As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

Big C on BART today...

B.A. Bearacus said:

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Big C on BART today...

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Background music playing softly: California Dreamin'

Moraga be like: just keep watching...

Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

Lotta resources to go after someone like that. Cost benefit says 4's and high 3's in numbers will pay off better. And, not across country unless the guy falls to you from the sky.

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

---

And, it depends on the position. No one's following a 5* OL or even WR. Has to be a QB or a RB - they have to be seen as being able to make their followers better.

Same with D. Has to be a rush end or MLB. An S or NT will not do it. To have a coattail effect, the followers have to see themselves as being made better by this guy.

Rushinbear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

---

And, it depends on the position. No one's following a 5* OL or even WR. Has to be a QB or a RB - they have to be seen as being able to make their followers better.

Same with D. Has to be a rush end or MLB. An S or NT will not do it. To have a coattail effect, the followers have to see themselves as being made better by this guy.

---

Basically I agree but there are exceptions (DeSean Jackson). It really has to be a high profile guy who is really well known in either the LA (preferably) area or Bay Area. What makes it so hard to sign these guys now is that most of them are signing to play outside the P12. It wasn't like that back in the day....

71Bear said:

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Rushinbear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

---

And, it depends on the position. No one's following a 5* OL or even WR. Has to be a QB or a RB - they have to be seen as being able to make their followers better.

Same with D. Has to be a rush end or MLB. An S or NT will not do it. To have a coattail effect, the followers have to see themselves as being made better by this guy.

---

Basically I agree but there are exceptions (DeSean Jackson). It really has to be a high profile guy who is really well known in either the LA (preferably) area or Bay Area. What makes it so hard to sign these guys now is that most of them are signing to play outside the P12. It wasn't like that back in the day....

---

Speaking of... I saw a mock draft over the weekend and the first round had only TWO Pac 12 guys (somebody from UW and somebody from WSU). Holy Moly: Between Oregon, Cal, Furd, UCLA, FREAKING U$C, the Arizonas, CU and Utah and ZERO players in the first round (projected)?!? That's a talent drain!

EDIT: In the ACTUAL draft, the Pac 12 also snuck in the WR from ASU as the last pick in the 1st round. So that makes three. Pretty weak, nonetheless.

Rushinbear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

Lotta resources to go after someone like that. Cost benefit says 4's and high 3's in numbers will pay off better. And, not across country unless the guy falls to you from the sky.

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

---

And, it depends on the position. No one's following a 5* OL or even WR. Has to be a QB or a RB - they have to be seen as being able to make their followers better.

Same with D. Has to be a rush end or MLB. An S or NT will not do it. To have a coattail effect, the followers have to see themselves as being made better by this guy.

---

It matters, too, where they're from and when they sign: D-Rob was a five-star, but from across the country and he signed after the initial LOI date (IIRC).

Of course, Keenan Allen gave us that "Carolina Boost", but part of that was in reverse (took Maynard to get to Keenan).

Big C said:

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Rushinbear said:

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71Bear said:

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Big C said:

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As I believe 71Bear has wisely opined, this program could greatly benefit from landing a "big fish" recruit, the kind of guy who would raise a few eyebrows around the West Coast college football world and send notice to the top HS sophomores and juniors that Cal Football has some cachet. Somebody like Russell White was in the late '80s, or DeSean Jackson was, or Najee Harris could've been (sigh).

Having five stars would be nice, but it's more than that. Maybe a player who's a fairly well-known star in NorCal (or even SoCal). Maybe a top guy from DLS that opens a pipeline.

Any chance we snag somebody like that this year? Who might it be and what are our chances?

Lotta resources to go after someone like that. Cost benefit says 4's and high 3's in numbers will pay off better. And, not across country unless the guy falls to you from the sky.

---

Yep it was me. As Bruce Snyder once said - Russell White is a "pied piper-type of recruit". Where he goes, others follow. Cal desperately needs a guy like that. Until they do, seven wins is the ceiling.

---

And, it depends on the position. No one's following a 5* OL or even WR. Has to be a QB or a RB - they have to be seen as being able to make their followers better.

Same with D. Has to be a rush end or MLB. An S or NT will not do it. To have a coattail effect, the followers have to see themselves as being made better by this guy.

---

It matters, too, where they're from and when they sign: D-Rob was a five-star, but from across the country and he signed after the initial LOI date (IIRC).

Of course, Keenan Allen gave us that "Carolina Boost", but part of that was in reverse (took Maynard to get to Keenan).

---

Absolutely! That is why I noted the LA area and the Bay Area (in that order) as the key areas. You may get a one-off from elsewhere but a California guy can be the needed "pied piper".

71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

I love stuff like this because whoever writes it always leaves out the other half of the equation.

For every game your favorite team shoulda won, there is invariably one they shoulda lost.

For example, the writer cited two games Cal shoulda won but failed to note that Cal shoulda lost the UW game (thanks Coach Peterson for taking Browning out) and the SC game (thanks Iman Marshall for your stupid taunting penalty).

Coach Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. Ain't it the truth. Cal was 7-5 and that record accurately reflects their performance.

71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

I love stuff like this because whoever writes it always leaves out the other half of the equation.

For every game your favorite team shoulda won, there is invariably one they shoulda lost.

For example, the writer cited two games Cal shoulda won but failed to note that Cal shoulda lost the UW game (thanks Coach Peterson for taking Browning out) and the SC game (thanks Iman Marshall for your stupid taunting penalty).

Coach Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. Ain't it the truth. Cal was 7-5 and that record accurately reflects their performance.

---

I will stick to what we controlled, and we let 3 games get away. If Petersen or Helton want to give us the games why should I discount that? Sure it can even out, but the ones we controlled had a very consistent and addressable pattern -- Baldwin's incredibly inexplicable decisions.

Further, I won't say we would have won those games, but they also affected the Oregon and UCLA games too. That just goes to show you how incredible our D was and how much damage Baldwin did to our team last season. One guy.

I am not sure why you are so staunchly loyal to him. 2017 was not impressive and 2018 was a disaster on offense. Do I want him to succeed and be wrong about all this -- of course. But the basis for your trust in Baldwin is Eastern Washington. I repeat: Eastern Washington.

KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

I love stuff like this because whoever writes it always leaves out the other half of the equation.

For every game your favorite team shoulda won, there is invariably one they shoulda lost.

For example, the writer cited two games Cal shoulda won but failed to note that Cal shoulda lost the UW game (thanks Coach Peterson for taking Browning out) and the SC game (thanks Iman Marshall for your stupid taunting penalty).

Coach Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. Ain't it the truth. Cal was 7-5 and that record accurately reflects their performance.

---

I will stick to what we controlled, and we let 3 games get away. If Petersen or Helton want to give us the games why should I discount that? Sure it can even out, but the ones we controlled had a very consistent and addressable pattern -- Baldwin's incredibly inexplicable decisions.

Further, I won't say we would have won those games, but they also affected the Oregon and UCLA games too. That just goes to show you how incredible our D was and how much damage Baldwin did to our team last season. One guy.

I am not sure why you are so staunchly loyal to him. 2017 was not impressive and 2018 was a disaster on offense. Do I want him to succeed and be wrong about all this -- of course. But the basis for your trust in Baldwin is Eastern Washington. I repeat: Eastern Washington.

---

I like Baldwin and I like Garbers. Do I think they are superstars? Nope. Do I think they will do a good job this fall? Yep. And do I agree the Bill Parcells' quote that I cited? Absolutely.

In the imaginary world of "everything goes right for us and wrong for them", Cal would have many Rose Bowl championships. In the real world, they choked away Bruce Snyder and Jeff Tedford lost his mind. Oh well.....

I feel like we have this same conversation every year. It's sort of why I prefer having a simplified system rather than a pro-style one -- we can't bank on highly-rated skill players to land on our team considering all of the restrictions (both natural and self-imposed) that exist in our program.

71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

I love stuff like this because whoever writes it always leaves out the other half of the equation.

For every game your favorite team shoulda won, there is invariably one they shoulda lost.

For example, the writer cited two games Cal shoulda won but failed to note that Cal shoulda lost the UW game (thanks Coach Peterson for taking Browning out) and the SC game (thanks Iman Marshall for your stupid taunting penalty).

Coach Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. Ain't it the truth. Cal was 7-5 and that record accurately reflects their performance.

---

I will stick to what we controlled, and we let 3 games get away. If Petersen or Helton want to give us the games why should I discount that? Sure it can even out, but the ones we controlled had a very consistent and addressable pattern -- Baldwin's incredibly inexplicable decisions.

Further, I won't say we would have won those games, but they also affected the Oregon and UCLA games too. That just goes to show you how incredible our D was and how much damage Baldwin did to our team last season. One guy.

I am not sure why you are so staunchly loyal to him. 2017 was not impressive and 2018 was a disaster on offense. Do I want him to succeed and be wrong about all this -- of course. But the basis for your trust in Baldwin is Eastern Washington. I repeat: Eastern Washington.

---

I like Baldwin and I like Garbers. Do I think they are superstars? Nope. Do I think they will do a good job this fall? Yep. And do I agree the Bill Parcells' quote that I cited? Absolutely.

In the imaginary world of "everything goes right for us and wrong for them", Cal would have many Rose Bowl championships. In the real world, they choked away Bruce Snyder and Jeff Tedford lost his mind. Oh well.....

---

Now you do have the Dennis Green antidote to that, "The Bears are who we THOUGHT they were," meaning we sometimes can give games away and our record not reflect who we are lol.

In any case my friend, I am hoping for 12-0 this season, and adjust week to week.

KoreAmBear said:

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We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

We weren't a 10-3 team. That's just Cal fan "what it" nonsense.

I'll play...

KoreAm Bear is right. We choked away three games exactly as he described. All the game scores were close, because we had a great defense and no offense. It is painful to contemplate even now...If Garbers is still the starter he won't get much time from me to prove he deserves it. Same goes for Baldwin's offense. Cal,will have a great defense again. We cannot waste this season.

Chase Forrest's passer rating by year:
2015 138.4
2017 94.5
2018 49.7

In 2016 we had the top offense in the PAC-12. Over the last two years we have had the worst. We played 4 QBs, guys who were 4, 5 stars. It is not the QBs.

Buh, again?

KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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71Bear said:

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MoragaBear said:

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They won 8 under Dykes with a poor defense.

You could say until they bring in more talent, 7 wins or less will likely be the norm, but no reason for that to be the ceiling. WSU and several other programs disprove that every year.

---

Cal has not won eight games in the regular season since 2009. I can't see that happening again until they sign a guy who is so good that others want to be part of the class. We can wish but wishing does not make it so.

---

Cal should have been 9-3 in the regular season with the talent we had.

Our offensive coordinator gave two games away, Arizona and Wazzu, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable decisions regarding McIlwain (which was no fault of McIlwain). Then we should have been 10-3 after the bowl game (well we would have gone to a better bowl to begin with), again, not because of lack of talent, but because of inexplicable play calling in the red zone. Wilcox coached up the D all year and BB just decided to play fast and loose and give gifts to other teams. It would have been incredible leverage for us to wind up at 10-3, and I would gather that we would have had more 4 or 5 stars looking at us today. 7-6 just does not have the appeal of 10-3. We were a 10-3 team but for one guy. I sure hope adding QB responsibilities changes everything. *sigh*

---

I love stuff like this because whoever writes it always leaves out the other half of the equation.

For every game your favorite team shoulda won, there is invariably one they shoulda lost.

For example, the writer cited two games Cal shoulda won but failed to note that Cal shoulda lost the UW game (thanks Coach Peterson for taking Browning out) and the SC game (thanks Iman Marshall for your stupid taunting penalty).

Coach Parcells once said you are what your record says you are. Ain't it the truth. Cal was 7-5 and that record accurately reflects their performance.

---

I will stick to what we controlled, and we let 3 games get away. If Petersen or Helton want to give us the games why should I discount that? Sure it can even out, but the ones we controlled had a very consistent and addressable pattern -- Baldwin's incredibly inexplicable decisions.

Further, I won't say we would have won those games, but they also affected the Oregon and UCLA games too. That just goes to show you how incredible our D was and how much damage Baldwin did to our team last season. One guy.

I am not sure why you are so staunchly loyal to him. 2017 was not impressive and 2018 was a disaster on offense. Do I want him to succeed and be wrong about all this -- of course. But the basis for your trust in Baldwin is Eastern Washington. I repeat: Eastern Washington.

---

I like Baldwin and I like Garbers. Do I think they are superstars? Nope. Do I think they will do a good job this fall? Yep. And do I agree the Bill Parcells' quote that I cited? Absolutely.

In the imaginary world of "everything goes right for us and wrong for them", Cal would have many Rose Bowl championships. In the real world, they choked away Bruce Snyder and Jeff Tedford lost his mind. Oh well.....

---

Now you do have the Dennis Green antidote to that, "The Bears are who we THOUGHT they were," meaning we sometimes can give games away and our record not reflect who we are lol.

In any case my friend, I am hoping for 12-0 this season, and adjust week to week.

---

Heck, I am hoping for a repeat of last year's 7-5 mark. The schedule is tougher (odd year) and the flip of AZ/CU for ASU/Utah is very tough. I expect the O to be much better (can't be much worse) with the D about the same (very good).

By the way, for every game you "give away", you might just win one that you should have lost. Two sides to the same coin. As noted, "you are what your record says you are". Of course, I hated him when he was coaching the Giants but it's pretty obvious that Parcells was one of the best as a coach and a great quote machine.

Regardless, it should be an interesting year....

calumnus said:

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Chase Forrest's passer rating by year:
2015 138.4
2017 94.5
2018 49.7

In 2016 we had the top offense in the PAC-12. Over the last two years we have had the worst. We played 4 QBs, guys who were 4, 5 stars. It is not the QBs.

---

It's not surprising that Forrest did much better against Grambling State in the preseason than TCU, a top rated defense, in a bowl game.

To expect some big time exciting players to commit on the offensive side of the ball, the offense is going to have to improve a lot. There was nothing about the last two years that would make soomeone who is not a Cal legacy or looking for a degree above pro football that would make them want to play O at Cal over other west coast schools.

ColoradoBear said:

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To expect some big time exciting players to commit on the offensive side of the ball, the offense is going to have to improve a lot. There was nothing about the last two years that would make soomeone who is not a Cal legacy or looking for a degree above pro football that would make them want to play O at Cal over other west coast schools.

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Yes but...

Recruiting to a large degree is like investing. It is about the future not the past. If a kid sees big potential in a program, he signs because he wants to be part of the turnaround. If a venture capitalist sees big upside in a nascent company, he makes a large investment based strictly on the potential. Of course, there is a lot of risk in both scenarios. However, Russell White bought in and is still being talked about as a guy who led a renaissance (that would have been had it not been for the Program Wrecker) much like the guys who invested in Airbnb and Uber, etc. (and are about to cash in).

Wilcox needs to find a highly touted guy who is not afraid of taking a risk and wants to be remembered as "the guy".

(And yes, I over simplified the example to a degree, but, IMO, the fundamental point is valid).

Agree, 71, but in this scenario, unless the offense really shows something this year, it's probably gonna have to be a running back. A quarterback is more likely to look at the system, to see if he can imagine succeeding in it.

Anyway, according to Moraga's comments earlier in this thread, there doesn't seem to be a "pied piper" out there this year. Maybe Class of '21? In the meantime, each and every win is critical to getting recruits to think of this program as a winner (one of the reasons I love college football).

Big C said:

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Agree, 71, but in this scenario, unless the offense really shows something this year, it's probably gonna have to be a running back. A quarterback is more likely to look at the system, to see if he can imagine succeeding in it.

Anyway, according to Moraga's comments earlier in this thread, there doesn't seem to be a "pied piper" out there this year. Maybe Class of '21? In the meantime, each and every win is critical to getting recruits to think of this program as a winner (one of the reasons I love college football).

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On the other side of the ball, I believe that a five star DLer could be the defensive equivalent of an RB.

Any way you cut it, Cal needs a big time recruit to lead them from the desert of mediocrity.