Golden Nuggets: LOI Day Press Conference

At yesterday's press conference, Tedford seemed delighted with the incoming class of recruits.

On when he became aware that WR/S Keenan Allen would be coming to Cal
"Two days ago. They were here last weekend on their official visit, then I think they called back and said that this was the place for him and they felt good about it. But you never really quite know until the paper comes across the fax. They had given us their word that they were coming. They felt great about being here. [I] felt pretty good about it."

On whether Allen will play offense or defense
"He's going to play receiver and play some defensive back in nickel situations ... He's equally as effective on both sides of the football [but] he's primarily a receiver here."

On whether WR Coleman Edmond might also be featured as a punt or kick returner
"Absolutely. When we were making the video for you guys to watch [with signees' highlights], our video guy said, `Who's going to return kicks next year?' I said, `It's a nice problem to have,' because all these guys are very explosive with the ball in their hands. Coupled with the guys we already have here, there's some speed on the field. We'll have to find out as we get into practice who's going to do that."

On whether LB Chris McCain will greyshirt
"We'll see. Most likely, he will greyshirt. He's got a little bit to do yet academically and so the plan was that he would sign and if he makes it, okay, great, but most likely it's going to be next January."
...

On whether any of the new linebackers have a chance to get playing time right away
"I think all of them do. When you take a look at Cecil Whiteside and [David] Wilkerson, [Nick] Forbes, [Chris] Martin, all those guys - you know, Martin is coming as that guy who's kind of the Zack Follett guy coming off the edge. The two outside guys are Martin and Whiteside, and at some point will be [Chris] McCain, and then the two inside guys will be Forbes and Wilkerson. Every one of those guys is physical enough to make a strong contribution right away."

On whether these linebackers were identified in part to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks
"Absolutely. That's a focus, get guys we feel good about cutting it loose with and go get them and be a little bit more aggressive on defense as far as philosophy's concerned, but also have the guys that can get after it."
...
On how accurate he feels the recruit services' ratings are compared to his evaluations
"Some are and some aren't. Some of these receivers, like Kaelin Clay and Terrance Montgomery, I don't know if anybody ever watched them on tape because if you watch them on tape I don't see how in the world you could say that they were a two-star at some point. For Trajuan Briggs to be, I think, a three-star, maybe it was because he didn't play his senior year because he was injured, but you watch him on tape and he's as good as any back in the country."

After the jump we have more quotes from Tedford, focusing mainly on offense.  Additionally, we have a smorgasbord of recruiting stories, Gregory's take on the new recruits, and a look ahead to tonight's basketball game against USC.

Many thanks to Solarise who gathered most of these links for me.

Tedford's press conference continued...

On WR Terrance Montgomery
"He's one of the more underrated guys that we have in our class. When you take a look at him and see what he can do, his natural ability to catch the football, his ball skills ... He has great instincts to catch a football, great hands. You'll see on tape what he does with the ball after he has it in his hands. He's electric with the ball in his hands as far as a returner and a receiver."

On any comparisons he draws between this year's signees on film and previous classes
"This class right now, I remember years ago when Lavelle [Hawkins] and DeSean [Jackson] and those guys came in the class, and you look at the back-to-back highlight reels of these guys, it's very similar to that. That's the type of talent that they have with the ball in their hands. They're very elusive and one of our focuses this year was run after the catch. We wanted to go out and recruit some guys that can do something with the ball in their hands after they catch it, and we feel like we've done that."

On WR Tevin Carter
"He's very rangy. He's 6-3, can really run, has great hands, but all these guys can really run. All these guys are 10.6 [in the 100-yard dash] or under. They're all fast guys and very elusive and not many long, long striders. Tevin is a guy who has range but great speed to go with it."

On TE Jacob Werk and his similarities to former Cal TE Craig Stevens
"He does remind us of Craig Stevens. He's a big, physical guy who plays with great pad level. Sometimes it's hard to find those tight ends in high school these days that have the combination of being able to play at the line of scrimmage and come off a low pad level ,and still be able to get down the field and hone their receiver skills. He's the guy that can do that ...Natural hands, and after he catches it, he's very violent when he runs with it. We feel like he's a guy that we were very, very happy to find and he does remind us of Craig."

On QB Austin Hinder and whether there will be a logjam at quarterback
"He's 6-foot-5, he can do it all. He's a guy who can throw all the balls on the field. He's got very good arm strength; he can throw the deep ball; he throws on the run. When he pulls it down, he can make a lot happen with his legs. He's a guy who needs to develop more physically. Even though he's 6-foot-5, he's still very thin ... But he's highly competitive, comes from great blood lines, he's Jim Hanifan's grandson, so he's been around football his whole life ... But you're going to see, he's a guy who can roll left and make some great throws, he can pull the ball down and run 60, 70 yards with the ball. He's a very talented guy. You always have five quarterbacks. We always try to have five quarterbacks on scholarship. Your hope to always have those guys and strong competition, quality competition, and we do, we have that. And we feel that as these guys grow and develop, the cream will rise to the top and someone will take it over at some point ... Typically, a true freshman doesn't come on and compete right away ... We have quality guys at that position."

On which signed offensive linemen might develop into a center
"Alex [Crosthwaite] could probably play center, or [Chris] Adcock. Adcock would probably be the one if I had to pick one that could do it. Chris is a guy who plays pretty low to the ground. The other guys are a little bit bigger."

Cal Football

• Bob Gregory talks about Cal's defensive class, saying he's pleased with how they fill in some current weaknesses.  Gregory emphasized that nearly everyone will have the chance to contribute as freshmen.
• ESPN gives Cal's class a B+ and ranks it third in the Pac-10.
• After reeling in 20 of the 21 players who were offered scholarships, Tedford's recruiting magic is as strong as ever.
• After the disappointing end to the 2009 season, there was no better way for Cal to bounce back than with a solid recruiting class.
• Scout.com has brief profiles of many of Cal's signed recruits including video links.
• Cal's Geoffrey Gibson and Stanford's Alex Turner, close friends and HS teammates at Bishop-Gorman, poked fun at one another for choosing rival schools.  Las Vegas Sun looks at the record number of players from Bishop-Gorman who are headed to college teams.
• Cecil Whiteside will skip track season this year as he instead focuses on baseball.
• The Aurora Sentinel takes a look at an exciting day in Aurora as several athletes, including Cal's LB Chris Martin, sent in their LOIs.
  
• Steamboat Today profiles Cal's QB commit Austin Hinder.  Tedford seems impressed with Hinder, but notes concerns about his size.   It is likely Hinder will redshirt this season.
• In a seemingly unlikely twist of fate, four players from Guilford County, NC will reunite to play for Cal.