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Golden Nuggets: "Kevin Is the Starter, You Can Write That down"

At yesterday's Bay Area Media Day, Tedford definitively declared Kevin Riley as the starter for the upcoming season.  Tedford goes on to discuss the change on offensive/special teams coordinators, dealing with fan expectations (and trying to minimize the effect of those expectations), Keenan Allen's impressive progress, and the breath of fresh air that is Clancy Pendergast.

"Kevin is the starter. Kevin's the starter, unless he gets beat out. Kevin is the starter, you can write that down," Tedford said. "I didn't say 'until,' I said 'unless.' The top three will get, in the beginning (of camp), very equal reps. And then, as camp moves on, it will be whittled down where the ones will get more."
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"Beau has an escape dimension, he's very competitive and he's very smart," Tedford said. "He has arm-strength and can make all the throws on the field. He's very solid. But, what he doesn't have is the experience."

Riley has put in more work this offseason than he ever has in his tenure at Cal, and Tedford continually touched on the fact that Riley is the conference's active leader in starts, wins and touchdown passes, building up quite a mountain for Sweeney or junior Brock Mansion to climb in order to seize the starting role.

"I think you're going to see a confident Kevin come out and play, I think he feels like it's his team, and he's ready for that," Tedford said. "This is his senior year. Kevin's not stupid. He sees what's been out there, so, even though I'm sure he feels like he has a lot to prove, I don't want him thinking that he has a lot to prove. I want him just to play his game and do his best and have a little bit of fun with it and not put so much pressure on himself.

After the jump Tedford sheds more light on the Chris Martin situation, Alualu signs with Jacksonville, Ted Miller rates the D-line, Wilner wonders of Stanford has surpassed Cal, and more.

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