During the game last night Dave Fleming put up his PAC Mount Rushmore and it was all Southern Cal and Stanford players so who's your Cal Mount Rushmore for this end of an era of West Coast football?

Personally I broke it down by eras because there were too many all-time players not to name

PCC:
Johnny Olszewski
Les Richter
Brick Muller
Jackie Jensen

AAWU:
Craig Morton
Ed White
Joe Kapp
Matt Hazeltine

PAC 8:
Joe Roth
Chuck Muncie
Sherman White
Steve Rivera

PAC 10:
Aaron Rodgers
Hardy Nickerson
Marshawn Lynch
Alex Mack

PAC 12:
Jared Goff
Evan Weaver
Keenan Allen
Brian Schwenke

All-Time:
Joe Roth
Marshawn Lynch
Les Richter
Alex Mack

Disclaimer: I'm a defense fan but I tried to do a QB, offensive skill player, OL, and D from every era which is inherently unfair to the defense and special teams. I also did it off the top of my head and there were tons of players I likely overlooked and even more who it killed me to leave off like (to name a few) Tony Gonzalez, Andre Carter, Brandon Mebane, Tyson Alualu, DJax Bartkowski, Cam Jordan, Schwartz, Anger, numerous OL, etc.

Who y'all got?

Wesley Walker, Desean Jackson?

Wesley Walker

There are too many football players (in general) and too many great ones from across the entire history of the Pac 8/10/12 to have only FOUR

No matter who has been chosen (and probably great choices of players), it won't do the justice of the numerous amazing players to come through the Pac Conference history

Even if is narrowed down to one team, it is near impossible

This conference has had some legendary amazing players over its storied history …. It shouldn't be broken apart because of mismanagement chasing the almighty dollar sign

I like your list but especially with the modern players I feel like their post Cal achievements are being factored in.

I feel like Desean Jackson and Deltha O'Oneil deserve mentions. Both were consensus all-Americans at Cal and dominated games in their primary roles on offense and defense and with their immense skill as kick returners.

Doug Brien had an amazing Cal career and notched as many clutch plays in important Cal victories as any who came before or after him

thanks for the pic Bearister, back when i was a senior at cal.
umm, anybody recognize #11, next to immortal joe..

I believe that's Fred Besana.

Maybe Fred Besana?

yepper, thanks, confirmed here..
https://www.joerothfilm.com/about-joe.html
cc: sonofabear51
"You see somebody time after time in situations that require strength, character, courage and faith and the guy responds every time." - Fred Besana

I agree with the sentiments about the impossibility of reducing all the great Cal players to a top 4, even by era.

In just the short amount if time I've followed Cal football, there've been so many excellent Cal players. There are some that were some recent receivers, like Keenan Allen, Bryce Treggs, Marvin Jones, Jr., and Kenny Lawler. Of course, there was also the time Cal produced stud RBs, like Jahvid Best, Adimchinobe Echemandu, and JJ Arrington.

From my college years, I also remember Deltha O'Neill, Scott Fujita, and (later) Nnamdi Asomugha, being the bright spots for Cal football during the God awful Holmoe years.

But the Tedford years produced an abundance of talented (and unnamed in the previous comments) players who really stand out in my memory including Justin Forsett, Shane Vereen, Mychal Kendricks, and Zack Follett. The latter's sack of Erik Ainge in 2007 was a thing of such beautiful violence! TBH, I honestly thought Ainge was going to be medically retired after that hit.

Heck, even Sonny Dykes produced some great Cal players, including Jared Goff and the aforementioned Treggs and Lawler. Also, though he may not have received as much playing time as I would've preferred, I loved watching Malik McMorris bowl over defenders either as a blocker or with the ball.

More recently, even Justin Wilcox has helped turn out some great Cal footballers, like (unanimous All-American) Evan Weaver and Chase Garbers.

Russell White over Marshawn Lynch, it seemed like he carried the whole team on his shoulders at times, and single-handedly won us several big games, perhaps because the program was that much better in the early JT era.

!991 @UCLA and vs USC were some of the greatest ever games by a Cal RB, unforgettable talent and efforts

1975. Frat party. My very drunk buddy bumps into Wesley Walker and sends Walker's beer mug crashing to the ground and shattering. Walker was within seconds of clownstomping my buddy when I yanked out a $5 bill and said "How about we call it even for the bump and the mug?" Walker: "That's cool."
I settled my first case as a layman.

*$5 in 1975 was overpaying, but not having a broken nose is priceless.

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• John Welbourn
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Ed White

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF
• Ryan O'Callahan

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• Brian Schwenke

TIGHT END

• Stephan Anderson
• Joe Rose
• Cameron Morrah
• Garret Cross

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson
• Brandon Whiting
• Derrick Hill
• Mustafa Jaili

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jaxson Sirmon
• Jordan Kunasczick

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez
• Ashton Davis
• Avery Sebastian

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

Cal88 said:

---

Russell White over Marshawn Lynch, it seemed like he carried the whole team on his shoulders at times, and single-handedly won us several big games, perhaps because the program was that much better in the early JT era.

!991 @UCLA and vs USC were some of the greatest ever games by a Cal RB, unforgettable talent and efforts

---

I agree on Russell White because he was a program changer. I lived near Seattle during most of his Cal career, but when Cal signed him, even though he had to sit out his first year, it sent a message that they could recruit. I'd also replace Steve Rivera with Bartkowski, even though it puts two QBs in that group. I believe Bart was a highly sought after recruit when he chose Cal and even though he didn't blossom until his senior year, it was huge. From a mild disappointment to the #1 pick in the NFL draft! Would Joe Roth have come to Cal if Bart hadn't had that great 1974 season? Of course I'm biased - I was a Cal student then.

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

HearstMining said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

---

Good points. I used the All-Purpose as a way to include more players. Most all of those guys would have made the list at their regular position but would have taken a slot from someone else. I wasn't sure which position Ed played at Cal so, yeah, I'll change that and move the snub at guard up. And Muller, I disagree because I just can't bring myself to put guys on this before programs like Alabama and USC started getting a full head of steam. I just don't think there was enough competition. Keep in mind that this is a damn difficult exercise and someone else would have been left off the list. Regarding Morton, Goff is way more limiting of INTs and is more mobile.

heartofthebear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

---

Good points. I used the All-Purpose as a way to include more players. Most all of those guys would have made the list at their regular position but would have taken a slot from someone else. I wasn't sure which position Ed played at Cal so, yeah, I'll change that and move the snub at guard up. And Muller, I disagree because I just can't bring myself to put guys on this before programs like Alabama and USC started getting a full head of steam. I just don't think there was enough competition. Keep in mind that this is a damn difficult exercise and someone else would have been left off the list. Regarding Morton, Goff is way more limiting of INTs and is more mobile.

---

You're then disregarding the Ivy League schools, Army, Navy, and other teams that played competitive football in the early 20th century either in favor of a recency bias or a SEC bias. If anything, the players from the early part of the 20th century are more deserving of being on the Mt. Rushmore if college football because they played both ways. Which of the modern SEC stars you would anoint can claim to have done the same?

I'm guessing missing Desean Jackson was an oversite not an intentional snub?

O.Z. White

It's in LA right?

MrGPAC said:

---

I'm guessing missing Desean Jackson was an oversite not an intentional snub?

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I listed Jackson as All Purpose so as to include more WRs on the mountain.

01Bear said:

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heartofthebear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

---

Good points. I used the All-Purpose as a way to include more players. Most all of those guys would have made the list at their regular position but would have taken a slot from someone else. I wasn't sure which position Ed played at Cal so, yeah, I'll change that and move the snub at guard up. And Muller, I disagree because I just can't bring myself to put guys on this before programs like Alabama and USC started getting a full head of steam. I just don't think there was enough competition. Keep in mind that this is a damn difficult exercise and someone else would have been left off the list. Regarding Morton, Goff is way more limiting of INTs and is more mobile.

---

You're then disregarding the Ivy League schools, Army, Navy, and other teams that played competitive football in the early 20th century either in favor of a recency bias or a SEC bias. If anything, the players from the early part of the 20th century are more deserving of being on the Mt. Rushmore if college football because they played both ways. Which of the modern SEC stars you would anoint can claim to have done the same?

---

No it is also about equipment. The more protective equipment today allows players to play at a higher level and, with civil rights, more races are excelling now in the sport. Playing both ways was possible precisely because you don't get beat up as much as today. I am not disrespecting them, but I simply had to leave somebody out, and, not having seen them play, I really can't put them on the list. Certainly there is recency bias. And I should have mentioned that I am inclined against guys that I neither saw nor heard about. But I did do some research and I did include some guys from the 30s and 40s.

The bottom line is that someone is going to be left off. And most of Cal's hall of famers are from really early on in the last century. If I was going to include all of them, there would be nobody from the modern era on the mountain. While the real Mt. Rushmore is a tribute to centuries past, I don't think the OPs intention was to do that again with this exercise. And to that end, I think the OP wanted a version of from the modern era, or that at least emphasized that. If not, then the responses would be of no interest to the 90% on this board who are 40 and younger.

As Gary Radnich used to say, "Good knowledge."

Yes to Steve Bartkowski.

He had a helluva senior year and also played first base on the baseball team.

Led the Nation in passing his senior year. 2,580 yards.

DiabloWags said:

---

Yes to Steve Bartkowski.

He had a helluva senior year and also played first base on the baseball team.

---

I thought he was a catcher (but it's been almost half a century).

Isn't that the same year Cal had 2522 passing yards and 2522 rushing yards? Think it was 1975 IIRC

sonofabear51 said:

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Isn't that the same year Cal had 2522 passing yards and 2522 rushing yards? Think it was 1975 IIRC

---

Bartkowski was '74. '75 (perfectly balanced O) was Roth, Muncie, Steve Rivera, Wesley Walker, et. al. 8-3, co-Pac 8 champions, but UCLA went to RB because head-to-head. Just barely missed Rose Bowl, kinda similar to the Mack Brown year.

Big C said:

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sonofabear51 said:

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Isn't that the same year Cal had 2522 passing yards and 2522 rushing yards? Think it was 1975 IIRC

---

Bartkowski was '74. '75 (perfectly balanced O) was Roth, Muncie, Steve Rivera, Wesley Walker, et. al. 8-3, co-Pac 8 champions, but UCLA went to RB because head-to-head. Just barely missed Rose Bowl, kinda similar to the Mack Brown year.

---

And that 1975 UCLA team primarily ran the wishbone; their passing was barely adequate. In the 1976 Rose Bowl, they passed Ohio State and Woody Hayes silly to win 23-10. Even with only a decent defense, Cal, with Roth, Muncie, etc would have obliterated that Buckeye team.

BearGreg said:

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HoB,

Great list.

The one glaring omission that immediately comes to mind is at OT.

Ryan O'Callaghan - called by Jeff Tedford as perhaps the best OL he'd ever seen. Two time AP10 first time player, won the Morris trophy his senior year (P10s top lineman). In my years of doing film reviews, he was the most dominant run blocker I've ever seen at Cal and it's not close.

Opposing DEs would literally give up in the 2nd half of games. So much of the Bears success running the ball in the Tedford era was because of Ryan OC.

---

Absolutely and I was aware of some of that but I did not think he rose above the other guys on the list. However, to not at list include him on the "snub" list was a major oversight and my mistake. I will make that change. I'm just wondering who you would remove to include him? The others are either in the Cal football hall of fame or had major NFL careers or both.

Some folks feel that I should only base the list on how they did at Cal. I disagree. If you are carving a bust into a mountain, you are doing that because of the entirety of their careers. While neither Glenn nor O'Callahan are in the Cal football hall of fame, Glenn had a much more distinguished NFL career.

BTW, O'Callahan played at Cal during the time that I closely watched Cal football and I have fond memories of many of those teams and players, including Ryan. Those teams led me to becoming a season ticket holder for a short span from 2008 to 2012.

Like I stated at the beginning. These lists are ill advised because they are too restrictive. Even expanding it from 4 total, to 4 at each position just does not do justice to the history that goes back over 100 years. Memorial stadium has witnessed more greatness than I could ever hope to capture in some exercise of historical knowledge.

Also, I tried to keep my personal preferences out of it other than preferring the modern era because of it's better relevance to the OPs implied topic.

For example, Jayden Ott is one of my favorite players to watch of all time. And I totally respect him as a person. Ironically, his taking a knee last week may end up being one of the most famous plays of his career. Tonight the Ravens RB should have done the same thing but didn't, risking a SD comeback. But Ott isn't yet able to compete with those that have had full Cal careers. If Ott stays 2 more, which is unlikely, he most certainly would jump someone on that list. I also saw Maurice Harris make amazing catches repeatedly. But he didn't even make the snub list because he didn't get on the field very often.

BTW, I did notice a couple of other oversights from the "snub" lists. I have now included Stephen Anderson and Cameron Morrah and Garret Cross on the TE snubs and Ashtyn Davis on the DB snubs list. If you think Anderson should be elevated I might move him up.

heartofthebear said:

---

01Bear said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

---

Good points. I used the All-Purpose as a way to include more players. Most all of those guys would have made the list at their regular position but would have taken a slot from someone else. I wasn't sure which position Ed played at Cal so, yeah, I'll change that and move the snub at guard up. And Muller, I disagree because I just can't bring myself to put guys on this before programs like Alabama and USC started getting a full head of steam. I just don't think there was enough competition. Keep in mind that this is a damn difficult exercise and someone else would have been left off the list. Regarding Morton, Goff is way more limiting of INTs and is more mobile.

---

You're then disregarding the Ivy League schools, Army, Navy, and other teams that played competitive football in the early 20th century either in favor of a recency bias or a SEC bias. If anything, the players from the early part of the 20th century are more deserving of being on the Mt. Rushmore if college football because they played both ways. Which of the modern SEC stars you would anoint can claim to have done the same?

---

No it is also about equipment. The more protective equipment today allows players to play at a higher level and, with civil rights, more races are excelling now in the sport. Playing both ways was possible precisely because you don't get beat up as much as today. I am not disrespecting them, but I simply had to leave somebody out, and, not having seen them play, I really can't put them on the list. Certainly there is recency bias. And I should have mentioned that I am inclined against guys that I neither saw nor heard about. But I did do some research and I did include some guys from the 30s and 40s.

The bottom line is that someone is going to be left off. And most of Cal's hall of famers are from really early on in the last century. If I was going to include all of them, there would be nobody from the modern era on the mountain. While the real Mt. Rushmore is a tribute to centuries past, I don't think the OPs intention was to do that again with this exercise. And to that end, I think the OP wanted a version of from the modern era, or that at least emphasized that. If not, then the responses would be of no interest to the 90% on this board who are 40 and younger.

---

I think we disagree as to how the improved equipment should impact evaluation of players from different periods. If anything, I tend to think players who played with just sweaters, leather caps, pants, and cleats(?) are more deserving of recognition. They were banging into one another at full speed without anything to prevent injury. To survive a season, let alone a full collegiate career, back then was much more difficult than in the modern era. On top of which, many of the rules protecting players didn't exist back then, leading to even more injuries. Along those lines, the advances in modern medicine have also made numerous formerly career-ending injuries things of the past. As such, IMHO, being able to survive a full season was that much more difficult than in the modern era. Not only did those guys survive, but they dominated throughout their careers; fir me, that's beyond impressive.

That said, I agree with your comment on civil rights to a certain extent. I honestly don't know if there were any restrictions preventing minorities from (1) attending Cal, (2) participating in varsity football, and (3) seeing actual playing time. However, from a quick google search, it appears that at least by Andy Smith's time, there was at least one great African-American student athlete in the Cal football team (see, https://calbears.com/news/2015/2/2/209873086.aspx). Based on this, I rather suspect that Cal (including its football program) was less racially restrictive than other schools.

Great work here - really enjoyed your list. Appreciate you putting Jahvid Best in, IMO the most explosive Cal player I've seem in the last 45 years. Also, Donnie McCleskey is right up there in my DB group, always seemed like the guy who made a big play when they needed it, from all over the field.

I would add Paul Larson to the list of quarterbacks. He was the first Cal quarterback of the T-formation offensive era to be All-American and also played defensive back and place kicker. He also finished in the top 5 in Heisman Trophy voting, something very few if any of the other quarterbacks listed did (I don't have any knowledge of how any of the ones listed did so I'm just guessing on this one). But then I'm biased since he was from my home town.

01Bear said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

01Bear said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

HearstMining said:

---

heartofthebear said:

---

First of all, it's stupid to do a mount rushmore of players for an entire 100 year legacy. And I don't know why he felt he needed to do that. It would be hard to do a Mt. Rushmore of anything in sports because how do you narrow things down to 4 people. Even the real Mt. Rushmore leaves out key players from the founding of our country.

You couldn't even do a Mt. Rushmore of pac-12 coaches.

But I will play along with this qualification that I cannot put on anybody from before I was alive and following Cal football. So anybody from the early 60s onward would be tough for me to include, with the exception of big names like Jackie Jensen and Morton. Also, I can only do it by position. And I'm not so great at remembering the linemen so I admit to having the aid of the internet. So here it goes:

QUARTERBACK

• Aaron Rodgers
• Jarret Goff
• Joe Roth
• Steve Bartkowski/Joe Kapp

RUNNING BACK

• Chuck Muncie
• Marshawn Lynch
• Javed Best
• Russel White/JJ Arrington

FULLBACK

• Johnny Olszewski
• Chris Manderino
• Malik McMorris
• Pete Schabarum

ALL PURPOSE/RETURNER

• Deltha O'Neal
• Jackie Jensen
• DeShawn Jackson/Ken Wiedemann
• Paul Larson/Jeremy Ross

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Tarik Glenn
• Todd Steussie
• Harvey Salem
• Ted Albrecht/Troy Auzenne

CENTER

• Alex Mack
• Bob Herwig
• Marvin phillip
• Jeremy Newberry

GUARD

• Ed White
• Aaron Mertz
• Rod Franz
• Scott Tercaro

TIGHT END

• Tony Gonzalez
• David Lewis
• Richard Rodgers
• Jim Hanifan

WIDE RECEIVER

• Keenan Allen
• Sean Dawkins
• Wesley Walker
• Geoff McArthur

DEFENSIVE ENDS

• Andre Carter
• Duane Clemens
• Cameron Jordan
• Tyson Alualu/Sherman White

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Brandon Mebane
• Rhett Hall
• Chidi Ahanotu
• Brandon Whiting

LINEBACKER

• Jarrot Willard
• Ron Rivera
• Zach Follett
• Les Richter

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Nnamdi Asomugha
• Daymeion Hughes
• Syd'Quan Thompson
• Camryn Bynum

PLACE KICKER

• Ryan Longwell
• Ray Wershing
• Doug Brien
• Mick Luckhurst/Jim Breech

PUNTERS

• Nick Harris
• Bryan Anger
• Dan Melville
• Cole Leininger

Notes: Guard was the hardest position for me to do because it was not clear in some cases who played guard and tackle and I am better about remembering our best tackles. Also we didn't seem to have as many standouts at that postion and the internet does a poor job of covering guards. To make matters worse, guard is also a keyword in basketball.

Defensive End and linebacker was also very difficult as was running back for the opposite reason. I could probably sculpt 10 heads onto Mt Rushmore for each of those positions. And I left a slew of hall of famers off the list.

Here is a list of my acknowledged snubs:

QUARTERBACK

• Craig Morton
• Vince Ferragamo
• Mike Pawlawski
• Dave Barr
• Troy Taylor
• Rich Campbell

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

• Justin Forsett
• Jayden Ott
• Vic Bottari
• CJ Anderson
• Shane Vereen
• Adam Echimandu
• Jim Monachino

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

• Mitchell Schwartz
• Langston Walker
• Bob Reinhard HF

OFFENSIVE GUARD

• John Welbourn

WIDE RECEIVER

• Steve Sweeney
• Marvin Jones
• Damion Douglas
• Brian Treggs
• Bryce Treggs
• Kenny Lawler
• Chris Harper
• Steve Rivera

DEFENSIVE END

• Ryan Riddle
• Regan Upshaw
• Tully Banta-Cain
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Seku Sanyika (sp?)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

• Reggie Camp
• Brett Johnson

LINEBACKER

• Jon Baker HF
• Mike Mohammed
• Hardy Nickerson Sr.
• Steve Hendrickson
• Ken Harvey
• Matt Hazeltine
• Michael Kendricks
• Bob Swensen
• Scott Fujita
• Worrell williams
• Anthony Felder
• Evan Weaver
• Gary Plummer
• Desmond Bishop
• David Ortega
• Jackson Sirmon

DEFENSIVE BACK

• Tim Mixon
• Donnie McClesky
• Matt Giordano
• Carl Van Heuit HF
• Thomas Decoud
• Ryan Gutierrez

I also snubbed some of the very oldest from the 1930s and before even though those were some of the best teams in Cal history because I feel like the overall competition in the sport was not sufficient to grant the top recognition. So I am aware of the many hall of famers from those years left off the list.

It should be apparent from this list that we are absolutely linebacker U as I have even left some great ones off the second list.

---

Good knowledge! These sorts of lists are fun and I can't think of a better waste of time.
Some miscellaneous thoughts:

• Harold "Brick" Muller - No, none of us saw him play, but he was in the inaugural class of the College Football Hall of Fame. And that was thirty years after his career ended! That's good enough to put him on any list.
• Since we're talking college, Ed White should be one of your Defensive Tackles, not the Guard position he played in the NFL.
• Ken Wiedemann was first-team All Pac-8 three years in a row as a DB, but blew out a knee during his senior season. Still, he was way more than just a specialist.
• Goff vs Craig Morton - that's a tough choice. Both played on essentially bad teams their entire Cal careers.

There are All-Pac8/10/12 or All-Pacific-Coast lists out on Wikipedia if you have some time to kill (of course you do - you're here, aren't you?). Pretty interesting to look at.

---

Good points. I used the All-Purpose as a way to include more players. Most all of those guys would have made the list at their regular position but would have taken a slot from someone else. I wasn't sure which position Ed played at Cal so, yeah, I'll change that and move the snub at guard up. And Muller, I disagree because I just can't bring myself to put guys on this before programs like Alabama and USC started getting a full head of steam. I just don't think there was enough competition. Keep in mind that this is a damn difficult exercise and someone else would have been left off the list. Regarding Morton, Goff is way more limiting of INTs and is more mobile.

---

You're then disregarding the Ivy League schools, Army, Navy, and other teams that played competitive football in the early 20th century either in favor of a recency bias or a SEC bias. If anything, the players from the early part of the 20th century are more deserving of being on the Mt. Rushmore if college football because they played both ways. Which of the modern SEC stars you would anoint can claim to have done the same?

---

No it is also about equipment. The more protective equipment today allows players to play at a higher level and, with civil rights, more races are excelling now in the sport. Playing both ways was possible precisely because you don't get beat up as much as today. I am not disrespecting them, but I simply had to leave somebody out, and, not having seen them play, I really can't put them on the list. Certainly there is recency bias. And I should have mentioned that I am inclined against guys that I neither saw nor heard about. But I did do some research and I did include some guys from the 30s and 40s.

The bottom line is that someone is going to be left off. And most of Cal's hall of famers are from really early on in the last century. If I was going to include all of them, there would be nobody from the modern era on the mountain. While the real Mt. Rushmore is a tribute to centuries past, I don't think the OPs intention was to do that again with this exercise. And to that end, I think the OP wanted a version of from the modern era, or that at least emphasized that. If not, then the responses would be of no interest to the 90% on this board who are 40 and younger.

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I think we disagree as to how the improved equipment should impact evaluation of players from different periods. If anything, I tend to think players who played with just sweaters, leather caps, pants, and cleats(?) are more deserving of recognition. They were banging into one another at full speed without anything to prevent injury. To survive a season, let alone a full collegiate career, back then was much more difficult than in the modern era. On top of which, many of the rules protecting players didn't exist back then, leading to even more injuries. Along those lines, the advances in modern medicine have also made numerous formerly career-ending injuries things of the past. As such, IMHO, being able to survive a full season was that much more difficult than in the modern era. Not only did those guys survive, but they dominated throughout their careers; fir me, that's beyond impressive.

That said, I agree with your comment on civil rights to a certain extent. I honestly don't know if there were any restrictions preventing minorities from (1) attending Cal, (2) participating in varsity football, and (3) seeing actual playing time. However, from a quick google search, it appears that at least by Andy Smith's time, there was at least one great African-American student athlete in the Cal football team (see, https://calbears.com/news/2015/2/2/209873086.aspx). Based on this, I rather suspect that Cal (including its football program) was less racially restrictive than other schools.

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I guess you are right about the toughness of the players of the past. And I am not disputing that they deserve recognition. But they have gotten recognition from those who have the knowledge. The Cal football hall of fame, for example is well represented by players from that bygone era. I simply don't have the knowledge myself. I made a list from whatever knowledge I could assemble and I didn't want to simply restate the hall of famers. I wanted a list that was a little more unique and modern. If you want to give them recognition, you have every opportunity to form your own list. I am not going to do it for you.

This exercise is not easy. Have you tried it yourself. After you do so, make sure to let me know so that I can nitpick on your omissions because there is no way you are going to be able to include everyone you should. And who you leave out will be a bias of yours.

Also, I refer you to this article from the NFL itself. And, while it mainly refers to pro football, it is easy to extrapolate how that would also ultimately be true of college football since college football is a prelude to the pros and follows pretty much the same trends. My bias towards the modern era is not isolated to me. It comes from those responsible for the sport at the highest level. So, while the players from the golden age of football should not be forgotten and endured more hardship, I don't think they are the best of what the sport has offered over the years.

For example, would any of those tough two-way helmetless men of valor have had the slightest chance to defend someone like Jahvid Best with his speed? Could the QBs have thrown passes with anywhere near the distance and accuracy that Jarred Goff did repeatedly? Do guys have 4.3 speed like they do now? Were there 300 pound linemen that were still insanely athletic? If so, then I stand corrected and so do those writing for the NFL.

Having said all of this, I will, when I have time, add players to the snub list that would have been the best of that bygone era you have so much reverence for.