Golden Nuggets: Steve Williams and the Cal Bears Turn in Strong Performances at the NFL Combine

The NFL combine is wrapping up today, but Steve Williams made sure the final day was a memorable one. He ran a blistering 4.25 (unofficial) in his first timed 40 (video here). That would have been the fastest 40-yard dash since 2008. Unfortunately, the official time was quite a bit slower--but by the time the official was announced everyone had already heard that Steve "Speedy" Williams more than lives up to his nickname. Take a look at the rest of the Bears' results from the four-day festivities.

Here is the breakdown of what NFL.com's grades mean.

I bet Steve Williams grade will get a nice boost following his terrific performances. Did anyone else forget how exceptional of an athlete he is?

Football

• IT BEGINS

• Faraudo reports from the first practice. The Cal QBs sound excited about the Bear Raid offense.
• Our good friend blueandgold15 pens a practice report for Bear Insider. It sounds like Hinder was slightly better than Kline and both were much better than Allan Bridgford.
• Rivals has a quartet of post-practice video interviews featuring Sonny Dykes, Allan Bridgford, Zach Kline, and Bryce Treggs.
• Faraudo talks to Zach Kline about the team's lofty aspirations.
• Dr. Periodic Table aka 2-4-5 Nickel aka 2-time ESPNU Blogger Throwdown Champion previews spring practice for SaturdayEdge.com.
• Andy Buh talks defense with Faraudo. It sounds like his system focuses heavily on execution and lets everything fall into place after that.
• Tony Franklin was exceptionally straightforward when talking to Faraudo about what he expects from his offense. This quote especially stands out:

"So we have their attention: Here’s what we do. It always works, How fast it works depends on you. Now if you want to be slow and fight it and say I haven’t done it that way before, then three years from now you can watch us play in the Rose Bowl. Or you can make it happen now. This thing can happen immediately overnight. It’s up to you. If you buy in immediately, then we can be good immediately."

• Wilner previews Cal's spring practice.

Basketball

• The women's team had a memorable senior day by coming back from a 17-point deficit to defeat Oregon State 58-56.
• Coach Gottlieb praised her team's toughness and resilience during the postgame press conference.
• The men's team moves to a 12-seed in the Midwest region and avoids a play-in game in the latest Bracketology. The Bears would open against Memphis in Austin.
• Cal has a 14.2% chance at making the Sweet Sixteen and a .9% chance of making the Final Four.
• Justin Cobbs was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
• Jay Bilas ranks the top 68 teams in the nation and once again leaves the Bears off the list. Why?

Softball

• Cal shut out Nebraska to stay perfect at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Baseball

• The Bears lost 9-1 on a hot and windy final day of their trip to UCI.

Tennis

• The 12th-ranked Cal men topped no. 28 Stanford at the Big Meet.

Water Polo

• The Bears defeated no. 8 Hawaii and no. 7 San Diego State to finish fifth at the UCI Invitational.

Golf

• Joel Stalter was named the Golfweek Player of the Week and the top-ranked Bears were named Team of the Week following a dominant performance at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.