WR Bryce Treggs
5-11, 175, Scout.com 5th ranked, five-star receiver. The West's top receiver because of his crisp route running, excellent hands and ability to get separation. Not the biggest, but doesn't need to be when he continues to break away from secondaries. One of the most disciplined players in this class. Also could be an elite defensive back.

2. QB Zach Kline
6-2, 195, Scout.com 4th ranked, four-star quarterback. Kline has arguably the biggest arm of any quarterback in the West. He's also a strong leader and well put together. Downfield arm strength is top notch and can find the open seam. Sometimes struggles with his touch- needs to learn how to take something off the ball and be more accurate and consistent.

3. LB Michael Barton
6-1, 205, Scout.com 19th ranked, foru-star outside linebacker. Had 72 tackles and was named to the GoldenStatePreps.com "Super Sophomore" Team in 2009 after helping lead Concord (Calif.) De La Salle to the CIF State Open Division title.

4. CB Cedric Dozier
5-11, 175, Scout.com 24th ranked, foru-star cornerback. Named to the Tacoma News Tribune's "Western 100" list of top prospects for 2012 in the western U.S. Also named a "Northwest Nugget" by the TNT and one of five in-state blue chippers by the Seattle Times. Played in U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Named all-classifications All-State defensive back by the Seattle Times and Associated Press Class 3A first-team All-State. Has the quicks, athleticism and hands to play either corner or receiver in college.

5. C Matt Cochran
6-4, 340, Scout.com 7th ranked, three-star center. Cochran is one of the best pure centers in the country, and he's a load. At 340 pounds, he's surprisingly agile and is a tremendous run-blocker. His pass blocking skills are solid and he's got good strength and gets off the ball quickly. He could also play guard, but being a pure center, is likely best suited to stay there.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Receivers. The work was done over the last few classes to improve the lines as much as possible, and now the payoff is about to come. The receiving corps is fine for this year, even with Marvin Jones gone to the NFL, but head coach Jeff Tedford is looking to make the big push now with a potentially special class of targets coming in. Landing Scout.com’s No. 1 safety Shaquille Thompson already makes the recruiting season a success for the defense.

Team Concerns For 2012: An improved Zach Maynard is a must if a loaded Cal offense is going to play up to its potential. The defensive front needs a few new starters, safeties D.J. Campbell and Sean Cattouse are done, and linebackers Mychal Kendricks and D.J. Holt aren’t easily replaceable, but things aren’t that bad. The team’s biggest loss could turn out to be punter Bryan Anger, putting the pressure on Jed Barnett to become a weapon.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Can the Bears take another step forward under head coach Jeff Tedford? The offense needs QB Zach Maynard to be more effective and more consistent, but Keenan Allen should be one of the nation’s top receivers and Isi Sofele is a special back who should roll at will behind a terrific-looking line. The defense led the Pac-12, but leader Mychal Kendricks is gone from the middle and D.J. Holt will be missed at one of the other linebacker spots. Safeties Sean Cattouse and D.J. Campbell are done, as is end Trevor Guyton, but there’s good depth and solid reserves ready to play bigger roles. The team’s biggest loss could be Bryan Anger, one of the nation’s best punting weapons over the last few years.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Defensive linemen. Kyle Boehm, with some work, could be one of the better Cal quarterbacks in recent years, and Daniel Lasco is another fast Bear running back, but the stars are on defense. Stefan McClure is one of the nation’s top corner prospects and Jason Gibson might soon be the leader of the linebacking corps. The linemen are phenomenal with Viliami Moala, arguably the nation’s best tackle, a class-making pickup while Mustafa Jalil and Todd Barr aren’t far behind. Brennan Scarlett and Puka Lopa are could be terrors on the end with a little time to develop.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 22. That Class Was Heavy On ... Linebacker. The Signing Day coup was getting Keenan Allen, Scout.com's No. 1 ranked safety, away from Alabama and Clemson. He was added to a class that was highlighted by Chris Martin, the nation's top-ranked outside linebacker prospect who chose the Bears over USC, Florida, and Oklahoma. Martin is the star, but Jeff Tedford also loaded up the linebacking corps with Cecil Whiteside, a top-shelf prospect for the middle, and Dave Wilkerson, a player who'd be the star of just about any other class.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 33. That Class Was Heavy On ... linemen. The Bears did not discriminate when it came to big bodies this year; they’re feeding both sides of the ball with an impressive array of linemen. The program was especially effective on the offensive line, going all the way to New Jersey to land top-ranked C Mark Brazinski and robbing Oregon of T Charles Siddoway. Both are the type of players who are capable of cracking the starting lineup by their second season.

Holiday Bowl
Texas 21 … California 10
- CFN Thoughts on the Game

Texas: The Longhorns held Cal to seven rushing yards and generated six sacks. … Davis Ash completed 14-of-23 passes for 142 yards and a score. Case McCoy didn’t play. … Malcolm Brown ran 13 times for 35 yards. … Jaxon Shipley caught four passes for 14 yards, and completed a four-yard pass for a score. … WR Marquise Goodwin caught three passes for 49 yards and a score and ran twice for 33 yards. … LB Emmanuel Acho made eight tackles with a broken up pass and a tackle for loss. … DE Jackson Jeffcoat made two sacks with 2.5 tackles for loss.

California: The Bears turned it over five times. … QB Zach Maynard completed 19-of-33 passes for 188 yards and a pick. … Isi Sofele ran 20 times for 52 yards and a score. … Keenan Allen made nine catches for 82 yards. … LB Mychal Kendricks made ten tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. … DE Trevor Guyton made five tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss. …

(AP) SAN DIEGO -- The next time Texas coach Mack Brown sees Joey Harrington, the memory shouldn't be quite so painful.

David Ash added his name to the list of quarterbacks who've caught a touchdown pass in the Holiday Bowl and he also threw for one score to lead Texas to a 21-10 victory against California on Wednesday night.

Ash caught a 4-yard pass from wide receiver Jaxon Shipley in the second quarter to join BYU's Steve Young, Texas A&M's Bucky Richardson and Oregon's Harrington as quarterbacks who've caught touchdown passes in the Holiday Bowl.

The Longhorns had the ball first-and-goal when Ash handed off to running back Malcolm Brown who then handed off to Shipley as if the Longhorns were going to run a reverse. Ash slipped into the end zone and caught Shipley's pass to give Texas a 7-3 lead. Shipley has thrown three touchdown passes this season, all while lining up at wide receiver.

Brown joked on Tuesday how much it still bugged him that Harrington caught a TD pass in the Ducks' 35-30 win against Texas in the 2000 Holiday Bowl. The Oregon offensive coordinator then was Jeff Tedford, who has been Cal's coach since 2002. Harrington now works for the Longhorn Network.

Brown credited the play to co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, who previously had coached and played at Boise State.

"Bryan Harsin grew up in that Boise system and that's the stuff Jeff did with Oregon back in the early 2000s," Brown said. "And it's one of the reasons why I hired Bryan. He believes in running the football, he believes in being physical, but he's got toys in the pocket that he's going to take advantage of things when he can."

"If you're not moving the ball, he's got some imagination in the offense to make a play," Brown said.

That play helped salvage a little bit of the Holiday Bowl's reputation for high-scoring, wide-open games.

"We knew they were going to throw something like that out there," Cal defensive end Trevor Guyton said. "It was only a matter of time before they did it. They got us. No excuses."

Ash had another impressive play in the third quarter when he threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Marquise Goodwin, who made a nice over-the-shoulder catch in full stride. That gave the Longhorns a 14-10 lead.

The Longhorns (8-5) were even more impressive on defense, getting five takeaways and sacking Cal's Zach Maynard six times, both season highs.

The Golden Bears (7-6) are winless in five games against the Longhorns, dating to 1959.

Texas put it away on Cody Johnson's 4-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, which was set up when Maynard was sacked and fumbled, which was recovered by Chris Whaley at the Cal 44. Goodwin ran for 37 yards and Johnson had a 3-yard gain before his touchdown run.

Cal briefly took the lead at 10-7 after Isi Sofele's 6-yard run to cap the opening drive of the second half.

Ash's long TD pass to Goodwin came four plays into the next Texas drive.

"We had our chances and gave the ball away," Tedford said.

Cal fumbled six times, losing four. The other turnover was an interception by Quandre Diggs, the younger brother of former Texas star cornerback and current San Diego Chargers starter Quentin Jammer.

"They did a good job of stripping it. They got it out today," Tedford said. "They got their hands on the ball, their hats on the ball and stripped it. There's really no explanation for something we've worked on."

Maynard was under pressure the whole game.

"We kept getting caught in second-and-long, third-and-long," the QB said. "It's hard to build a decent pass game and run game. ... It's hard to overcome those turnovers. It's hard to build momentum."

Nov. 25 California 47 … at Arizona State 38  

Nov. 19 at Stanford 31 … California 28
CFN Analysis: The Bears made it a fight by holding up well under the pressure of getting beaten on by the Stanford offensive line. The run defense did a nice job keeping Stepfan Taylor to 45 yards on 17 carries, while closing down the Cardinal receiving corps – as much as possible with Andrew Luck throwing the ball. It was a strong performance in the loss. … Mychal Kendricks was terrific with 13 tackles and a sack with 2.5 tackles for loss, while Sean Cattouse made 13 stops. The two were all over the field. … Zach Maynard continues to make nice strides, completing 20-of-30 passes for 280 yards and two scores. He wasn’t able to take off and run too often, though. … The Bears are going bowling, but first they can play a huge role in the Pac-12 race by beating Arizona State and putting UCLA into the title game.

Nov. 12 at California 23 … Oregon State 6
CFN Analysis: Is it possible to have stranger blowout win? The Cal home games have been weird all season long, uprooted to AT&T Park, but there were too many mistakes, a slow start, and a slow, steady stream of production in a drip, drip, drip sort of game that was never out of the team’s control. … The 15 penalties were way too many, but that was about the only thing that went really wrong. … Zach Maynard has stepped up his play when the team has needed him the most, completing 13-of-19 passes for 128 yards with a score and a touchdown. He’s not being asked to do anything out of his comfort zone, and it helps when Isi Sofele is running for 190 yards and a score. … D.J. Holt had a huge game making ten tackles with several plays behind the line and a broken up pass. … Cal is going bowling, and now it’s gravy time. A win over Stanford or Arizona State would make the regular season.  

Nov. 5 at California 30 … Washington State 7
CFN Analysis: Just when it seems like it’s time to bury the Bears, they come up with a game like this. They blew away Utah a few weeks ago, and after a clunker at UCLA they roared back with a dominant win over Washington State. Zach Maynard was having one of his best games of the year before getting hurt, and then Isi Sofele took over running for 138 yards and a score behind an offensive front that shoved around the Cougar front line. Allan Bridgford only completed 1-of-3 passes, but his job in the second half was to hand off to Sofele and get out of the way. The defense did its part keeping Wazzu to just 69 net yards rushing helped by three sacks and seven tackles for loss. After losing four games in five, and with the season slipping away, now a bowl game is possible with a win over Oregon State. Lose to the Beavers, and then it’ll take a win over Stanford or Arizona State on the road. Sofele won’t run as well against those two.

Oct. 29 at UCLA 31 … California 14
CFN Analysis: Cal should be much, much better. The Bears now have lost four of their last five games and are a disastrous 1-4 in Pac-12 play. Zach Maynard isn’t playing well, giving up four picks and only completing 14-of-30 passes, and while he ran relatively well and Isi Sofele got loose a little bit, the offense didn’t move well enough to balance out the five turnovers. The defensive front did a great job of getting into the backfield with nine tackles for loss and two sacks, but it didn’t slow down the UCLA ground game and couldn’t keep QB Kevin Prince from taking off for big run after big run. The points aren’t coming, even though the offense is cranking out yards, and the defense ranks third in the Pac-12, even though it got run over this week. There’s still time to get to a bowl game with Washington State and Oregon State up next, but there’s no margin for error with Stanford and Arizona State on the road to close out the regular season. 

Oct. 22 at California 34 … Utah 10
CFN Analysis: That’s the Zach Maynard the Bears have been waiting for. He ran well, threw better, and he kept the offense moving with third down conversions helping Cal hang on to the ball for over 35 minutes, and he spread the ball around using Marvin Jones, Michael Calvin, and Keenan Allen to keep the Ute defense guessing. The defense did a tremendous job of getting behind the line and generating pressure all game long, keeping the Utah running game to just 13 yards net. After the nightmares against USC and Oregon, this was the win the team needed, and now it’s time to go on a run with UCLA, Washington State, and Oregon State up next.  

Oct. 13 USC 30 … at California 9
CFN Analysis: For the third game in a row the offense didn’t come up with enough punch when it needed to. Turnovers haven’t been a problem, but when the running game isn’t working and QB Zach Maynard isn’t on, there can’t be so many mistakes. This team just isn’t good enough to give away five turnovers and commit seven penalties. More than that, there were the little things, like Keenan Allen fielding a punt inside the five, that keep showing that the team’s focus might not be air tight. Fortunately the schedule isn’t bad over the next month before facing Stanford, and while it’s not time to panic after three straight losses, the team isn’t improving.  

Oct. 6 at Oregon 43 … California 15
CFN Analysis: Cal looked great early on with the offense moving the ball well, but the passing game didn’t click when it needed to and three great drives ended in field goals instead of touchdowns, and it went bye-bye in the second half as Zach Maynard couldn’t connect. He was under pressure time after time, but when he had his chances, he didn’t put enough drive on his throws and missed on too many third down chances. He completed 20-of-41 passes for 218 yards and a score, and Keenan Allen was terrific catching nine passes for 170 yards and a score, but it wasn’t nearly enough. No, the defense didn’t hold up, but it needed the offense to not panic in the second half and it didn’t happen. 

Sept. 24 at Washington 31 … California 23
CFN Analysis: The Bears continue to struggle on the road, and now, they have to prove they can beat a good team. The two impressive wins came against Fresno State and Presbyterian, and with a trip to Oregon coming up next, this was a tough loss they couldn’t afford. Zach Maynard is throwing well, bombing away for 349 yards and a score, and Keenan Allen caught ten passes for 197 yards and a score, but the defense couldn’t come up with the key stop late and the offense fizzled in the second half. The linebackers have been good, and now they have to be special to have a shot against the Ducks.

Sept. 17 at California 63 … Presbyterian 12
CFN Analysis: The Bears might not be dominant, but they’re unbeaten so far and got a nice tune-up win under their belt before diving into Pac-12 play. Isi Sofele finally broke out a bit with 105 yards and two touchdowns on just 17 carries, and Zach Maynard was decent completing 15-of-25 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns. The defense gave up just 53 yards and the game was never in question, and now it’s on to the road for games at Washington and Oregon that will set the tone for the Pac-12 season. The pass protection has to be stronger, but so far, the offense is moving the ball and the run defense has been tremendous.  

Sept. 10 California 36 … at Colorado 33 OT
CFN Analysis: The pass defense might have a few issues after getting lit up throughout the game, but Zach Maynard did his part when he had to for the win. He came up with only 243 yards, but he came up with four scores and took advantage of every opportunity. While he didn’t run as well as he should’ve, me moved the chains as the Bears converted 7-of-13 third down chances. RB Isi Sofele has been strangely mediocre so far, averaging 4.2 yards per carry getting 84 yards on 20 attempts. Now the defense has to do more. The pass rush has been there over the first two weeks, but the secondary is getting lit up with way too many missed coverages. Fortunately, Presbyterian and Washington are up next to tune things up for Oregon and USC.
 
Sept. 3 at California 36 … Fresno State 21
CFN Analysis: Former Buffalo quarterback Zach Maynard might have thrown for 266 yards and two scores, and he ran for 53 yards, but he only completed 16-of-35 passes. Even so, he had no problems finding Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen, who combined for 13 catches for 230 yards with Jones scoring twice. The Bears won without a problem with the big play on offense and the bigger play on defense, with the line getting into the backfield on a regular basis and never letting the Fresno State offense breathe. The Bulldogs moved the ball a little bit, but every time they needed to some up with a key third down conversion, Cal came through with the stop. If the Bears can keep the mistakes to a minimum, they should have smooth sailing through road trips to Colorado and Washington, along with a home date against Presbyterian, before the showdown at Oregon. The passing game has to start clicking better before going to Autzen.  

The 2011 Class Is Heavy On … Defensive linemen. Kyle Boehm, with some work, could be one of the better Cal quarterbacks in recent years, and Daniel Lasco is another fast Bear running back, but the stars are on defense. Stefan McClure is one of the nation’s top corner prospects and Jason Gibson might soon be the leader of the linebacking corps. The linemen are phenomenal with Viliami Moala, arguably the nation’s best tackle, a class-making pickup while Mustafa Jalil and Todd Barr aren’t far behind. Brennan Scarlett and Puka Lopa are could be terrors on the end with a little time to develop.

Five California Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. DT Viliami Moala
6-3, 340, Scout.com’s 2nd ranked defensive tackle. Moala is a compact run stuffing defensive tackle / nose guard, but his quickness off the ball allows him to be involved in making plays behind the line of scrimmage. He has the ability to be by a center before he's even gotten set after snapping the ball. Moala is a space eater inside, but his quickness makes him more than just a double team occupier; he can dictate the action in front of him.

2. CB Stefan McClure
5-11, 175, Scout.com’s 4th ranked cornerback. McClure was an all-state underclass pick in 2009 after helping Vista (Calif.) to the CIF-San Diego Section D-I title game. All-CIF and all-League as a junior. McClure said he’s benching 225 pounds, squats 630 and claims a vertical jump of 38”.

3. DT Mustafa Jalil
6-4, 300, Scout.com’s 9th ranked defensive tackle.

4. LB Jason Gibson
6-2, 210, Scout.com’s 10th ranked outside linebacker. Gibson plays defensive end for his Serra team, but he has the athleticism to play an outside linebacker position on the college level. From end, he is virtually unblockable coming on a speed rush. His size can be a liability as a down lineman, but it could be a plus if he is an outside linebacker. He'll need to work on his reads and drops into coverage to make a transition full time to linebacker, or get bigger for to stay at end.

5. QB Kyle Boehm
6-3, 210, Scout.com’s 17th ranked quarterback. Good size and build, Boehm looks like a linebacker. Has a strong arm with great downfield arm strength. Needs to improve his accuracy and consistency, but has all the measureables.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class
C.J. Anderson TB 5-11 215 Oakland, CA Laney CC/Bethel HS
Todd Barr DL 6-3 260 Lakewood, CA Lakewood HS
Brendan Bigelow TB 5-10 180 Fresno, CA Central East HS
Kyle Boehm QB 6-3 220 San Jose, CA Archbishop Mitty HS
Nathan Broussard LB 6-4 240 Plano, TX Plano West HS
Darren Ervin ATH 5-11 200 Houston, TX Lamar
Jason Gibson LB 6-3 215 Gardena, CA Junipero Serra
Maurice Harris WR 6-3 200 Greensboro, NC Northern Guiliford
Kameron Jackson DB 5-10 175 Long Beach, CA Long Beach Poly
Mustafa Jalil DL 6-4 310 San Diego, CA Cathedral Catholic
Jalen Jefferson LB 6-3 215 Ventura, CA St. Bonaventure
Daniel Lasco TB 6-2 190 The Woodlands, TX The Woodlands
Puka Lopa DL 6-3 255 Sacramento, CA Grant
Stefan McClure DB 5-11 180 Vista, CA Vista
Viliami Moala DL 6-3 350 Sacramento, CA Grant
Jordan Morgan DB 6-0 193 Lakeside, AZ Blue Ridge
Jordan Rigsbee OL 6-5 300 Chico, CA Pleasant Valley
Richard Rogers TE 6-4 240 Shrewsbury, MA Central Catholic
Brennan Scarlett DL 6-4 255 Portland, OR Central Catholic
Avery Walls DB 5-11 184 McDonough, GA Eagle's Landing Christian
Matt Williams OL 6-7 290 Liverpool, England North Dakota State College of Science/Proctor Academy
Joel Willis DB 5-10 185 Garden Grove, CA Pacifica