Rudy Carpenter probably remembers.

He probably remembers the blindside hit, the helmet in his back, or the unknown words that were spoken into his right earhole as 20 players chased the fumble halfway across the field.

Former Oregon tight end Dante Rosario might remember, but then again, his helmet came flying off.

He still might remember the tremor that jarred the pass loose, or what Memorial Stadium sounded like outside of a plastic shell.

And if anybody should remember, it's Erik Ainge, if only because that's the one that everyone remembers.

For all the plays that he's made in his four years in Strawberry Canyon, for all the hits that he's delivered, for all 222 tackles-41.5 of which came behind the line of scrimmage-that one devastating hit on Ainge just might be the play that defines Zack Follett in Cal football lore.

And yet, asked to describe each of the Bears' three senior linebackers, the heart of Cal's 2008 defense, Follett gives a puzzling answer when it comes to himself.

He says that Worrell Williams is the guy who likes to keep things light. Anthony Felder is the more serious, intimidating one.

And then he says, as if it's a surprise:

"And people seem to think that I'm intimidating, too."

First of all, this doesn't make sense. But the way that Follett explains it is that he undergoes a change once he's on the field. He can be "dead" leading up to a game, but all it takes is something to spark his "passion" and transform him into Cal's own one-man defensive wrecking ball-into No. 56.

"Going into a game like Washington State (in 2006, his sophomore season), I wasn't too pumped up," he says. "You've got to find something. That game it was the fans cussing at me. That's what really turned it on for me."

Follett finished that game with a team-high eight tackles and a sack.

"You've just got to be focused and set in your game plan going into the game," Follett says. "Have that no-fear mentality and just bring as much energy and pain when you go and hit somebody."

Today, he draws the task of shutting down the bruising, downhill running attack of Stanford and talented tailback Toby Gerhart in the last Big Game of his Cal career.

Follett is well aware of the finality. On Tuesday, he talks about looking forward to his last bonfire rally. He's carrying a camera around this week to capture the tradition that he has been a part of for the last four years.

"It's the last time I ever get to go through it," Follett says. "Looking back and being able to have that to show my kids, I'll be taking my kids to the Big Game because it's still going to be going on."

That said, as far as today goes, he has no intention of walking off the Memorial Stadium turf without the Stanford Axe in hand, even though he doesn't entirely resent watching it slip from Cal's grasp in 2007.

"Knowing the heartache of losing it and the joy of bringing it back," he says, "I'm glad I got to experience it, to tell the truth."

It's an interesting idea, valuing what some might call the "life lesson" over the glory of never having lost a Big Game. For a player who has gone from struggling to harness his emotions to a controlled, respected leader on a young defense, it denotes what freshman linebacker Mychal Kendricks-Follett's roommate during spring ball-calls an increase in the senior's maturity.

"I've seen a shift in him, and from what I've seen-this is my first year knowing him-from what I've seen, it's a maturity shift," Kendricks says. "He realizes how much this game means to him. This is his life."

In all likelihood, it will continue to be.

Follett is distinguishing himself as one of the top linebackers in the nation in his final collegiate season. On Nov. 5, he was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the top defensive player in the nation.

As long as he keeps from "timiding up," as he puts it, Follett has a legitimate shot at being taken in the 2009 NFL Draft next year. But for right now, he, Felder and Williams have three games left to cement their legacy as one of the best linebacking trios to roam Memorial Stadium.

"As far as the linebacking corps, I don't think there's been a more solid group here," Follett says.

Historically, Follett says, Felder has made a name for himself by racking up the tackling numbers, while Williams has come up with the big plays.

And for his own legacy, Follett points to one specific statistic.

"The thing I pride myself on, I don't know if they keep track, is forced fumbles," he says. "I think I have like 11 in my career and I hope that's a record."

His reason is simple.

"(With that stat), you know that you're a hitter. And that's something I want to be remembered as."

Tags: ZACK FOLLETT, CAL FOOTBALL