In Cal's last meeting with Colorado State, the Rams bullied Bears cornerback Darian Hagan -- including a 66-yard touchdown accredited to the redshirt sophomore -- to mount an unexpected comeback.

No longer a liability, Hagan reconciled his balance sheet in 2008 by clearing out his revenge payables, so to say. Though it did expose another corner -- Chris Conte -- on its lone scoring drive, Colorado State may have been distressed to find out that Hagan had finally grown up.

Hagan denied the Rams both in and out of the air, posting seven tackles (one for loss) to go with his interception and pass breakup. Bears coach Jeff Tedford mentioned during the week that Hagan needed to be a complete player defending both the pass and the run, and it appears Hagan took those words to heart.

"I know in the Maryland game, I gave up a big touchdown," Hagan said following Saturday's win. "So I knew today that I had to show much run support and come up and be aggressive against the run. I focused on that and got it done today."

While Tedford did give Hagan his dues in the post-game press conference -- "Darian did nice," he said before moving on to speak glowingly about the entire defense -- fellow corner Syd'Quan Thompson delved into a bit more detail.

"He was great. I think he tackled better than me," Thompson said. "I think I missed like two tackles today, and I don't think he missed none today."

Hagan's play against the run was a revelation, but his progress in pass coverage has been a bit more steady and evident since his inspired showing in Cal's season opener against Michigan State.

He said his confidence has been growing with each marked performance as a cover corner.

"It kind of felt like practice out there today," Hagan said. "Just staying focused and getting things done. The more I got up and made plays, I got more relaxed and had a good game."

Opponents may continue to test Hagan, as Thompson hasn't loosened his hold on the left half of the defense one bit -- the junior led the team with nine tackles (five solo, one for loss) and a sack. But if the deep ball had ever haunted Hagan following his mishap against the Rams in 2007, it surely isn't the case today.

Hagan said he now looks forward to being challenged on long throws.

"Those are the balls I like," he said. 'The deep balls give you a chance to go up and show your jumping ability. I felt like I showed them what I can do on the deep ball today, too."

It seems that confidence, as well as letting others know over and over that he's confident, won't see a shortage in Hagan anytime soon. Though he was decidedly mum about Hagan's play against the run, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory, traditionally sparing in his post-game acclamations, gave a relatively confident stamp of approval to both Hagan and first-time starting safety Brett Johnson.

"(Hagan) didn't play much last year, but if you're talking about this game, then it's night and day between last year (and 2008)," Gregory said.

Tags: DARIAN HAGAN, BOB GREGORY, JEFF TEDFORD, CAL FOOTBALL