Dancy Follows His Dreams to Cal

As a family friend of Cal legend Marshawn Lynch while growing up in Oakland, Laney running back Marcel Dancy grew up dreaming of following in Lynch's footsteps one day at Memorial Stadium.

His dreams eventually came true after signing with Cal last week as a preferred walk-on running back with the Bears.

"I've been watching Cal all season," said Dancy. "I've just watched how Coach Wilcox has come in and turned the program around in a positive way.

"As a kid, I always watched Cal. Growing up, everyone wanted to be at Cal. Just like for me, it was a dream to play for Cal and the Raiders.

"I remember watching Marshawn playing for Cal growing up, too. He's had an impact on me as a role model, showing that I could follow in his footsteps as far as football and further my career to also help my community and everyone along that journey.

"When I got that call from Cal, it was just a surreal moment for me. I know it's just the beginning of a lot of hard work and a lot of focus."

The 5-10/200 Dancy first caught the attention of the Cal staff when he camped at Cal as a sophomore in high school.

"When I was in high school, I handled my business in a full contact camp at Cal," said Dancy. "The Cal coaches told me I was one of the top two sophomores there. Ever since then, they've known my name and stayed with me along my journey.

"The beginning of this year, they contacted me at the beginning of the season and showed a lot of interest, talking about my potential and talent.

"Ever since I was little, Cal was where I wanted to be."

New Cal running backs coach Burl Toler picked up the contact with Dancy after his arrival at Cal after previously recruiting him for UC Davis at his prior position with the Aggies.

"Coach Toler and I had some long conversations about Cal and how the process works," said Dancy. "He just told me to stay focused and make sure I put as much time into my classwork as my time on the field. He told me he believes in me and that I have a lot of potential."

Dancy played for Tracy's Merrill F. West in high school, amassing 3.066 all purpose yards as a senior, with 30 touchdown on offense and 90 tackles and five interceptions at free safety.

Last season at Laney, Dancy had 1.033 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns with a 6.8 yards per carry average along with 22 catches for 241 yards and three more td's through the air.

The last Cal running back to hail from Laney was current Denver Bronco CJ Anderson, who parlayed his successful stint at Cal to one of the most productive running backs in the NFL.

"Before my freshman year, CJ and I talked about my mindset towards JC play and preparing myself to be the best player that I can be," said Dancy. "Hopefully we can connect again soon."

"Marcel's a great kid," said Laney running backs coach K.C. Adams, a former All-American running back for Boise State. "CJ has a lot of balance and strength but Marcel's a slasher.

"He can play anywhere. Why he's so overlooked, I don't understand. A lot of it was probably coming from Tracy. For whatever reason, a lot of kids don't get recruited from there but the jc's are full of good players from that area.

"He's a versatile player. He can catch the ball well. Hawaii was looking at him as a slot receiver. He had to learn pass protection when he got here but once he picked that up, the rest of his game took off. To play without the ball, that's the hardest thing that running backs need to learn.

"I think one of the main problems was he was sharing the backfield with Ahmari Davis (signed with New Mexico) and they're both great running backs, with over 1,000 yards, and both surpassed my Hall of Fame marks at Laney and they had to share the ball. That's the kind of talent we had the last two years. If they didn't have to share the ball, either of them could've broken CJ's records.

"Marcel's one of those kids you literally have to tell to go home. He'll stay all day talking about football, looking at film and working out. He's one of those guys that knows all about the history of football and he just studies it all the time.

"All he needs is a chance and he's getting one at Cal."

Lest anyone think this is just a football opportunity for Dancy, the talented Oakland native wanted to make sure that young students in the Oakland community know that there's more to life than athletic glory and dreams.

"I just want to let the young people of Oakland know that it's cool to be educated," said Dancy. "Despite what I do and how I handle my business on the football field, my academics are something I'm very proud of.

"If I could pass on anything to the younger generation, it would be to take pride in getting your education."