Golden Nuggets: "It's Back to Football Like I Learned It"

JO has a mix of quotes from Tedford, Riley, Sweeney, Payne, and Price.  Payne and Price give some insight into how they feel about the new defense under Pendergast.  So far the aggressive, intuitive schemes seem very popular.

LINEBACKER JARRED PRICE

 On why he’s getting more reps this spring:
“Last year, I couldn’t pick up the defense quite quick enough. Coach P, the defense he brought in is more aggressive. It’s kind of like what we ran at Blaine (College). It’s like a second nature to me right now. Right now, we’re just competing for the reps. Right now, I’m with the ones. Hopefully I can carry that over into fall camp.

 On whether he can play the run:
“If we’re in the middle of the field, most of the time I play the run. I’m getting better at doing what I need to do as far as keeping outside contain. When we get in the red zone, they’ll most likely they’ll take me out.”

 On when he realized the new defense might be a better fit for him:
“The first day (Pendergast) talked to us, he told us we’re going to put a lot of pressure on them. After that, I liked what I heard. I thought it might turn out all right.”

NOSE TACKLE KENDRICK PAYNE

On suffering a season-ending knee injury his freshman year:
”It was real hard. I went into a slight depression. I was so excited to be out there. I had to wait a whole year and redshirt like I didn’t want to.”

On how he’s embraced Clancy Pendergast’s philosophy:
“You have no idea. It’s back to football like I learned it. I love Coach Gregory. I think the 3-4 made everybody a little more versatile with what he did.”

 On the depth at nose tackle:
“Everybody wants to start, but me, Aaron Tipoti and D. Hill, every one of us could start and do just as good. We can take somebody out and put somebody in and be just as good. That’s good to have, especially on the D-line. Coach Lup likes to use a lot of guys. It pays off when you can go out and get a little rest and you don’t’ have to worry about the next guy messing up.”

After the jump football picks up an early recruit on defense, JO talks to Yarnway, baseball continues its recent hot streak, men's gymnastic earns a couple end-of-year awards, and more.

Cal Football

• Defensive lineman Mustafa Jalil becomes Cal's first commit on defense for the incoming class of 2011.  
• JO had the chance to talk to Yarnway about his season-ending (before it even started) injury and competing for the backup RB position.

Cal Baseball

• Winning its fifth straight, baseball shut out no. 23 Stanford in a 2-0 victory.
• BearTerritory.net talks to former Cal pitcher Tyson Ross, who has earned a spot on the Oakland A's.

Men's Gymnastics

• Coach Barry Weiner won his sixth MPSF Coach of the Year award and sophomore Glen Ishino won Gymnast of the Year.