CGB Hall of Fame: (5) Mychal Kendricks vs. (4) Mike Montgomery

Results from the previous round

Fifth-seeded Mychal Kendricks squeaked by 12th-seeded Jocelyn Forest, 40-38, while fourth-seeded Mike Montgomery advanced past 13th-seeded Milicia Vukadinovic 49=27.

(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)

(4) Mike Montgomery

Bear in Mind: Mike Montgomery (via CalTV Berkeley)

NorCalNick shares his perspective from back during Monty's coaching days.

Mike Montgomery has been at Cal for five years now, which means he has now reached the threshold of CGB hall of fame eligibility. Thankfully, Monty has been successful enough that such an achievement is very low down on the list of things he should be celebrating.

It's way too early to get nostalgic about the Monty era, seeing as how it's still going strong. But I suspect that in a decade or two, I'll look back and remember how much fun his teams were to follow. Granted, that's in no small part due to the players themselves. But how much did you love watching Jerome Randle get unleashed for two years under Monty, or how he helped turn Jorge Gutierrez from a defensive specialist into a Pac-12 player of the year? How much did you enjoy watching Allen Crabbe these past few years, and how much fun do you think Jabari Bird is going to be?

Monty has made four NCAA tournaments, won a Pac-10 title, finished in the top 4 of the conference every year, and consistently made basketball games fun, win or lose. That last part tends to get short-shrift, but this is an entertainment business, isn't it?

We might not have Monty for much longer - if he decided tomorrow to spend the rest of his life sipping wine and occasionally sitting in a Pac-12 network studio with Ernie Kent, it would be well deserved. But we still have him and he's going to have some talent over the next few years. Monty may not make the CGB hall of fame this year, but I'd like to think that he will add to his resume very shortly.

Nick was wise to cherish the time Monty was with us, as the legendary coach has since retired.  Will his retirement propel him into the Hall of Fame?