With four fall practices now under its belt, Cal is beginning to exude a quiet confidence. The Golden Bears main position battles in 2012 will take place on the offensive side of the ball.
No. 2 wide receiver: Maurice Harris vs. five freshmen
Quarterback Zach Maynard probably smiled when he saw Cal’s post spring depth chart last April; the Bears only listed two wide receivers and he was related to both of them. While Maynard’s brother Keenan Allen is locked into a starting spot, the same can’t be said for his cousin, redshirt freshman Maurice Harris. The Golden Bears have a deep wide receiving class and coach Jeff Tedford has said time and again that he fully expects a few them to take snaps. “They were told when they first got here, ‘you guys are coming in with the mindset that you’re going to compete right away.’” The freshmen receivers include Bryce Treggs, Kenny Lawler, Cedric Dozier, Chris Harper and Darius Powe.
Tight end: Richard Rodgers vs. Spencer Hagan
Hagan definitely has the experience edge. He’s the Golden Bears second leading returning receiver from last year. But Rodgers might have the edge everywhere else. “We felt really good about the spring that Richard Rodgers had,” Tedford said in May. “He’s a 270-pound tight end, who can run and get down the field, and very athletic catching the football.” Rodgers will probably win the starting nod, but expect the Bears to use multiple tight ends a lot this season. Tedford spent early June in Massachusetts learning the ends and outs of coach Bill Belichick’s system in New England. The Rodgers name is famous in Berkeley, Richard’s dad, Richard Sr., made the fifth and final lateral during the “The Play,” in Cal’s 1982 Big Game win over Stanford.
Right guard: Geoffrey Gibson vs. the field
With projected starter Dominic Galas out until at least October after undergoing surgery on a torn pectoral muscle on July 24, there are a few players that could emerge to replace him. Sophomore Gibson is listed as the No. 2 right guard on the depth chart and has spent time with the first unit during the early parts of fall camp, but he’s no lock. Chris Adcock, who played guard and center during the spring, could compete. Also, Tedford would love to get 6-foot-9, 340-pound Freddie Tagaloa onto the field. “We have to see what Freddie can do. If Freddie is where we need him to be or we feel he could be, that gives us flexibility to have tackle Tyler Rigsbee maybe go to guard," Tedford said at Bay Area Media Day. As Tedford said, if Tagaloa ends up at tackle, that could mean Rigsbee moves into the competition at right guard.
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