Our final CGB Hall of Fame vote for the weekend features two more football players, a QB and a WR. Mike Pawlawski was a great quarterback for Cal who led them to great heights in the early 90's and also was at the helm for their last New Years Day bowl win. Marvin Jones just finished his Cal career and was a stellar receiver who we all think will do well at the next level for the Bengals.
Pawlawski advanced with a pretty easy victory over Justin Forsett, while Marv advanced over Nick Harris. This should be a pretty close vote as both of these guys are fan favorites and I know I'll have trouble picking one over the other. Whoever does win will move on to face Ron Rivera in the third round. This is part of the Brick Mueller Region and you can take a look at the rest of the bracket and all the match-ups here. The full write-ups are after the jump and the voting will end on Friday. GO BEARS!
(2) Mike Pawlawski
1990 Cal Football Highlights Part A (via PRD74)
1990 Cal Football Highlights Part B (via PRD74)
The old-timers remember him and the team he led quite fondly, perhaps in the same way the younger minds remember Rodgers and 2004. Pawlawski was Cal's starting quarterback in 1990 and 1991. The 1991 team went 10-2 and won the Florida Citrus Bowl against ACC champion Clemson-Cal's first appearance in a New Year's Day Bowl since the 1959 Rose Bowl game. Pawlawski had an outstanding 1991 season, winning co-Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors with Washington WR Mario Bailey. And Pawlawski's 1990 team went 7-4-1 with a win in the Copper Bowl (nka the Insight Bowl), which was Cal's first bowl appearance since the 1979 Garden State Bowl.
LeonPowe and California Pete offer their thoughts on Pawlawski and the 1991 team he quarterbacked-
LeonPowe: Quarterback for the 1991 Citrus Bowl Championship teams. Coming out of high school he had no arm strength, no accuracy and was rated by one recruiting service as "the worst recruit in the Pac-10"
Damned if he didn't will and win his way to becoming the Pac-10 offensive player of the year in 1991. And this was with a UW team that won the National Championship. I really dislike attributing stuff like "intangibles" and "leadership" - because good players usually prove themselves in some measurable way. Mike really didn't - he had okay stats and won a lot. But it was the little things. Like when he scored on a keeper and knocked out the opposing linebacker. Like when he played special teams to get on the field. Like when he took an offense full of talent (Russ, Brian Treggs, Mike Caldwell, Greg Zomalt, Lindsay Chapman) and molded them in his image - they became a cocky, loud-mouthed, trashtalking offense that WON. Back-to-back Bowl Games (huge for Cal at the time).
In my freshman year after Pawlawski had graduated a lot of fans and students said (not jokingly either) that they should bring Pawlawski back . . .to coach the linebackers.
California Pete: I think the 1991 team would have a great chance against the 2004 team, although the 91ers' penchant for personal fouls probably would do them in. Both teams were Rose Bowl worthy . . . but both unfortunately shared the conference with two of the all-time greats: UW 1991 and USC 2004.
He is dealing with neck issues in retirement, but many of us have seen him broadcast a Cal game, several this past season, and he seems to be in generally good spirits.
You can check out his write-up on Tightwad Hill over here.
(7) Marvin Jones
Cal Football: Marvin Jones Highlights - WR #1 (via calathletics)
Marvin Jones was a steady talent for Cal football, albeit one that may not have shone as brightly as we all hoped and expected, though through no fault of his own. It seems that Marvin tremendous potential was limited through inconsistent quarterbacking, but you never heard him complain and only saw him line up each Saturday and give everything he had. He has great hands and good speed and his instincts for the game will all serve him well at the next level.
I know that I will definitely miss seeing #1 line up for our offense this fall, but also the great shots of his son cheering on from the stands. I know that all Bear fans wish Marvin the best at the next level and I think that we all believe he has the talent and work ethic to succeed. Cincinnati has definitely made a great choice in drafting him and he'll have a solid pro career. But for all of us, Marvin will definitely be remembered as a great Golden Bear.
Played in 43 games during his four seasons at Cal from 2008-11, making 38 starts by starting all of the team's games over his final three campaigns ... finished his career among Cal's all-time leaders in receiving yards (2,260, 6th), 100-yard receiving games (6, T6th), receptions (156, T7th) and receiving touchdowns (13, T8th) ... also ranks tied for seventh on Cal's single-game receptions list with the 12 he recorded as a junior at Nevada ... set career highs for both receptions (62) and receiving yards (846) as a senior in 2011, both second on the club, after leading Cal in both receptions and receiving yards in 2009 and `10 as well as in touchdown receptions as a 2009 sophomore ... made at least one reception in each of his past 38 games over his final three seasons (2009-11) ... posted career averages of 14.6 yards per catch and 52.8 receiving yards per game, as well as a long reception of 62 against Colorado in his junior season ... snared 33 catches of 20 or more yards in his career, as well as five grabs of 50 or more ... led or co-led all Cal receivers in receptions in 16 games and in receiving yards on 13 occasions ... added 11 rushes for 116 yards (10.5 ypr) and a long of 48 for a touchdown in the 2010 season opener against UC Davis ... also had 14 punt returns for 102 yards, all as a senior, and a long of 37 against USC during his senior campaign ... scored 86 career points, adding a two-point conversion to his 14 total touchdowns ... finished with 2,488 all-purpose yards (116 rush, 2,270 receiving, 102 punt return) ... had four career tackles.
Via CGB Remembering the Seniors:
Kodiak: Marvin clearly worked on his body and his craft during his time at Cal.
He was a bit skinny when he came in, but left as one very solid guy. After having some inconsistency earlier in his career, he became absolute money with all manner of circus catches. It's a little sad to think about what a guy with his hands might have done had he not needed to make so many shoe-string, tight-roping, fingertip catches.
Avinash: I didn't follow recruiting much back in 2007, but I do remember being pretty excited about Marvin. DeSean was his main recruiter and raved about him, and you know what they say about game recognizing game. DeSean was definitely right about Jones, as he was our most consistent receiver for two years and gracefully slid into the #2 spot his senior season when the Bears rode [Keenan] Allen.
Allen is more physically talented, but Jones was just so fundamentally sound in his routes, cuts and his breaks that it's a shame we couldn't turn him loose more often. We could've killed a lot of good teams with a good quarterback throwing him the football. Sometimes I felt as if he was so used to having to adjust to poor throws that he had a hard time dealing with footballs that landed on his numbers.Hydro Tech: To me, when I think of Marvin Jones, I think of him as a great WR who sort of under-performed ... but by no fault of his own. Unfortunately, I think Cal's QBs while Marvin was here weren't exactly all that consistent and accurate which really hurt his ability to showcase his talents. I think Marvin is better than he often looked and better than most of us realized. He had fantastic hands and would routinely catch some very difficult passes. He was fantastic along the sidelines and getting his feet in bounds. He does a pretty good job shielding the ball from the defender when he catches it. While not always getting the most separation from his defender, he'd still routinely catch the ball against tight coverage. I wouldn't be surprised to see Marvin drafted in the 4th to 6th rounds of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Perhaps what impressed me most of all was Marvin's Cal spirit and responsibility. Marvin regularly conversed with Cal fans on Twitter, and represented Cal proudly. He also would apologize for any drops and promise to do better. He works hard and doesn't try to cover up his errors with excuses. Marvin takes responsibility for his actions and knows that he has the power to shape his future.