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- We have a kicker! Greg Thomas gets to live his dream of being at Cal football as the starting kicker.
In an effort to replace Matt Anderson, who graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 316 points, Cal was chasing two other preferred walk-on prospects. When neither arrived in January, special teams coach Charlie Ragle put his vast list of contacts to work.
He got word of a kicker at City College of San Francisco, and it was a name the coach remembered from his days at Arizona (2012-16). That was enough to prompt Ragle to go watch Thomas kick and review his video.
Sure enough, this was the same Greg Thomas, who backed up 2016 Lou Groza Award winner Zane Gonzalez at Arizona State and kicked in relative obscurity at CCSF last season.
“I think he was done (as a football player). I think he was under the impression that he wasn’t going to have an opportunity, and he was just going to come to school here,” Ragle said. “… But everything lined up for him. … It was a perfect scenario for him and us.”
- Hey that win over UNC last year was pretty cool right? Lets take a trip down memory lane and find out how one win set the tone for a competitive season.
- Find out how Memorial Stadium is adding and adjusting on some pre-game traditions to make games more enjoyable.
- Cal Sports Maven’s last preview gives the authors Faraudo and Curtis a chance to write a fantasy headline for the team’s 2018 season
- There will be a huge cheering section in K and KK this Saturday as Patrick Laird’s reading program was a huge success.
- The latest installment of #ReadWithPat has Laird sitting down with author Michael Lewis (Moneyball, among others)
PICKS
- Athlon Sports’ Josh Webb has an extensive Cal/UNC preview with storylines and a 31-21 Cal win as a prediction.
- East Bay Times’ Jon Wilner: Cal -7
- SB Nation’s Bill Connelly: North Carolina +7 but Cal outright (by 1 point)
- Cal Sports Maven’s Jeff Faraudo and Jeff Curtis: Both pick Cal -5.5
Misc.
- The Daily Cal’s Charlie Griffen has a preview of the Men’s Water Polo season.
- Recent Cal WBB grad Penina Davidson will play in both Australia and New Zealand as a pro. Her recent signing with NZ’s Harbour Breeze is considered a “trailblazing” moment that could lead to NZ WBB getting more prominence in the Australasia region. (Way to spell Berkeley wrong though...)
BEAT THE TAR HEELS!