ESPN College Football

California

2009 overall record: 8-5

2009 conference record: 5-4 (tied for fifth)

Returning starters

Offense: 8, Defense: 6, punter/kicker: 2

Top returners: QB Kevin Riley, OT Matt Summers-Gavin, OT Mitchell Schwartz, RB Shane Vereen, LB Mike Mohamed, DE Cameron Jordan, P Bryan Anger

Key losses: RB Jahvid Best, OT Mike Tepper, DE Tyson Alualu, CB Syd'Quan Thompson

2009 statistical leaders (*returning starter)

Rushing: Shane Vereen* (952)
Passing: Kevin Riley* (2,850)
Receiving: Marvin Jones* (651)
Tackles: Mike Mohamed* (112)
Sacks: Tyson Alualu (7.5)
Interceptions: Mike Mohamed* (3)

Spring Answers

1. Jordan steps up: Defensive end Cameron Jordan has the talent to be a first-team All-Conference player, but he's never broken through as a consistent performer. Heading into his senior year, however, he asserted himself this spring and established himself as the leader of the defensive line with the departure of Tyson Alualu. If that continues, he'll catch the attention of NFL scouts.

2. Attacking defense: Coach Jeff Tedford said the Bears would be more aggressive -- read: stunting, blitzing, etc. -- even before he hired Clancy Pendergast to replace Bob Gregory as coordinator. It became clear this spring that Pendergast, a veteran NFL coach, will focus on making life as difficult as possible for opposing QBs.

3. Replacing Tepper: Four starters return on the Bears offensive line, but the one void is sizable: 6-foot-7, 319-pound Mike Tepper. It appears that Matt Summers-Gavin will slide over from left guard to fill that void. While right tackle Mitchell Schwartz remains a possibility -- he played the position in 2008 -- Summers-Gavin is more athletic, which should help vs. speed rushing ends.

Fall questions

1. Will Riley arrive? Kevin Riley again fought off his challengers and will be the starting quarterback, despite his inconsistency during 22 starts over the previous three season. He's had plenty of good moments and he has ability. If he puts it all together as a senior, the Bears could be a factor in the conference race.

2. Who's the No. 2 tailback? Shane Vereen is the clear No. 1, but Tedford has always used tandems. Each of the four candidates -- Trajuan Briggs, Covaughn DeBoskie-Johnson, Isi Sofele and Dasarte Yarnway -- had productive moments this spring, but none separated himself. Sofele is almost certain to get touches as a scatback, hybrid runner/receiver, but the battle for No. 2 will be at issue early in preseason camp.

3. Who's the noseguard? Derrick Hill, a two-year starter, has been solid, but he's struggled to stay healthy. Sophomore Kendrick Payne had a great spring. He could end up winning the job. Considering coaches aren't afraid of playing Aaron Tipoti either, the good news is there's depth at the position.

Three former California players have signed free agent contracts with the Dallas Cowboys: receiver Verran Tucker and offensive linemen Chet Teofilo and Mike Tepper.

Linebacker Devin Bishop signed with Denver. The Pac-10 blog previously reported -- incorrectly -- that he'd signed with Dallas.

Meanwhile, former Bears safety Brett Johnson signed a free agent contract with Buffalo, while safety Marcus Ezeff will get a tryout next week with the New York Jets, according to a release from the school.

Cal had three players selected in the NFL Draft: defensive lineman Tyson Alualu (Jacksonville Jaguars, 10th overall) and tailback Jahvid Best (Detroit Lions, 30th overall) were both chosen in the first round last Thursday. Cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson (Denver Broncos, 225th overall) was picked up in the seventh round Saturday.

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted -- one moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

• This Arizona coach is happy to march for dimes.
• Arizona State's offensive line takes a bad hit.
• A note from California's last "real" spring practice. Former Bears offensive lineman Mike Tepper heads to the NFL.
• Former Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount wants to put his bad moment of Boise State behind him and move on to the NFL. Former tight end Ed Dickson might be the first Duck to be drafted.
• After some resistance, Kevin Frahm is learning to love his move from defensive end to tackle. Oregon State prospects in the NFL draft.
• Which players emerged this spring for Stanford. Checking in with Jim Harbaugh on what happened this spring.
• UCLA needs its running game to improve. Nate Chandler has found a home at defensive tackle.
• USC quarterback Matt Barkley is paying attention to the NFL draft. He also continues to improve.
• Washington has high expectations for its left tackle.
• Offensive improvement for Washington State starts up front.

Everytime I go to Vegas, I seem to incur some kind of fine.

• Checking in with former Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski at the NFL combine.
• So will California's defense be a 3-4 or 4-3 with its new coordinator? Mike Tepper heads to the NFL with an interesting back story.
• Mike Bellotti on Oregon's off-field issues.
• Oregon State's starting middle linebacker has quit the team.
• Stanford's spring game is on the move. Some spring practice notes.
• USC's D-line coach and ace recruiter Ed Orgeron talks about his new job and the NCAA.
• Some NFL combine links for Washington Huskies.
• Putting Bill Moos' hiring at Washington State into perspective.

There ain't but one truth, said John Grady. The truth is what happened. It ain't what come out of somebody's mouth.

• Sonny Dykes' departure apparently cost Arizona a top quarterback recruit.
• Arizona State finds a recruit in a familiar place.
• California's Mike Tepper reflects on the East-West Shrine Game, where he had mixed results. The Bears pick up an under-the-radar recruit.
• The Eugene police remain quiet on the alleged Oregon fraternity theft. A recruit talks about switching his commitment from Washington to Oregon.
• What would it mean for Oregon State to land a five-star recruit? Sean Canfield hopes to impress at the Senior Bowl.
• A look at USC and UCLA recruiting.
• USC will have some new athleticism this spring.
• Washington is restocking its offensive line.
• Washington State recruiting hits the Bay Area, but it lost a running back to Northwestern.

The Pac-10 bowl season didn't go well, but that doesn't mean you don't make an all-bowl team.

You may notice a lot of USC and UCLA players. You might remember that the LA schools posted the conference's only two wins.

OFFENSE

QB Matt Barkley, USC: Barkley completed 27 of 37 throws for 350 yards with two touchdowns against Boston College in the Emerald Bowl. He also had two interceptions.

RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford: Against an Oklahoma defense ganging up on him, he rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in a Sun Bowl loss.

RB Stanley Havili, USC: He only rushed for 2 yards, but he also he caught six passes for 83 yards with two touchdowns.

WR Damian Williams, USC: He caught 12 passes for a season-high 189 yards.

WR Damola Adeniji, Oregon State: He caught seven passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Beavers' Las Vegas Bowl loss to BYU.

TE Anthony Miller, California: He led Cal with five receptions for 55 yards in the Poinsettia Bowl loss to Utah.

OL Chris Marinelli, Stanford: The offense was without its starting quarterback, but Gerhart gained 133 yards and the Sooners only had one sack.

OL Mike Tepper, California: Cal's pass protection wasn't great against Utah, but running back Shane Vereen finished with 122 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

OL Charles Brown, USC: The Trojans didn't run terribly well vs. Boston College, but they only yielded one sack and gave Barkley plenty of time to throw.

OL Jake Dean, UCLA: He was thrust into the starting lineup after starting center after Kai Maiava was ruled academically ineligible, and the Bruins yielded only one sack vs. Temple.

OL Chase Beeler, Stanford: See Marinelli.

K Kai Forbath, UCLA: He kicked field goals of 40 and 42 yards.

DEFENSE

DE Kenny Rowe, Oregon: He set a Rose Bowl and Oregon bowl record with three sacks in a losing effort against Ohio State.

DT Jurrell Casey, USC: Casey had five tackles, a sack and a 22-yard return of a fumble.

DT Brian Price, UCLA: Price started slowly vs. Temple but he dominated the second half and finished with five tackles, with one coming for a loss.

DE Tyson Alualu, California: Alualu had five tackles, with 1.5 coming for a loss.

LB Akeem Ayers, UCLA: Ayers led the Bruins with nine tackles, two for a loss, and his leaping interception at the Temple 2-yard line, which he returned for a TD, was the play of the Pac-10 bowl season.

LB Kyle Bosworth, UCLA: He finished with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.

LB Eddie Young, California: Young had seven tackles and returned an interception 31 yards for a TD.

CB Shareece Wright, USC: In his first game back after academic ineligibility, Wright grabbed a key interception.

CB Alterraun Verner, UCLA: Verner had seven tackles, two for a loss, and a pass breakup.

S Rahim Moore, UCLA: Moore had four tackles and an interception.

S Taylor Mays, USC: Mays had five tackles for a Trojans defense that shut down Boston College in the second half.

P David Green, Stanford: He averaged 44 yards on six punts, three of which were downed inside the Sooners' 20-yard line.

Unless a guy plays for Central Michigan, Troy, Alabama or Texas, the 2009 football season is over. For a handful of players, their sights now turn to the NFL, and the next step for many of them is postseason All-Star games.

While there are a number of all-star games, the Senior Bowl is the premier game -- its roster is almost entirely directed by the NFL -- and the East-West Shrine Game is a clear No. 2.

Here's a list -- count on there being some additions in the coming days -- of the invitees.

Arizona

East-West Shrine Game
DT Earl Mitchell
CB Devin Ross

Arizona State

East-West Shrine Game
OL Shawn Lauvao
WR Chris McGaha
DE Dexter Davis

California

Senior Bowl
DE Tyson Alualu
CB Syd'Quan Thompson

East-West Shrine Game
OL Mike Tepper
CB Syd'Quan Thompson
WR Verran Tucker

Oregon

Senior Bowl
TE Ed Dickson

East-West Shrine Game
S T.J. Ward

Oregon State

Senior Bowl
QB Sean Canfield

East-West Shrine Game
LB Keaton Kristick

Stanford

Senior Bowl
RB Toby Gerhart

East-West Shrine Game
DE Erik Lorig
DL Ekom Udofia
OL Chris Marinelli

UCLA

East-West Shrine Game
LB Reggie Carter
TE Ryan Moya
CB Alterraun Verner

USC

Senior Bowl
TE Anthony McCoy
RB Stafon Johnson
S Taylor Mays
OL Charles Brown

East-West Shrine Game
DB Josh Pinkard

Washington

Senior Bowl
LB Donald Butler

East-West Shrine Game
DL Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

Washington State

East-West Shrine Game
C Kenny Alfred

The Pac-10 office announced its All-Pac-10 team today as voted on by conference coaches.

The Pac-10 blog's All-Pac-10 team will come out tomorrow.

You can see the second-team here.

Some notes:

• Oregon State placed the most players on the first team with seven selections, followed by California, UCLA and USC with five. Arizona and California were next with four.
• Of the 27 first-team selections, 15 are seniors, eight are juniors, four are sophomores and there are no freshman.
• Three players were named on the first-team ballot of all 10 head coaches -- PK Kai Forbath and DT Brian Price of UCLA and RB Toby Gerhart of Stanford.
• Five players are repeat first-team selections from last year -- FS Taylor Mays of USC, DT Brian Price of UCLA, CB Syd'Quan Thompson of California, and Jacquizz Rodgers and James Rodgers of Oregon State.
• Damian Williams of USC is a double first-teamer, being named both at wide receiver and punt returner.
• Two players were named to the first team on both the All-Pac-10 Team and the Pac-10 All-Academic Football Team -- RB Toby Gerhart of Stanford and ILB Mike Mohamed of California. In addition, P Jeff Locke of UCLA was named first-team All-Academic and second-team All-Pac-10.

Offensive Player of the Year: Toby Gerhart, RB, Stanford

Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year: Brian Price, DT, UCLA

Offensive Freshman of the Year: LaMichael James, RB, Oregon

Defensive Freshman of the Year: Vontaze Burfict, MLB, Arizona State

Coach of the Year: Chip Kelly, Oregon,

First-team offense
QB Sean Canfield, Sr., Oregon State
RB Toby Gerhart, Sr., Stanford
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, So., Oregon State
WR James Rodgers, Jr., Oregon State
WR Damian Williams, Jr., USC
TE Ed Dickson, Sr., Oregon
OL Chris Marinelli, Sr., Stanford
OL Mike Tepper, Sr., California
OL Jeff Byers, Sr., USC
OL Charles Brown, Sr., USC
OL Gregg Peat, Sr., Oregon State

First-team defense
DL Brian Price, Jr., UCLA
DL Stephen Paea, Jr., Oregon State
DL Tyson Alualu, Sr., California
DL Dexter Davis, Sr., Arizona State
LB Keaton Kristick, Sr., Oregon State
LB Mike Mohamed, Jr., California
LB Reggie Carter, Sr., UCLA
DB Rahim Moore, So., UCLA
DB Syd'Quan Thompson, Sr., California
DB Taylor Mays, Sr., USC
DB Alterraun Verner, Sr., UCLA

Specialists
PK Kai Forbath, Jr., UCLA
P Bryan Anger, So., California
KOR Chris Owusu, So., Stanford
PR Damian Williams, Jr., USC
ST Suaesi Tuimaunei, Jr., Oregon State

For a while now, when California and Stanford took the field to play the annual "Big Game," the name of the Bay Area rivalry contest seemed like the two brainy universities' best effort to teach the rest of the college football nation how to correctly understand the oft-misused term "irony."

Not this year.

For the first time since 1991, both teams are ranked: Stanford (7-3, 6-2) is 17th and Cal (7-3, 4-3) is 25th in the BCS standings. And have winning records. The stakes, particularly for Stanford, are high. The Cardinal, after whipping Oregon and USC, are in the middle of the Rose Bowl race, while the rising Bears would like to play spoiler and improve their bowl positioning.

There's also the role reversal. Homestanding Stanford, losers of six of seven in the series, including a 37-16 whipping last year, is the decided favorite.

"They are probably the hottest team in the country right now," Cal coach Jeff Tedford observed.

Tedford's Bears, however, after tumbling from the top 10 due to consecutive humiliating losses to Oregon and USC, have quietly righted themselves. They've won four of five games, including an impressive 24-16 win last weekend over Arizona, a team that beat Stanford. The defense, which had been inconsistent much of the year, held the Pac-10's No. 1 offense to just 274 yards.

Cal ranks 19th in the nation in run defense (104.1 yards per game), while Stanford and leading Heisman Trophy candidate Toby Gerhart rank 10th in run offense (222.4 ypg), so this will be a strength-on-strength matchup.

"They play so physically," Tedford said. "Their offensive line is the best offensive line in the conference. They're big, they're athletic. [They have] physical tight ends, the fullback is very physical. Toby is a runner that doesn't go down with arm tackles and has the speed in the open field to break the long one. Those games [Oregon and USC] are no fluke. There wasn't anything flukish about those games. Those were dominating performances."

Tedford is touching upon a theme that is central to Stanford's rise under coach Jim Harbaugh: physical and perhaps even nasty play. More than a few opposing players and coaches have noted that the Cardinal not only want to maul you during a play, but they also are not above continuing their effort past the, say, echo of the referee's whistle. And maybe there are a few more pokes and grabs and punches in the pile-up and scrum at the line of scrimmage than in the past when Stanford suited up.

Offensive tackle Chris Marinelli admits nothing. But you can feel a grin as he speaks through the telephone line.

"It is so contrary to what everybody pins on us," he said. "They think we're a bunch of nerds and we're pretty soft guys. That's not the case and we're showing that this year."

The player who may best personify Stanford's transformation is not Gerhart but fullback Owen Marecic, whom Harbaugh has repeatedly called his "favorite" player. The 6-foot-1, 244-pounder might be the most feared blocker in the conference, at least among linebackers.

"He's just a sick dude. He's crazy. He lives for head-on collisions," Marinelli said. "A lot of guys try to swim you or run around you. He just wants to come out and smash heads as hard as he possibly can. Then he kind of looks at you with a sickening smile. He's crazy."

Marinelli knows this because Marecic has doubled at times this season as a linebacker, so the poor old 6-foot-7, 300-pound Marinelli, an NFL prospect and the only senior on the Stanford line, knows what a Marecic hit feels like.

Marecic also sports a Peter Frampton haircut, is soft-spoken and is a human biology major who apparently wants to become a doctor.

These sorts of fawning observations about Stanford -- they're tough and smart, too! -- probably don't charm Cal players and fans that much. They sense that many assume the Axe is headed back to Stanford. That annoys them.

Offensive lineman Mike Tepper, a sixth-year senior, rates losing the Axe for a year the low point of his Cal career.

"Going 0-6 against USC is pretty bad, but losing the Axe in '07 was the worst feeling I've ever had in my life," he said. "It tears you apart and tears the community apart."

By the way, Tepper has been run over by a car, so he's had some bad feelings.

Tedford seemed perfectly willing to call his Bears the underdog. While Harbaugh heaped praise on Cal -- he said the Bears have best defensive front in the Pac-10 -- he also seemed comfortable with the position of Alpha Dog. To a point.

"You've got to fight the ills of hubris and overconfidence," he said. "They can be a killer."

But then Harbaugh added, "I am constant as the northern star, of whose true-fix'd and resting quality there is no fellow in the firmament."

Actually, he didn't say that. But because this is Berkeley and Stanford -- and the Big Game is, at last, a big game -- it seemed appropriate to conclude with some Julius Caesar.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

	Steve Dykes/Getty Images
	Standout running back Jahvid Best managed just 55 rushing yards against Oregon's defense.

EUGENE, Ore. -- California needed only to look across the field at a euphoric Oregon squad celebrating inside Autzen Stadium on Saturday to see that a team can overcome a dreadful defeat.

Four weeks ago, the Ducks were ridiculed nationally for their performance at Boise State. But after handing the sixth-ranked Bears a 42-3 whipping, they have reestablished their presence in the Pac-10 race and will surely return to the national rankings on Sunday.

Now Cal needs to prepare to be a punchline. They started the day as the Pac-10 front-runner. They finished it as road kill.

Said offensive tackle Mike Tepper, "This team [Cal] is good, we just got beat. We got beat bad.”

Yep. In every way.

Oregon outgained Cal 524 yards to 207 -- and 50 of those yards came on one play. Cal had been giving up only 273 yards per game while gaining 489 yards.

Quarterback Kevin Riley was Pac-10's No. 1 rated passer this week, but he only completed 12 of 31 for 123 yards.

Running back Jahvid Best entered the game as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner but he only rushed for 55 yards on 16 carries.

“The game wasn’t what I expected at all," Riley said. "I expected to pick up 40 points. We didn’t."

Oregon dominated both lines of scrimmage. The Ducks had five sacks. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli wasn't sacked and was rarely pressured.

Even Cal's outstanding punter Bryan Anger had a bad day, including a 5-yard punt.

Oregon's defensive players said they knew what Cal was going to do before they did it. Linebacker Spencer Paysinger called the Bears offense "predictable."

And linebacker Casey Matthews said he and his teammates sensed blood in the water early.

"After we scored our second touchdown, it seemed like they quit," Matthews said. "I was looking at [Paysinger] right before a play and I said, 'They're done.' It seemed like that even in the second half. They went for it on fourth down and we stopped them. We just knew everything was going from them."

Such a dispiriting defeat likely will remind Bears fans of 2007, when Cal, unbeaten and ranked No. 2, was stunned by Oregon State and then collapsed, losing six of their final seven regular-season games.

Ergo the overriding post-game message from the Bears: This game doesn't have to ruin the season.

“It’s one loss, but we don’t want it to be a downward spiral," Riley said.

Cal needs to get off the canvas quickly. USC visits on Saturday.

That game presents the same sort of opportunity for a rebound that Oregon just took advantage of. That's why coach Jeff Tedford didn't feel a need to go all fire-and-brimstone after the game.

"I still have confidence in our guys," he said. "We’ll go back to work this week with a good attitude and a lot of focus. I love this team, and I love our kids. It’s one loss. It’s a tough loss so we’ll make sure we work extremely hard next week.”

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Who's the cat that won't cop out when there's danger all about? SHAFT! Right On!

• The Arizona Sports Network also might help Arizona State, which I'm sure is why Arizona started a network ... to help their friends in Tempe. 
• Hey ... California offensive tackle Mike Tepper has a blog! Tepper is known for two things. He's big and he is a gentleman.
• Woe to those Ducks who end up on the "Friday Night List." (HT: Rob Moseley.)
• Quarterback Peter Lalich, who transferred from Virginia to Oregon State, is free and clear of a legal problem. Meet Wilder McAndrews, who's struggling to come back from a serious injury. 
• Oregon's freshmen, particularly the new O-linemen, are jumping right into the action.
• This Stanford blog offers some insights into former Cardinal and Washington coach Tyrone Willingham.
• UCLA gets a commitment from a safety.
• USC linebacker Malcolm Smith has been ill. And not in a good way. USC is the No. 1 football factory, says the NFL.
• Washington's practice times are set, which is meaningful because you are now welcome to come watch.
• Former Washington State defensive back Romeo Pellum gives his side of the story concerning his "departure" from Pullman. Pellum believes he got a raw deal.
• Ranking the worst Pac-10 teams this decade.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

Optimism is a powerful thing. And spring is a time for renewal. So this is a "Best of" list, without any of the "Negative Nellie" stuff.

Best spring game performance by a quarterback: Stanford redshirt freshman Andrew Luck all but won the starting quarterback job over incumbent Tavita Pritchard after completing 18 of 25 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns to lead the White team to a 42-17 victory over the Cardinal.

Best spring game performance by a quarterback II: Washington quarterback Jake Locker seemed fine working in a pro-style offense after completing 16 of 18 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The two incompletions, by the way, were drops.

Best spring game performance by two quarterbacks: Oregon's Jeremiah Masoli and Justin Roper combined to complete 37 of 56 passes for 516 yards and five touchdowns and neither threw an interception in the Ducks' spring game. Perhaps it was the rainy weather only fit for a Duck?

Best spring, overall, by a quarterback: Under intense, national scrutiny ,USC's Aaron Corp threw only one interception throughout spring practices and was consistently solid throughout the session, which earned him the nod as the Trojans No. 1 quarterback over spectacular freshman Matt Barkley entering the offseason. Under coach Pete Carroll, every previous Trojan quarterback who had been tapped No. 1 out of spring started the season opener.

Best performance by a true freshman: Barkley made the recruiting gurus who ranked him No. 1 look smart.

Best spring game on defense: Talk about a penetrating performance. USC's backup defensive end Nick Perry had six tackles for loss, including four sacks, among his seven tackles. Yeah, USC's defense is going to be hurting in 2009.

Best spring on defense: Six guys stood out: Oregon cornerback Walter Thurmond III, UCLA's tackle Brian Price, Oregon State tackle Stephen Paea, Arizona State defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, Arizona linebacker Vuna Tuihalamaka and USC linebacker Malcolm Smith.

Best surprise: USC transfer and notorious underachiever Jamere Holland suddenly decided to become Oregon's best deep threat and turned in an outstanding spring. Golly, sometimes listening to your coaches helps.

Best breakout: While California has questions at receiver, the general feeling is sophomore Marvin Jones is almost certainly one of the answers.

Best 'it's about time' breakout: USC's Everson Griffen might be the nation's most talented pass-rusher, but his high-performance engine has also been a high-maintenance engine. Yet his effort and intensity were consistent this spring, which meant no one could block him.

Best comeback: California offensive tackle Mike Tepper has been through a lot, but he's hoping his sixth year will just be about anchoring a line with a lot of upside. Read Tepper's story here.

Best comeback II: Got a funny -- mean, but funny -- note during the 2008 season that instructed the Pac-10 blog to refer to Oregon State receiver Darrell Catchings as Darrell Droppings. Can't do that now because Catchings lived up to his name -- the real one -- this spring.

Best position change: Arizona sophomore Robert Golden, a marquee 2008 recruit, switched from cornerback to strong safety this spring, and early word is he could become an All-Conference player at his new position. The move further allowed the Wildcats to switch Cam Nelson to free safety from strong and get Trevin Wade on the field to complement Devin Ross at corner.

Best coaching decision: Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh wants his best 11 on the field at any given time, and he's willing to get creative to do it. That's why he's got a handful of guys playing both ways, including Owen Marecic (fullback and middle linebacker), Michael Thomas (cornerback and receiver), Richard Sherman (cornerback and receiver) and Alex Debniak (linebacker and running back). Will it work? We'll see. But it's undoubtedly interesting.

Best candidate for a karmic change: No team had worse injury issues this spring than Washington State, which is clearly in the midst of a major rebuilding project. Then promising defensive end Cory Mackay, who'd impressed this spring, suffered a serious back injury after he fell asleep at the wheel of his car. The Cougars are overdue for some luck. Perhaps it arrives this fall?

Best catch of the spring: You may have already watched this grab. Watch Arizona State receiver Kerry Taylor one more time. It's worth it.

Best position in conference: The Pac-10 might have the nation's best collection of talent in the secondary, with USC and California boasting units that should rank among the nation's best. Consider: FS Taylor Mays (USC), SS T.J. Ward (Oregon), SS Josh Pinkard (USC), CB Walter Thurmond III (Oregon), CB Alterraun Verner (UCLA), CB Syd'Quan Thompson (California), CB Devin Ross (Arizona), CB Omar Bolden (Arizona State), FS Rahim Moore (UCLA), CB Shareece Wright (USC), among others.

Best position in conference II: Five running backs who eclipsed 1,000 yards in 2008 are back, led by California's Jahvid Best and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers.

Best potentially surprising position: If you talked about good Pac-10 defensive linemen in recent years, you were basically talking about USC. Not in 2009. Nine of the Pac-10's top 30 players, at least by, er, one person's accounting, are defensive linemen, and that list included only one player from USC (Griffen, at No. 30) and didn't include Cal's Cameron Jordan.

Best quote: "How do we go from nine to one?" said Chip Kelly on what he believes are his marching orders as Oregon's new coach. "Nine" is where the Ducks finished last
year in the final coaches' poll.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

10 greatest guitar solos in no particular order: "Freebird," Lynyrd Skynyrd; "Blue sky" Allman Brothers; "Aqualung," Jethro Tull [Martin Barre];  "Cocaine," Eric Clapton; "Sweet Child O' Mine", Guns n' Roses; "Pride and joy," Stevie Ray Vaughan; "Crazy Train," Ozzy Ozbourne [Randy Rhoads]; "Eruption," Van Halen; "Stairway to heaven" Led Zeppelin; any solo by Jimi Hendrix. 
 

• California tackle Mike Tepper is whole again after his life spun out of control. 
• Arizona has a commitment from a tall tackle with family ties to the program. An Arizona regent gripes about coach Mike Stoops' new contract.
• Senator-cornerback Josh Jordan, Arizona State's political player.
• Profiling Oregon coach Chip Kelly from a New Hampshire perspective. The Ducks new offensive coordinator arrives in Eugene. Breaking down the Ducks roster.
• Is Sean Canfield Oregon State's starting quarterback? Oregon State injury report.
• More things we learned about UCLA during spring practices.
• More things we learned about USC during spring practices. Welcome to New York, Mark Sanchez.
• Checking in with former Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser.
• He doesn't coach in the Pac-10 any more, but my guess is many of you will find this story about Dick Tomey's marriage interesting.

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

BERKELEY, Calif. -- There will be no thunder clap at the end of spring practice at California.

In other words, the quarterback competition between Kevin Riley, who was the starter for most last year, and sophomore Brock Mansion won't end this spring.

"There will be no key decisions made after spring ball on who the starter is," coach Jeff Tedford said.

At this point in the story, Tedford and new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig would hasten to add redshirt freshman Beau Sweeney into the mix, because that's what both did when only asked about Riley's and Mansion's progress.

Ludwig said he thought things would start to heat up during the first spring scrimmage Saturday, but it's clear he, too, isn't eager to reveal a pecking order, if there even is one.

So question No. 1 with the Bears isn't going to be answered anytime soon. (We had interesting chats with both quarterbacks and will post a story on that Friday.)

And, to be honest, this team doesn't have many questions other than that. Tedford listed fullback as his biggest concern.

"We didn't lose a lot," he noted.

Those three departed linebackers from the Bears 3-4? Worries are few about Eddie Young, Mychal Kendricks, Mike Mohamed and D.J. Holt. All four played last year, with Young and Mohamed logging starts.

Receiver? Everyone is back, so this will be a far more seasoned group than 2008. And there are new names -- youngsters and players returning from injuries -- making the list of potential contributors long.

Nyan Boateng, Verran Tucker and Jeremy Ross top the list, but it seems like everyone has a favorite to add to the mix.

Sophomore Marvin Jones? "He's a guy if you ask who stood out the first week, it was Marvin Jones," Tedford said.

Mansion praised sophomore Alex Lagemann, who also earned a note from Tedford. A couple of practice kibitzers expressed esteem for redshirt freshman Charles Satchell. Sophomore Michael Calvin, who's sitting out spring while still recovering from a knee injury that ended his 2008 season, might be the most talented of the lot.

Ludwig, meanwhile, gushed about the depth and athleticism at tight end.

Ludwig likes to talk about playing "pitch and catch." The Bears didn't do that very well last year, ranking seventh in the Pac-10 and 83rd in the nation in passing.

There seems to be plenty of catchers. The issue that likely will decide if Cal is a top-10 team is the pitcher.

Some other notes:

• Tedford's special project with Riley during the offseason was shortening the junior's throwing motion. After watching film of 2008, Tedford said that as the season wore on Riley developed a bigger wind-up that hurt his passing accuracy.
• While the secondary returns intact -- and was very good last year -- cornerbacks Josh Hill and Mark Anthony, both redshirt freshmen, have made an impression and could work their way into the rotation.
• It appears that Mike Tepper and monstrous sophomore Mitchell Schwartz, a budding star, are set at left and right tackle, and Chris Guarnero leads in the competition to replace Alex Mack at center. The prime competition is at the guards.
• Tedford raised a few eyebrows -- or was it panic? -- among Cal fans when he talked about running back Jahvid Best being out of his wheelchair. Best was in a wheelchair because he'd had both elbow and foot surgery, so he couldn't use crutches. Tedford said neither was a major procedure and he's confident Best will be 100 percent by the fall. "He's on track," Tedford said. "This week he's going to start running." Tedford added that it's actually been hard to keep Best in check: "He has so much energy bound up in him. Even with his boot on when he's out there, you'll see him start to jog and you'll go, 'Wait. Woooh. Are you supposed to be jogging in that boot?'"

Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller

California offensive tackle Mike Tepper's petition for a sixth year of eligibility has been granted by the NCAA.

The 6-foot-7, 321-pound Tepper started 13 games in 2007 and two in 2006 but missed all of 2008 with a pectoral injury and a severely strained groin. He sat out in 2005 due to a broken leg he suffered after he was hit by a car while trying to confront some thugs harassing a female friend.

"Personally, this is a chance to end my Cal career the right way, both academically and athletically," Tepper said in a statement released by the school. "This opportunity means a lot to me and I'm happy to play with these guys one last time. I'd also like to thank Chris Stivers in our compliance office. He compiled all of the documentation and put together my case. I owe this entire opportunity to him."

All-American center Alex Mack and guard Noris Malele are departing, but with Tepper's return, Cal will welcome back seven offensive linemen with starting experience.