Golden Nuggets: Brendan Bigelow's Pro Day Prep Gets Creative

Cal's Pro Day is today and Brendan Bigelow has been preparing nonstop, particularly after he sat out the NFL Combine..

Bigelow wasn't surprised when no combine invitation came his way after what was pretty much a lost season. Hampered by the effects of knee surgery last spring, he rushed for just 421 yards and was briefly moved to slot receiver for the 1-11 Bears.

"I wasn't expecting anything," he said of not being asked to the league's pre-draft camp. "I know better than that."

Bigelow relocated to Houston to do draft preparation work at Plex, a training facility whose clients have included Andrew Luck, Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers. He spent 2 1/2 months improving his strength and explosiveness. He slept holding a football to reduce fumbling.

He said his knee feels 100 percent.

Bigelow knows he must make a good first impression with scouts at Pro Day.

"It's like that first date you're about to go on with a girl," he said. "You're going to bring out your best tools to impress her. It's like that important."

Has the sleeping trick reduced his tendency to fumble the ball? We'll find out whether he impresses the scouts today.

Water Polo

• Cal lost 12-7 to no. 1 USC but defeated no. 9 LMU.

Golf

• CAL HAS WON THE NIT...of golf. The no. 3 Bears were 15-strokes ahead of second place in the 14-team tournament.

Rugby

• In the Bears' final match before the second leg of the World Cup, Cal dominated no. 22 Dartmouth 99-7.

Basketball

• The seventh-seeded Bears face Fordham in Waco, TX. A win would almost certainly have the Bears facing the hometown no. 2 seed Baylor.
• The men's team earned a no. 2 seed...in the NIT. The men open the tournament against Utah Valley on Wednesday. A win likely pits the Bears against Arkansas in the second round.

Football

• Uncle Ted takes a look at the latest Pac-12 recruiting figures. With 0 recruits, Cal doesn't have much going on in its 2015 (!) class.