enjoy it while it lasts … anyone see JKS's media availability today? his response to a rather stupid question around 7:15? gulp.

We all know he's gone. He already gave himself an out with religion. He'll say something like "first foremost and I want to thank God for this opportunity, and after much thought and prayers, I felt God leading me in a new direction to play for "insert team name here". I know he directs my path and I gotta walk whatever path he leads".

Or, he's still figuring things out, and doesn't know yet what's coming his way in terms of NIL if he stays at Cal. He will talk to his parents and coaches and others in his life whose opinion he values, and then he'll make an informed decision as to what is best for him. If he leaves, he'll be missed, but he put this year's team on his shoulders (and golden left arm) and JKS is another in a long line of excellent Cal quarterbacks.

Let's see how it plays out. When I was his age, I was just trying to get feedback on if some gal would be willing to go out with me. (Answer: nope.) We should let the kid -- as accomplished as he already is -- be a kid. If he stays at Cal, all Golden Bear fans will be thrilled. If he goes elsewhere, we'll blame NIL and other programs using Cal as a farm team to poach proven talent.

SouthKBear said:

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We all know he's gone. He already gave himself an out with religion. He'll say something like "first foremost and I want to thank God for this opportunity, and after much thought and prayers, I felt God leading me in a new direction to play for "insert team name here". I know he directs my path and I gotta walk whatever path he leads".

---

Cal football has always been the Lucy takes football away from Charlie Brown meme, but this board believe that this time will be different, every single time

BearBoarBlarney said:

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Or, he's still figuring things out, and doesn't know yet what's coming his way in terms of NIL if he stays at Cal. He will talk to his parents and coaches and others in his life whose opinion he values, and then he'll make an informed decision as to what is best for him. If he leaves, he'll be missed, but he put this year's team on his shoulders (and golden left arm) and JKS is another in a long line of excellent Cal quarterbacks.

Let's see how it plays out. When I was his age, I was just trying to get feedback on if some gal would be willing to go out with me. (Answer: nope.) We should let the kid -- as accomplished as he already is -- be a kid. If he stays at Cal, all Golden Bear fans will be thrilled. If he goes elsewhere, we'll blame NIL and other programs using Cal as a farm team to poach proven talent.

---

Honestly, as an offensive player with skill Cal's coaches have to show or sell the fact that they are building something here. No QB wants to get battered and have no talented receivers. No talented receivers want to run routes and look back and see their QB running for his life. No running back wants to have no holes to run through. I think it's a tall task. Mendoza does not help our case, whatever you think of his character.

This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

socaltownie said:

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This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

I think this is one of the most accurate, no-nonsense posts I've read on here. This is it. And for all we know, JKS might just love it at Cal, but $10M gross over $3M gross (or whatever our NIL pool can fund) makes it a no-brainer.

I do want to say how great it's been to see a young gunslinger like JKS come in here and give a real shot in the arm to Cal Football. He's been so fun to watch, and I'm appreciative of what he has done here at Cal.

socaltownie said:

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This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

First thing is that we have no idea what JKS will do. We don't know he's gone. We don't know he "loves Cal through and through". We don't know any of that. He will do what is best for him based on his criteria and none of us know what that criteria is.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter about JKS specifically. Of course we want him to stay and that has a big impact on the short term, but in the grand scheme what you describe is for every player. Not just one.

IMO, there has been a lot of naivete shown, including by the NCAA, thinking that somehow there is a $20M cap. "They agreed!" No, "they" didn't. At least not all of "they". Alums will still pay NIL. And if the NCAA tries to stop anyone, they will get sued and they will lose. I think they understand that now. I fear that Cal and Cal alums do not.

But socal, it IS more than that. Mendoza is just a brutal example for us. He started getting lots of hype in the offseason based on his Cal film. And I know that left a lot of Cal fans incredulous and thinking these "experts" didn't know what they were talking about, but what has happened this year should give them pause in their assessment. If you watched the analysis, some of them were quietly pretty brutal about us. Just little comments like "Despite the scheme putting him in a bad position, he..." But if he stayed at Cal, they would not have even looked at his film. When they looked at his film, they clearly saw how the scheme, playcalling and talent around him was hampering him. They knew what was going on at Indiana and that he would not have those issues there. That is why he got the pub.

Some have diminished his success saying he makes a lot of easy throws at Indiana. THAT IS WHAT THE SCHEME IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Aaron Rodgers made a ton of easy throws at Cal. The coach is supposed to make the QB look good. The QB is supposed to make the coach look good. He has that at Indiana. He didn't have that at Cal. That has opened up a ton for him.

Some others have questioned his accuracy and I think that is another fundamental lack of understanding. A QB at a high level is not supposed to aim for the numbers anymore than a MLB pitcher aims for the middle of the plate. There is an optimal location for each pass and that location is where your receiver can best make a play and the defense cannot. That is often not on the numbers. But you need receivers who can make plays. The perfect example is Indiana's final touchdown against Penn State. That was absolutely a monster, NFL-level throw. Under tremendous pressure, not able to step into it, getting hit while he threw, a lot of QB's would have thrown that through the back of the endzone, and I believe Mendoza would have done that if he was at Cal. But he put it where his receiver could go get it with no risk that the defender could break it up or pick it. (ideally, the pass would have been 12 inches lower, but given the pressure it was an incredible throw). And the receiver made a huge play and a tremendous catch. The QB put the ball where the WR could make a play and the WR made the play. They both made each other better. That doesn't happen if Mendoza is at Cal. Just doesn't. That is just one play, but it is emblematic of so much. You watch Mendoza at Indiana and he has so much confidence in his receivers and he can make the right throw and know they will make the right play. So he can display so much more sophistication in his decision making and his throwing than he could at Cal. JKS does not have that confidence in his receivers and has to spoon feed them the easiest possible ball to catch. He is not able to display his full talent or range of ability in this offense.

If Mendoza had stayed here, he would have gotten zero pub in the offseason. I believe he would have had a very good year at Cal. He would not have the stats he has at Indiana, and he would not have been able to showcase all of his abilities to the fullest. He'd be looking at mid round pick where he'd get a low level contract and probably get thrown on a practice squad somewhere. He is going to go into the NFL as someone's top pick, get a big contract, be their QB of the future, and be given every chance to succeed, and if he doesn't, probably get another bite at the apple with a team who would take a chance on a former first round pick (heisman winner?). Even if Cal could match the cash on the table, as currently constructed they can't match that.

For that, we need a coaching staff that develops players and gives them schemes that make them look good. Remember Tedford? Even when we weren't very good, we'd have several players get drafted because they developed when they were here and were in a position to make plays on game day. Even if we have a good year under Wilcox (and if we do it will be the first), our schemes, at least on offense will still be schemes that minimize mistakes at the cost of allowing players to make plays and when you do that, players don't grow.

socaltownie said:

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This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

It's my understanding that there is an enforcement structure set in place for the $20 million settlement agreement that will now be in place. If this is so, and a "blue blood" was to grossly violate the rules as you suggest, wouldn't Cal bring this violation to to the governing body and national attention?

Not saying JKS is a lock to stay at Cal but is money really the issue?

GO BEARS

DaveBear said:

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socaltownie said:

---

IThis is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

It's my understanding that there is an enforcement structure set in place for the $20 million settlement agreement that will now be in place. If this is so, and a "blue blood" was to grossly violate the rules as you suggest, wouldn't Cal bring this violation to to the governing body and national attention?

Not saying JKS is a lock to stay at Cal but is money really the issue?

GO BEARS

---

If I, as an alum, want to pay a player $10M to come to my kids birthday party, I am not a part of the House Settlement, so I have no legal obligation to follow it. The player is not a part of the House settlement, so they have no legal obligation to follow it. If the NCAA tries to stop a school from playing that player, both me and the player are going to sue them for interfering with our right to engage in private business dealing. The NCAA will lose. They know this. They have an enforcement structure with no teeth. They will rubber stamp everything in order to keep their jobs. If they don't, they will lose and the enforcement structure will be thrown out entirely. Bluebloods have already looked at the NCAA and said - you can't stop us.

Money is absolutely an issue.

Yeah, I'm aware that third party's under NIL can still throw money at college players. There is an oversight provision (any offers over $600 must be submitted and approved by some sort of Board) but how effective or limiting it would be remains to be seen and you may be right that this "Board" would not get in the way of the powerful and may end up rubber stamps for the wealthy boosters.

Interesting that JKS recently benefitted from a NIL opportunity doing the commercial for the Toyota Dealer Group that are Cal supporters.

GO BEARS

On the bright side, we're developing a rep as a program where young QBs can get playing time and audition for better programs. We may see some really talented guys come through here for a year.

DaveBear said:

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Yeah, I'm aware that third party's under NIL can still throw money at college players. There is an oversight provision (any offers over $600 must be submitted and approved by some sort of Board) but how effective or limiting it would be remains to be seen and you may be right that this "Board" would not get in the way of the powerful and may end up rubber stamps for the wealthy boosters.

Interesting that JKS recently benefitted from a NIL opportunity doing the commercial for the Toyota Dealer Group that are Cal supporters.

GO BEARS

---

The $20 million cap under the House settlement is for schools paying NIL out of their media revenues. This is a new source of NIL, in addition to the NIL paid by boosters which now is supposed to be submitted to a board for review.

So far the Board has not rejected any NIL deals. If they ever do, they will be sued and they will lose. The Supreme Court's decision in favor of NIL was unanimous. Everyone, the liberals, moderates and conservatives were in agreement. On what other issue has that happened? The consenting opinions from the conservatives went further and laid out the basic fact that the revenue sports are a $multibillion business, slavery is illegal and the antitrust laws fully apply. Any attempt to restrain athletes' ability to market their services, even pay to play, is illegal under the antitrust laws, with the potential for treble damages.

The House Settlement is a house of cards. It will not stand. The current players were not signatories. The boosters were not signatories. The NIL review board is a charade. Boosters may play along or they will ignore it. The NCAA and the schools like it and will try not to do anything to provoke a challenge, but it eventually will be, and it will fall.

Since we had to buy our way into the ACC and only get a fraction of a full share of our media revenues, Cal will have to get most of its $20 million the school can spend from boosters. Cal has dissolved its collective. However, Cal boosters may be less likely to donate to NIL now that the school administers it (even if it is nominally Ron Rivera in charge). Cal and Cal boosters will likely play by the unenforceable rules that other school's boosters will ignore.

Our best opportunity was our first two years in the ACC following 2 top 20 portal classes brought in by the Cal Legends, our easiest schedules in our modern history and the emergence of the two best QBs in Wilcox's 9 years. So far we are 5-9 in ACC play. College Game Day, the Calgorithm… 5-9. Now it gets tougher and it feels like there is a good chance Wilcox comes back next year for year 10.

Lol, do you blame him. Look at Mendoza. do you think hed be a Heisman candidate under Wilcox?. JKS was just good enough to save Wilcox's job and end bear football forever.
I mean does anybody hate Mendoza anymore for leaving?

I mean Ott even aid, first "no loyalty then stagnation" Did he lie.I just hope we cn get back into the Pac 2 and work our way back up to the WAC.

Its over. We've been defeated.


"People need to know when they've been defeated"
Maximus Arellius

P.S. then Brown leaves with Harsin at end of year.

That's how dumb we are, we take good luck (JKS) and use it against ourselves (He's taking us to a bowl game so we should keep Wilcox) and then we lose JKS and keep wilcox and thus we make make ourselves even weaker.

That's the Cal Way!!!

Lol, fifty on Ron giving him an extension.

TonyTiger said:

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Lol, do you blame him. Look at Mendoza. do you think hed be a Heisman candidate under Wilcox?. JKS was just good enough to save Wilcox's job and end bear football forever.
I mean does anybody hate Mendoza anymore for leaving?

I mean Ott even aid, first "no loyalty then stagnation" Did he lie.I just hope we cn get back into the Pac 2 and work our way back up to the WAC.

Its over. We've been defeated.


"People need to know when they've been defeated"
Maximus Arellius

P.S. then Brown leaves with Harsin at end of year.

That's how dumb we are, we take good luck (JKS) and use it against ourselves (He's taking us to a bowl game so we should keep Wilcox) and then we lose JKS and keep wilcox and thus we make make ourselves even weaker.

That's the Cal Way!!!

Lol, fifty on Ron giving him an extension.

---

Overly harsh, but true, as the die had long been cast.

Yikes y'all are over here wilding out

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

First thing is that we have no idea what JKS will do. We don't know he's gone. We don't know he "loves Cal through and through". We don't know any of that. He will do what is best for him based on his criteria and none of us know what that criteria is.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter about JKS specifically. Of course we want him to stay and that has a big impact on the short term, but in the grand scheme what you describe is for every player. Not just one.

IMO, there has been a lot of naivete shown, including by the NCAA, thinking that somehow there is a $20M cap. "They agreed!" No, "they" didn't. At least not all of "they". Alums will still pay NIL. And if the NCAA tries to stop anyone, they will get sued and they will lose. I think they understand that now. I fear that Cal and Cal alums do not.

But socal, it IS more than that. Mendoza is just a brutal example for us. He started getting lots of hype in the offseason based on his Cal film. And I know that left a lot of Cal fans incredulous and thinking these "experts" didn't know what they were talking about, but what has happened this year should give them pause in their assessment. If you watched the analysis, some of them were quietly pretty brutal about us. Just little comments like "Despite the scheme putting him in a bad position, he..." But if he stayed at Cal, they would not have even looked at his film. When they looked at his film, they clearly saw how the scheme, playcalling and talent around him was hampering him. They knew what was going on at Indiana and that he would not have those issues there. That is why he got the pub.

Some have diminished his success saying he makes a lot of easy throws at Indiana. THAT IS WHAT THE SCHEME IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Aaron Rodgers made a ton of easy throws at Cal. The coach is supposed to make the QB look good. The QB is supposed to make the coach look good. He has that at Indiana. He didn't have that at Cal. That has opened up a ton for him.

Some others have questioned his accuracy and I think that is another fundamental lack of understanding. A QB at a high level is not supposed to aim for the numbers anymore than a MLB pitcher aims for the middle of the plate. There is an optimal location for each pass and that location is where your receiver can best make a play and the defense cannot. That is often not on the numbers. But you need receivers who can make plays. The perfect example is Indiana's final touchdown against Penn State. That was absolutely a monster, NFL-level throw. Under tremendous pressure, not able to step into it, getting hit while he threw, a lot of QB's would have thrown that through the back of the endzone, and I believe Mendoza would have done that if he was at Cal. But he put it where his receiver could go get it with no risk that the defender could break it up or pick it. (ideally, the pass would have been 12 inches lower, but given the pressure it was an incredible throw). And the receiver made a huge play and a tremendous catch. The QB put the ball where the WR could make a play and the WR made the play. They both made each other better. That doesn't happen if Mendoza is at Cal. Just doesn't. That is just one play, but it is emblematic of so much. You watch Mendoza at Indiana and he has so much confidence in his receivers and he can make the right throw and know they will make the right play. So he can display so much more sophistication in his decision making and his throwing than he could at Cal. JKS does not have that confidence in his receivers and has to spoon feed them the easiest possible ball to catch. He is not able to display his full talent or range of ability in this offense.

If Mendoza had stayed here, he would have gotten zero pub in the offseason. I believe he would have had a very good year at Cal. He would not have the stats he has at Indiana, and he would not have been able to showcase all of his abilities to the fullest. He'd be looking at mid round pick where he'd get a low level contract and probably get thrown on a practice squad somewhere. He is going to go into the NFL as someone's top pick, get a big contract, be their QB of the future, and be given every chance to succeed, and if he doesn't, probably get another bite at the apple with a team who would take a chance on a former first round pick (heisman winner?). Even if Cal could match the cash on the table, as currently constructed they can't match that.

For that, we need a coaching staff that develops players and gives them schemes that make them look good. Remember Tedford? Even when we weren't very good, we'd have several players get drafted because they developed when they were here and were in a position to make plays on game day. Even if we have a good year under Wilcox (and if we do it will be the first), our schemes, at least on offense will still be schemes that minimize mistakes at the cost of allowing players to make plays and when you do that, players don't grow.

---

The perfect counter example to your narrative is Jared Goff.

He stayed all 3 years at Cal and was selected #1 overall in the draft. The NFL recognizes and finds talent wherever it is - Indiana, Alabama, Harvard or Cal.

Agreed Josh Allen at Wyoming, Jordan Love at Utah state, even further back with guys like Flacco at Delaware etc

75bear said:

---

BearlyCareAnymore said:

---

socaltownie said:

---

This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

---

First thing is that we have no idea what JKS will do. We don't know he's gone. We don't know he "loves Cal through and through". We don't know any of that. He will do what is best for him based on his criteria and none of us know what that criteria is.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter about JKS specifically. Of course we want him to stay and that has a big impact on the short term, but in the grand scheme what you describe is for every player. Not just one.

IMO, there has been a lot of naivete shown, including by the NCAA, thinking that somehow there is a $20M cap. "They agreed!" No, "they" didn't. At least not all of "they". Alums will still pay NIL. And if the NCAA tries to stop anyone, they will get sued and they will lose. I think they understand that now. I fear that Cal and Cal alums do not.

But socal, it IS more than that. Mendoza is just a brutal example for us. He started getting lots of hype in the offseason based on his Cal film. And I know that left a lot of Cal fans incredulous and thinking these "experts" didn't know what they were talking about, but what has happened this year should give them pause in their assessment. If you watched the analysis, some of them were quietly pretty brutal about us. Just little comments like "Despite the scheme putting him in a bad position, he..." But if he stayed at Cal, they would not have even looked at his film. When they looked at his film, they clearly saw how the scheme, playcalling and talent around him was hampering him. They knew what was going on at Indiana and that he would not have those issues there. That is why he got the pub.

Some have diminished his success saying he makes a lot of easy throws at Indiana. THAT IS WHAT THE SCHEME IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Aaron Rodgers made a ton of easy throws at Cal. The coach is supposed to make the QB look good. The QB is supposed to make the coach look good. He has that at Indiana. He didn't have that at Cal. That has opened up a ton for him.

Some others have questioned his accuracy and I think that is another fundamental lack of understanding. A QB at a high level is not supposed to aim for the numbers anymore than a MLB pitcher aims for the middle of the plate. There is an optimal location for each pass and that location is where your receiver can best make a play and the defense cannot. That is often not on the numbers. But you need receivers who can make plays. The perfect example is Indiana's final touchdown against Penn State. That was absolutely a monster, NFL-level throw. Under tremendous pressure, not able to step into it, getting hit while he threw, a lot of QB's would have thrown that through the back of the endzone, and I believe Mendoza would have done that if he was at Cal. But he put it where his receiver could go get it with no risk that the defender could break it up or pick it. (ideally, the pass would have been 12 inches lower, but given the pressure it was an incredible throw). And the receiver made a huge play and a tremendous catch. The QB put the ball where the WR could make a play and the WR made the play. They both made each other better. That doesn't happen if Mendoza is at Cal. Just doesn't. That is just one play, but it is emblematic of so much. You watch Mendoza at Indiana and he has so much confidence in his receivers and he can make the right throw and know they will make the right play. So he can display so much more sophistication in his decision making and his throwing than he could at Cal. JKS does not have that confidence in his receivers and has to spoon feed them the easiest possible ball to catch. He is not able to display his full talent or range of ability in this offense.

If Mendoza had stayed here, he would have gotten zero pub in the offseason. I believe he would have had a very good year at Cal. He would not have the stats he has at Indiana, and he would not have been able to showcase all of his abilities to the fullest. He'd be looking at mid round pick where he'd get a low level contract and probably get thrown on a practice squad somewhere. He is going to go into the NFL as someone's top pick, get a big contract, be their QB of the future, and be given every chance to succeed, and if he doesn't, probably get another bite at the apple with a team who would take a chance on a former first round pick (heisman winner?). Even if Cal could match the cash on the table, as currently constructed they can't match that.

For that, we need a coaching staff that develops players and gives them schemes that make them look good. Remember Tedford? Even when we weren't very good, we'd have several players get drafted because they developed when they were here and were in a position to make plays on game day. Even if we have a good year under Wilcox (and if we do it will be the first), our schemes, at least on offense will still be schemes that minimize mistakes at the cost of allowing players to make plays and when you do that, players don't grow.

---

The perfect counter example to your narrative is Jared Goff.

He stayed all 3 years at Cal and was selected #1 overall in the draft. The NFL recognizes and finds talent wherever it is - Indiana, Alabama, Harvard or Cal.

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Um no. Goff had very good offensive coaches and a scheme that showcased his talents and awesome wide receivers. None of which we have. All of which were key to my point. And our offenses were well known for productivity so they did have the ability to get some PR because his stats were eye popping. The problem with those teams was dreadful defense. It isn't "Cal". It isn't laundry. It is the current program. Honestly, you might as well cite Craig Morton as proof. It's about as relevant to the current program.

But to the points socaltownie brings up, there was no NIL and Goff was a Cal legacy so keeping him was easy.

SLTX Bear said:

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Agreed Josh Allen at Wyoming, Jordan Love at Utah state, even further back with guys like Flacco at Delaware etc

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The fact that it is possible is not an argument that you don't seriously increase your odds. And when you have the ability to move as players now do and you can increase your odds, you will do that. Flacco would never end at Delaware now.

I mean, if LSU (or a similar program) is offering 50% more NIL money, that is hard to top, no matter your coaching staff's reputation. I know Cal will bring a competitive offer but all this stuff about Wilcox system sucks etc doesn't play a role if you aren't in the same ballpark money wise.

BearlyCareAnymore said:

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SLTX Bear said:

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Agreed Josh Allen at Wyoming, Jordan Love at Utah state, even further back with guys like Flacco at Delaware etc

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The fact that it is possible is not an argument that you don't seriously increase your odds. And when you have the ability to move as players now do and you can increase your odds, you will do that. Flacco would never end at Delaware now.

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I agree he would not end at Delaware now but the point is the talent will get found. It's great for dudes like Bryce Young or Justin Fields that their programs got them paid by surrounding them with talent, doesn't make them NFL studs by any stretch. Fernando made the right decision for his future, at the same time he is a huge ******, a phony individual l, and has a future as a politician reading off a teleprompter. Good for him.

We cannot compare Jared Goff to JKS. Its not even in the same realm. That's like saying Intel is the largest chip maker during the heyday and so i am guessing in 2025 they are still the largest chip maker. Its not even comparable. The world is different now. NIL, transfer portals, transfer rules, all different.

All the concerns listed by every poster up there is valid. This doesn't even take into account the 8 figure infusion that each big 10 school is projected to get.

So if each big10 school gets 100M, invest it, use the interest to fund coaching salary, it frees up all of their boosters to go fund NIL. Meanwhile, we rely on our boosters and fans for coaching salary, coaching buyout, NIL, everything. Our athletic department operates in the red.

we are not even in the same world. Pretty soon QBs will make 7M, 10M, 15M a year in college with the way things are going and there is nothing any of us can do to stop it

BearlyCareAnymore said:

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75bear said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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socaltownie said:

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This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

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First thing is that we have no idea what JKS will do. We don't know he's gone. We don't know he "loves Cal through and through". We don't know any of that. He will do what is best for him based on his criteria and none of us know what that criteria is.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter about JKS specifically. Of course we want him to stay and that has a big impact on the short term, but in the grand scheme what you describe is for every player. Not just one.

IMO, there has been a lot of naivete shown, including by the NCAA, thinking that somehow there is a $20M cap. "They agreed!" No, "they" didn't. At least not all of "they". Alums will still pay NIL. And if the NCAA tries to stop anyone, they will get sued and they will lose. I think they understand that now. I fear that Cal and Cal alums do not.

But socal, it IS more than that. Mendoza is just a brutal example for us. He started getting lots of hype in the offseason based on his Cal film. And I know that left a lot of Cal fans incredulous and thinking these "experts" didn't know what they were talking about, but what has happened this year should give them pause in their assessment. If you watched the analysis, some of them were quietly pretty brutal about us. Just little comments like "Despite the scheme putting him in a bad position, he..." But if he stayed at Cal, they would not have even looked at his film. When they looked at his film, they clearly saw how the scheme, playcalling and talent around him was hampering him. They knew what was going on at Indiana and that he would not have those issues there. That is why he got the pub.

Some have diminished his success saying he makes a lot of easy throws at Indiana. THAT IS WHAT THE SCHEME IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Aaron Rodgers made a ton of easy throws at Cal. The coach is supposed to make the QB look good. The QB is supposed to make the coach look good. He has that at Indiana. He didn't have that at Cal. That has opened up a ton for him.

Some others have questioned his accuracy and I think that is another fundamental lack of understanding. A QB at a high level is not supposed to aim for the numbers anymore than a MLB pitcher aims for the middle of the plate. There is an optimal location for each pass and that location is where your receiver can best make a play and the defense cannot. That is often not on the numbers. But you need receivers who can make plays. The perfect example is Indiana's final touchdown against Penn State. That was absolutely a monster, NFL-level throw. Under tremendous pressure, not able to step into it, getting hit while he threw, a lot of QB's would have thrown that through the back of the endzone, and I believe Mendoza would have done that if he was at Cal. But he put it where his receiver could go get it with no risk that the defender could break it up or pick it. (ideally, the pass would have been 12 inches lower, but given the pressure it was an incredible throw). And the receiver made a huge play and a tremendous catch. The QB put the ball where the WR could make a play and the WR made the play. They both made each other better. That doesn't happen if Mendoza is at Cal. Just doesn't. That is just one play, but it is emblematic of so much. You watch Mendoza at Indiana and he has so much confidence in his receivers and he can make the right throw and know they will make the right play. So he can display so much more sophistication in his decision making and his throwing than he could at Cal. JKS does not have that confidence in his receivers and has to spoon feed them the easiest possible ball to catch. He is not able to display his full talent or range of ability in this offense.

If Mendoza had stayed here, he would have gotten zero pub in the offseason. I believe he would have had a very good year at Cal. He would not have the stats he has at Indiana, and he would not have been able to showcase all of his abilities to the fullest. He'd be looking at mid round pick where he'd get a low level contract and probably get thrown on a practice squad somewhere. He is going to go into the NFL as someone's top pick, get a big contract, be their QB of the future, and be given every chance to succeed, and if he doesn't, probably get another bite at the apple with a team who would take a chance on a former first round pick (heisman winner?). Even if Cal could match the cash on the table, as currently constructed they can't match that.

For that, we need a coaching staff that develops players and gives them schemes that make them look good. Remember Tedford? Even when we weren't very good, we'd have several players get drafted because they developed when they were here and were in a position to make plays on game day. Even if we have a good year under Wilcox (and if we do it will be the first), our schemes, at least on offense will still be schemes that minimize mistakes at the cost of allowing players to make plays and when you do that, players don't grow.

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The perfect counter example to your narrative is Jared Goff.

He stayed all 3 years at Cal and was selected #1 overall in the draft. The NFL recognizes and finds talent wherever it is - Indiana, Alabama, Harvard or Cal.

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Um no. Goff had very good offensive coaches and a scheme that showcased his talents and awesome wide receivers. None of which we have. All of which were key to my point. And our offenses were well known for productivity so they did have the ability to get some PR because his stats were eye popping. The problem with those teams was dreadful defense. It isn't "Cal". It isn't laundry. It is the current program. Honestly, you might as well cite Craig Morton as proof. It's about as relevant to the current program.

But to the points socaltownie brings up, there was no NIL and Goff was a Cal legacy so keeping him was easy.

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Exactly. In 2015 Cal was the #8 offense, #6 in yards per play and we were the #3 passing offense behind only WSU with Mike Leach at HC and Texas Tech with Kliff Kingsbury at HC and Patrick Mahomes at QB.

75bear said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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socaltownie said:

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This is the reality guys. Get used to it.

It isn't a complete no brainer but he has an opportunity to build life changing intergenerational wealth. It isn't clear that a particular program or situation matters hugely for his NFL draft stock. Has all the throws and physical abilities (not like Cal over Bama will help him grow taller).

The difference is that there are programs that can possibly spend 8 figures on him. Administrations that essentially take the approach "**** the NCAA. We want a Natty. Try to Punish us. We are a blue blood and EVERYONE from the Governor on down has our back." I think so many of you don't get that. It isn't (only) that they have lower academic standards. It is that their commitment to having ICA wage the Dog of Higher ed is near unfathomable to many of you. And so a young man, with the opportunity to take home 10 million gross over 2-3 million gross is going to make a business decision. Just like ALL of US would. Yes. We love X. But if an employer comes to you offer 3X and everything else seems about a wash.....you take the 3X.

That is the world Cal will live in until the powers that be decide it isn't.,

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First thing is that we have no idea what JKS will do. We don't know he's gone. We don't know he "loves Cal through and through". We don't know any of that. He will do what is best for him based on his criteria and none of us know what that criteria is.

To a large extent, it doesn't matter about JKS specifically. Of course we want him to stay and that has a big impact on the short term, but in the grand scheme what you describe is for every player. Not just one.

IMO, there has been a lot of naivete shown, including by the NCAA, thinking that somehow there is a $20M cap. "They agreed!" No, "they" didn't. At least not all of "they". Alums will still pay NIL. And if the NCAA tries to stop anyone, they will get sued and they will lose. I think they understand that now. I fear that Cal and Cal alums do not.

But socal, it IS more than that. Mendoza is just a brutal example for us. He started getting lots of hype in the offseason based on his Cal film. And I know that left a lot of Cal fans incredulous and thinking these "experts" didn't know what they were talking about, but what has happened this year should give them pause in their assessment. If you watched the analysis, some of them were quietly pretty brutal about us. Just little comments like "Despite the scheme putting him in a bad position, he..." But if he stayed at Cal, they would not have even looked at his film. When they looked at his film, they clearly saw how the scheme, playcalling and talent around him was hampering him. They knew what was going on at Indiana and that he would not have those issues there. That is why he got the pub.

Some have diminished his success saying he makes a lot of easy throws at Indiana. THAT IS WHAT THE SCHEME IS SUPPOSED TO DO. Aaron Rodgers made a ton of easy throws at Cal. The coach is supposed to make the QB look good. The QB is supposed to make the coach look good. He has that at Indiana. He didn't have that at Cal. That has opened up a ton for him.

Some others have questioned his accuracy and I think that is another fundamental lack of understanding. A QB at a high level is not supposed to aim for the numbers anymore than a MLB pitcher aims for the middle of the plate. There is an optimal location for each pass and that location is where your receiver can best make a play and the defense cannot. That is often not on the numbers. But you need receivers who can make plays. The perfect example is Indiana's final touchdown against Penn State. That was absolutely a monster, NFL-level throw. Under tremendous pressure, not able to step into it, getting hit while he threw, a lot of QB's would have thrown that through the back of the endzone, and I believe Mendoza would have done that if he was at Cal. But he put it where his receiver could go get it with no risk that the defender could break it up or pick it. (ideally, the pass would have been 12 inches lower, but given the pressure it was an incredible throw). And the receiver made a huge play and a tremendous catch. The QB put the ball where the WR could make a play and the WR made the play. They both made each other better. That doesn't happen if Mendoza is at Cal. Just doesn't. That is just one play, but it is emblematic of so much. You watch Mendoza at Indiana and he has so much confidence in his receivers and he can make the right throw and know they will make the right play. So he can display so much more sophistication in his decision making and his throwing than he could at Cal. JKS does not have that confidence in his receivers and has to spoon feed them the easiest possible ball to catch. He is not able to display his full talent or range of ability in this offense.

If Mendoza had stayed here, he would have gotten zero pub in the offseason. I believe he would have had a very good year at Cal. He would not have the stats he has at Indiana, and he would not have been able to showcase all of his abilities to the fullest. He'd be looking at mid round pick where he'd get a low level contract and probably get thrown on a practice squad somewhere. He is going to go into the NFL as someone's top pick, get a big contract, be their QB of the future, and be given every chance to succeed, and if he doesn't, probably get another bite at the apple with a team who would take a chance on a former first round pick (heisman winner?). Even if Cal could match the cash on the table, as currently constructed they can't match that.

For that, we need a coaching staff that develops players and gives them schemes that make them look good. Remember Tedford? Even when we weren't very good, we'd have several players get drafted because they developed when they were here and were in a position to make plays on game day. Even if we have a good year under Wilcox (and if we do it will be the first), our schemes, at least on offense will still be schemes that minimize mistakes at the cost of allowing players to make plays and when you do that, players don't grow.

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The perfect counter example to your narrative is Jared Goff.

He stayed all 3 years at Cal and was selected #1 overall in the draft. The NFL recognizes and finds talent wherever it is - Indiana, Alabama, Harvard or Cal.

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I don't think this tracks. Goff was able to put up some eye watering numbers in part because of the offensive identity, the play calling, and our defense giving our offense everything they could eat, and then some. He had solid skill players as well, which we really don't have right now.

asking JKS this question with 3 games left seems a little cringey to me.

Dude has played ten games. We'll get the answer soon enough.

With the combine the NFL finds talent. You see it EVERY year where guys move up and down _ALOT_ based upon their performance there. I mean if you told me that there was a QB who over 2 seasons threw 64 TD passes (against 11 interceptions) and have a completion rate of 75% you might go "wow". Lead his program from the depths of ****dom to relevancy. Double wow. First day lock right.

Ask Sheduer how the Browns practice squad is.

I do think Medenzo will play on Sunday. I do NOT think his draft stock was impacted negatively or positively by being at Indiana. I do think he is a serviceable NFL QB but not a franchise defining one.


PS. The biggest risk for Mendoza remaining is the CFB and possibly the championship game against tOSU. Indiana's schedule to date has been "meh" in a very top heavy B1G. His performance against oregon was good but not dominating (Indy's defense won that game). The NFL is a league so much more talented than CFB and so what scouts will be looking at is how Mendoza performs against NFL capable Defense in tOSU. If he lays a turd his draft stock could fall. I doubt out of the first round but could fall.

What are the knocks on Fernando as an NFL guy? Happy feet, lack of arm strength, meh in mobility. I am thinking long and hard on the board taking him over Dante Moore and even Simmons at Bama. It will depend on how the board pans out and never underestimate the Raiders endless quest for a talkied about QB that gets in the ear of Davis the Younger.

Mendoza is the best QB in the upcoming draft, he will be the first QB picked.

If FM finishes out the season well ( no eggs layed in CFP) he will mostly go 1st round.

Cal and JW fumbled that bag admit it will there be lessons learned or was a fix too late to save face and hold on to JKS .

These offensive issues started from day 1 of his tenure.

We shall see how things work out

socaltownie said:

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With the combine the NFL finds talent. You see it EVERY year where guys move up and down _ALOT_ based upon their performance there. I mean if you told me that there was a QB who over 2 seasons threw 64 TD passes (against 11 interceptions) and have a completion rate of 75% you might go "wow". Lead his program from the depths of ****dom to relevancy. Double wow. First day lock right.

Ask Sheduer how the Browns practice squad is.

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On the other end of the spectrum, you have guys that were decent in college, put up amazing numbers at the combine, and then crashed and burned in the NFL, like #2 pick Zach Wilson

bearfan93 said:

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asking JKS this question with 3 games left seems a little cringey to me.

Dude has played ten games. We'll get the answer soon enough.

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I agree on this. He's not going to answer. Why put him in the position. And frankly, Jason Kidd sounded all in on coming back 2 days before he announced he was leaving. Their answers mean nothing even if they sound like they do.

I think the questions are fair for the GM and the coach, but I guess I don't feel we should put 18 year old players through the same thing. (though I guess they are getting paid, so there is that)

socaltownie said:

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With the combine the NFL finds talent. You see it EVERY year where guys move up and down _ALOT_ based upon their performance there. I mean if you told me that there was a QB who over 2 seasons threw 64 TD passes (against 11 interceptions) and have a completion rate of 75% you might go "wow". Lead his program from the depths of ****dom to relevancy. Double wow. First day lock right.

Ask Sheduer how the Browns practice squad is.

I do think Medenzo will play on Sunday. I do NOT think his draft stock was impacted negatively or positively by being at Indiana. I do think he is a serviceable NFL QB but not a franchise defining one.


PS. The biggest risk for Mendoza remaining is the CFB and possibly the championship game against tOSU. Indiana's schedule to date has been "meh" in a very top heavy B1G. His performance against oregon was good but not dominating (Indy's defense won that game). The NFL is a league so much more talented than CFB and so what scouts will be looking at is how Mendoza performs against NFL capable Defense in tOSU. If he lays a turd his draft stock could fall. I doubt out of the first round but could fall.

What are the knocks on Fernando as an NFL guy? Happy feet, lack of arm strength, meh in mobility. I am thinking long and hard on the board taking him over Dante Moore and even Simmons at Bama. It will depend on how the board pans out and never underestimate the Raiders endless quest for a talkied about QB that gets in the ear of Davis the Younger.

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I'm sorry socal, but the bolded take is absolutely insane. He is literally the most talked about college player this year. The NFL is not THAT good at cutting through the noise and finding every guy at every school no matter what the PR is.

ESPN polled 25 NFL scouts and 13 picked Mendoza as QB1. (next vote getter was Moore with 6). Some NFL scout comments:

"He has 'wow' throws and playmaking passer ability,"
"He can anticipate post-snap."
"He's decisive, and he sees everything well. He's got accuracy down the field and is very tough in the pocket."
"He can throw to all three levels"

NFL scouts are just not seeing the same weaknesses Cal fans are seeing and IMO much of that is because Cal fans are not distinguishing between Cal weaknesses (or more Wilcox weaknesses) and Mendoza weaknesses. He definitely does not have happy feet at Indiana and it is seen as a strength that he hangs in the pocket and makes tough throws.

Some team may love Moore more or even someone else we don't anticipate, but that is the draft game. He will be one of the first QB's taken.

And going back to they "insane" take, there is no way NFL scouts would have spent nearly as much time with his film if he was at Cal. And I'd also say that you do not consider enough how good he is at adjusting his target to maximize his WR's ability to make plays and how much he would have had to dumb down that ability on a team where the receivers have zero ability to make tough plays.

As for Sanders, he seems to be the poster child for falling down the draft board, but a lot of teams just didn't want to deal with the perceived baggage. He was exceptionally hurt by that, fairly or not.

SLTX Bear said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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SLTX Bear said:

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Agreed Josh Allen at Wyoming, Jordan Love at Utah state, even further back with guys like Flacco at Delaware etc

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The fact that it is possible is not an argument that you don't seriously increase your odds. And when you have the ability to move as players now do and you can increase your odds, you will do that. Flacco would never end at Delaware now.

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I agree he would not end at Delaware now but the point is the talent will get found. It's great for dudes like Bryce Young or Justin Fields that their programs got them paid by surrounding them with talent, doesn't make them NFL studs by any stretch. Fernando made the right decision for his future, at the same time he is a huge ******, a phony individual l, and has a future as a politician reading off a teleprompter. Good for him.

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Does it get found? See the problem is you don't know who didn't get found because they didn't get found.

On the subject of Delaware QB's, Rich Gannon didn't get found. He got drafted in the fourth round by a team that wanted to convert him to WR or RB and traded him immediately when he refused. He got no chances for 3 years. He spent 11 years as mostly everyone's favorite journeyman backup getting a lot of time playing for guys that got hurt. After 11 years, one team decided he was their guy, went out and signed him as a free agent with the commitment he was going to start. He went to the next 4 pro bowls, was All Pro twice, and won an NFL MVP. Was he Joe Montana or Tom Brady? No. But he was good enough to win an MVP. A guy who could win the NFL MVP did not get found in college and did not get found until year 12. How much more of a career would he have had if he was found when he was 22 instead of 32? I don't know. Maybe he just found the right situation. What would have happened to him if Jon Gruden doesn't get sick of all arm and no brain Jeff George and convince Al Davis to dump the guy and go with a smart QB. Very good chance he never gets found.

And, Jeff George got found. Got a #1 pick. And because of that got every opportunity to keep tanking teams for 9 years as a starter with 3 teams giving him the keys. And that dude was brain dead. That is what you get when you don't have to wait to get found.

BearlyCareAnymore said:

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The NFL is not THAT good at cutting through the noise and finding every guy at every school no matter what the PR is.

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On the contrary -- the NFL does well at finding talented players wherever they are. Jared Goff was the first pick in the NFL draft. Jerry Rice was a first round pick after playing at MIssissippi Valley State, an HBCU that none of us would ever have heard of if Rice had not played college football there.

Quote:

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... NFL scouts... 13 picked Mendoza as QB1 (next vote getter was Moore with 6).

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That means Oregon will likely be in the market for another transfer QB.

As for Mendoza... Very good players want to play on a team full of other very good players, and the transfer portal gives in-demand players the opportunity to find a team full of very good players if there aren't enough of them on their current team. That, IMO, is more important for top players than the dollar value of competing NIL offers. So, the best way to keep a player who has an opportunity to transfer is to recruit (whether from HS or the portal) a whole bunch of other really good players. (This is also an important factor in college basketball, but that's for another discussion.)

Recruiting is by far the #1 failing of the Wilcox regime, and the ability of players to freely transfer further emphasizes that failure. It's much more difficult for a marginal team to keep a future high NFL draft pick when he is being recruited by a team stocked with linemen who are good at pass protection and receivers who are good at making difficult catches, and he looks around and doesn't see enough guys like that on his current team.

BearSD said:

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BearlyCareAnymore said:

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The NFL is not THAT good at cutting through the noise and finding every guy at every school no matter what the PR is.

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On the contrary -- the NFL does well at finding talented players wherever they are. Jared Goff was the first pick in the NFL draft. Jerry Rice was a first round pick after playing at MIssissippi Valley State, an HBCU that none of us would ever have heard of if Rice had not played college football there.

Quote:

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... NFL scouts... 13 picked Mendoza as QB1 (next vote getter was Moore with 6).

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That means Oregon will likely be in the market for another transfer QB.

As for Mendoza... Very good players want to play on a team full of other very good players, and the transfer portal gives in-demand players the opportunity to find a team full of very good players if there aren't enough of them on their current team. That, IMO, is more important for top players than the dollar value of competing NIL offers. So, the best way to keep a player who has an opportunity to transfer is to recruit (whether from HS or the portal) a whole bunch of other really good players. (This is also an important factor in college basketball, but that's for another discussion.)

Recruiting is by far the #1 failing of the Wilcox regime, and the ability of players to freely transfer further emphasizes that failure. It's much more difficult for a marginal team to keep a future high NFL draft pick when he is being recruited by a team stocked with linemen who are good at pass protection and receivers who are good at making difficult catches, and he looks around and doesn't see enough guys like that on his current team.

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You guys keep mentioning Jared Goff. He played in one of the most prolific offenses in the country. He broke the single season record in passing yards and passing tds for the conference - a power conference. He was third in the country in passing yards behind 2 guys playing at a much lower level and #4 was Mahomes who was a sophomore. And it was a subpar QB class. No one found Jared Goff. He was the most obvious QB pick of the year.

Rice was 40 years ago, but he wasn't a secret. He broke nearly every NCAA record. He was invited to the all star games and was MVP of the Blue Gray game (senior all star game for you young-uns).

But yes, the NFL is good at finding talent which is why I emphasized the word THAT in my statement. They absolutely have a much easier time finding guys off the weekly Heisman and All Star watch lists. For every guy you can name that wasn't a household name at the time they were drafted, you can find many household names who got drafted and flamed out. Or we can name guys who got drafted low or went undrafted and succeeded.

Again, the point isn't can you get found. The point is what increases your odds. Back in the day (not that long ago), once you made your pick of a program, it was hard to get out and normally not worth it to a guy who wanted to get drafted because he would delay that by a full year. Now, when you can immediately transfer, players increase their odds.

Jerry Rice absolutely would have transferred to a top program today and frankly probably would have gotten drafted well before 16. But most guys aren't the greatest player of all time at their position and it can be the difference between 5th round and 1st round instead of the difference between #16 and #5.

What difference does that make? Take Brock Purdy. He was Mr. Irrelevant. His coach told his owner he was the best QB on the team, but they started their awful 1st round pick anyway because they had spent so much on him (an incredibly stupid pick, by the way that was entirely driven by hype). Only reason Purdy played is because Lance got hurt.

If Cal wants to compete for talent, it absolutely has to change the narrative and become a place where no one has to "find" you. Tedford was able to do that. Dykes was able to do that on offense. It can be done. But the idea of "they will find you wherever" is absolutely antiquated when players don't need to take that chance.