Snapdragon Giveaway: Cal's Core Players In 2011

Why yes, I would like a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket.
I would say Zach Maynard was a core player in 2011. He arguably had the most impact on whether we won or lost. When he played well, we won or were extremely competitive. When he played poorly, we were beaten soundly by mediocre or even “inferior” teams.

You know, I think Isi Sofele is definitely not getting as much publicity as he should be. After being branded as too small and not fast enough, he put up 1270 yards rushing, giving Cal yet another 1000 yard rusher. He seemed to have turned a corner midseason (after the playcalling called on him more) and really commits and hits the hole hard. Definitely a Coach Gould product.

So I’d say Isi Sofele was Cal’s core player.

My vote is for MSG. He’s played so many positions on the oline and succeeded at all of them. The oline play is one of the major factors in the 2nd half turnaround. They should dial up a tackle eligible for him, just as a reward.

I believe Marvin Jones is a core player. He’s been a huge part of the team’s offense for the past 3 years, and he’s been both a star and a “glue guy” at the same time. He’s talented enough to be the #1 guy, and gracious enough to share the spotlight. He is extremely consistent (he’s been right around 50 catches, 15 yards/catch, and about 700 yards the past 3 seasons), he always gives maximum effort, makes jaw-droppingly spectacular highlight-reel grabs at important times to keep us in the game, and he always conducts himself with dignity and class. I don’t ever recall him jawing a ref or another player or acting like a hotshot. He seems like an upstanding guy, a devoted father, and a great Cal Bear. We’re going to miss him next year.

Personally, I think our revolutionary young wideout Keenan Allen should get the accolade.

The Snapdragon of our offense two years running now, Allen hit the ground running faster than an overclocked quad-core multiprocessor, and hasn`t stopped wowing us since.

Especially earlier in the year, when our offense was Samsung, err, excuse me… hamstrung… by learning the skill set of a non-traditional Tedford Quarterback and trying to find the offensive balance it needed, Allen turned lemons into Sprite©, and Skyrocketed the offense to new heights. With the strides in his progression, Cal could reach a new Galaxy with his abilities.

Did I mention Keenan is Vivid, Fast, and Slim, just like the new Samsung Galaxy S II featuring the revolutionary new Snapdragon mobile multiprocessor by Qualcomm?

He’s a Super-Weapon.

I give my vote to Giorgio because he’s such a great guy both on and off the field. He has made some tremendous improvements in his consistency this season and might arguably be the best field goal kicker in the Pac-12 this year. He also does some great work with volunteering and giving back to the community. He is exactly the kind of person I want representing Cal.

Do I get bonus points for mentioning that I own and thoroughly enjoy my Samsung phone? In fact, the last four cell phones I have had were made by Samsung! Of course, I wouldn’t mind adding a fifth to the collection!

I’m going to go out of the box and say one of our core players was Aaron Tipoti. When he was healthy, he really anchored the middle and let our ends and young rush backers do their thing. Nose tackle may be the least glamorous and worst position to play in the 3-4, but having a good one is what makes everything work.

They were both incredible players on either side of the ball and it’s hard to imagine a 7 win season without either one of them. I’d also give props to the whole O-line which I feel really stepped up as the season went on.