The buildup to Signing Day included stories about a player who may have been illegally recruited, a player who pretended to be recruited and multiple players who re-opened their recruitment.

But in the end, the Cal football team was left with what should have been anticipated all along: a solid, if not spectacular class of 21 that addresses the Bears' weakness at wide receiver and will add some depth across the board, particularly in the secondary.

This is a serviceable class, but cannot compare to the group of players brought in for each of the past three years-at least on paper. No matter how much promise exists, it is difficult for Cal fans to focus on anything other than the fact that USC, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona State and Washington all had top-25 classes according to Rivals.com. Among Pac-10 schools, the Bears were a distant sixth.

And none of the players who signed their Letters of Intent on the dotted line yesterday will step onto the Berkeley campus amidst much fanfare or excitement.

Everyone is so used to coach Jeff Tedford snagging a few jaw-dropping talents-DeSean Jackson and numerous others in '05, Derrick Hill in '06, Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen in '07. This year's group lacks that punch.

None of this should surprise anyone. Recruits are primarily focused on the here and the now, and while most Pac-10 programs either had successful seasons or could make the case that they were on the rise, Tedford likely had a difficult time rationalizing Cal's horrendous skid to close the season.

What could have been.

Five star wideout Carl Moore was the player that may have been illegally recruited-by Florida coach Urban Meyer-and he seemed to lean toward coming to Berkeley at the midpoint of the season.

The junior college standout committed to the Gators after his girlfriend was offered a gymnastics scholarship there and Meyer called her incessantly throughout last fall to try and convince her that Florida is the best place for Moore.

Cal was desperately in need of a receiver with the potential to come in and immediately fill the giant void left by the departures of DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan, and Moore would have been that man.

He was the one must-get for Tedford's staff.

However, all is not lost. The receiving position is still the focal point of the class, with no less than five athletes coming in to fight for playing time.

As the highlight videos were shown yesterday in the Hall of Fame room in Memorial Stadium, Tedford kept repeating similar refrains.

"Look how long he is," Tedford said in response to All-American Marvin Jones' film.

"See all the range he has to go up and get that ball," he said while looking at Milpitas wideout Charles Satchell's clips.

"Look how thick he is, he has really powerful legs," Tedford said while viewing film of Jarrett Sparks.

The Bears signed four wideouts listed at either 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3, an enormous size upgrade over last year's small but speedy unit. This class will ensure that Cal will return to a physical, ball-control offense.

"There were a lot of things we had to watch out for with the receivers in past," Tedford said. "It's a physical game out there. They'll be able to block and catch the ball over the middle."

The depth is there across the board, but there will likely not be many players besides the receivers making any sort of an impact as true freshmen.

This class is respectable and will undoubtedly keep the Bears competitive in the Pac-10. It just will not be the one to lead Cal to a Rose Bowl berth.

Tags: SIGNING DAY