Longshore Trims Down, Bears Speeding Up

Today marks the beginning not of Hell Week for the Cal football team, but something more like Hell Month.

The Bears begin their four-week, 30-practices-in-24-days fall camp today, and the players that have so far this summer been sleeping in the comfort of their own beds and apartments will now be sequestered in Bowles Hall for three weeks and in a hotel for the final week—away from family, friends and other distractions—before taking on Tennessee in the season-opener on Sept. 1.

Though the arm leading the Bears going into camp this year will be the same as it was in 2006—that of junior Nate Longshore—the rest of the veteran quarterback will look quite different.

“He’s really worked hard on core strengthening, his posture is different and his feet are going to be quicker,” coach Jeff Tedford said of his field general, who had been criticized for his lack of quickness and mobility last season.

Over the off-season, Longshore has dropped weight and worked on his flexibility in order to elevate his speed to better match that of his arsenal of offensive weapons.

“He definitely put in a lot of work this summer, and we fed off of that,” senior tailback Justin Forsett said. “He thought he needed to improve that much and he went out and did it.”

Longshore’s development over the off-season has been part of Cal’s overall escalation in team speed. With a more mobile Longshore and a very deep, very fast backfield that includes Forsett, redshirt freshmen James Montgomery and Tracy Slocum as well as true freshmen Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen, the Bears have upped the tempo of their running game to match that of their receiving corps, held by many to be one of the best in the nation.

“I can’t think of a team that has had the team speed that we have with this team,” Tedford said.

As for his new No. 2 back, Montgomery, Tedford is confident that he will be able to fill the role that Forsett did a year ago.

“Montgomery had a good spring,” Tedford said. “It was transition time for him, learning the offense and getting used to the speed of the game, but he really showed that he has toughness. He played through a few injuries in spring, has had a great summer, and we’re really fired up about seeing how he’s progressing. The two guys we’re anxious to see are Vereen and Best. They’re something special.”

The two speediest additions to the Cal squad, Vereen and Best are creating excitement among players as well.

“Those guys are fast,” Forsett said. “Those are some great athletes coming in. They did a great job recruiting because those guys are already physically ready speed-wise with the game. They don’t have to adjust to the speed because they’re already up there.”

Tedford said that both of the youngsters may see action returning kickoffs this year. With the change in the NCAA kickoff rules which moves the kickoff from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line, both Vereen and Best will have a new opening to show off their speed.

“We think that there’s going to be more balls returned,” Tedford said of the new rules. “Vereen and Best both will be asked to do kickoff returns because they’re so fast. They’re pretty physical for young guys, both at 190 pounds.”

Tedford also said that junior wide-out and punt returner DeSean Jackson will get a shot at returning kickoffs. With a school and Pac-10 record four punt return touchdowns last season, the 172-pound Jackson could be just as deadly at kickoff returns—if not more so—than his younger and larger teammates.

There will be a great deal of youth and speed surrounding the veterans Jackson and Forsett, but while the Heisman Trophy-candidate wide receiver has received much of the publicity, Forsett has taken on perhaps a more important role in the locker room.

After finally taking over the starting slot following three years as an understudy to the likes of Marshawn Lynch, Marcus O’Keith and J.J. Arrington, Forsett himself has become a mentor to the veritable track team that sits beneath him on the depth chart.

“I’ve taken on a leadership role with the younger guys because I know how it is coming in (to college) and coming out of high school,” Forsett said. “Those guys (Lynch, O’Keith and Arrington) made it so much easier for me and I’ve definitely taken in Shane Vereen and Jahvid Best, just helping them out, showing them the ropes and things that can help their game out a little bit.”

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