CGB Hall of Fame: (5) Mychal Kendricks vs. (12) Desmond Bishop

(5) Mychal Kendricks

Cal Football: Mychal Kendricks Highlights - LB #30 (via calathletics)

Kendricks was a mainstay in the Golden Bears defense for many years and I think that everyone reading this has to say that they appreciated the intensity and skill with which he played the game. I am sure he'll make his mark while playing on Sundays next year and he should be just as fun to watch in Eagles green as he was in Blue and Gold.

Via Official Cal Bears Profile:

Earned several All-American honors as a senior, including second-team selections
by Phil Steele and College Sports Madness ... also a third-team All-American
selection of Yahoo! Sports and an honorable mention pick of SI.com ... named the
Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection as a
senior, after earning second-team all-league honors during his junior campaign ...
finished his career with 258 tackles to rank tied for ninth all-time at Cal, while
adding 36.5 tackles for loss (-144 yards) to miss finishing among the school's all-
time leaders by one-half of a tackle for loss ... also had a punt return in which he
was credited with 26 punt returns yards after he blocked a punt before teammate
Bryant Nnabuife picked the ball up and ran 30 yards for a score vs. Colorado State
in 2008, five pass breakups and a forced fumble ... recorded at least 0.5 tackles for
loss 24 times in his career, including in 19 of his final 25 games ... played inside
linebacker as a 2011 senior after spending most of his collegiate career as an
outside linebacker.

And of course, who can forget this?

Mychal Kendricks vs. Derrick Coleman (via schmeezed)

(12) Desmond Bishop

Cal vs. Washington 2006 Bishop seals the victory (via HairOfTheBear)

People remember Marshawn owning things on the offensive end in that UW game, but they might forget that Bishop was a one man wrecking crew on D (16 tackles and the game clinching INT).

Throughout 2006 he was our defensive leader, and we certainly missed that fire in 2007.

Twist weighs in:

The Fiery Emotional and Vocally Inspiring Leader - this type of leader is emotional. He'll also have big time emotional celebrations after a big play, inspiring his teammates with confidence and energy. But what makes this type of leader different from the Fiery Emotional Cocky Leader is his ability to emotionally pick up his players. He's the one prowling the benches, screaming, and inspiring his teammates with words and speeches to find the heart within them to play harder and not quit. An example of this type of leader from last year's team would be Desmond Bishop.

As a senior in 2006, he became the first Bear in 13 years to lead the league in tackles with 126 and was named 1st-Team All-Pac-10. He had a knack for the big play - whether it was key stop, forced fumble, or game-clinching interception.

Questions about his speed caused him to drop to the 6th round, but his work ethic and determination quickly earned him the nod over more touted prospects when Green Bay's starters became injured. Already famous for his creative and entertaining twitter persona, http://twitter.com/#!/desbishop55, he backed up his words with solid play throughout the playoffs and in this year's Super Bowl victory.