YardBarker Network
  • Today’s Big Number — 3

    3 -- Conference titles Cal has won or shared in football or men's basketball since 1958 (1975 and 2006 football, 2010 basketball)

    3 -- Female Stanford players who are finalists for the Wooden national player of the year (Kayla Pedersen, Nneka Ogwumike, Jayne Appel).

    3 -- Players competing this spring to replace Toby Gerhart as Stanford's No. 1 tailback (Stepfan Taylor, Jeremy Steart, Tyler Gaffney).

    3 -- Aussies in St. Mary's starting lineup

    3 -- Players competing this spring to be Cal's starting QB (Kevin Riley, Brock Mansion, Beau Sweeney, although it will be a shocker if Riley is not the winner)

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Cal freshman Keenan Allen can do anything better than you can; he can do anything better than you
Posted On Sep 5th, 2010    Comments 1 Comment

Any self-respecting sports writer knows it’s an act of idiocy to proclaim anyone a star after one game, exspecially when the opponent is a Division I-AA schoool.

Well, we have have no self-respect and we are proud of our idiocy, so we are going to dub Cal Golden Bears freshman wide receiver Keenan Allen a star.   Granted, he played just a little over a half, and it was against UC Davis in a 52-3 rout at Berkeley.    But we’ve seen enough.   Stop the presses, a star is born . . . are whatever hyperbole you choose for this grand occasion.

(Check examiner.com for more Cal football stories and Allen news.)

Allen set an impossibly high standard for himself in his first college game on Saturday, demonstrating he can do virtually everything except pass.  And apparently he can do that too.

One play provided a capsule report of his football skills.   Early in the second quarter, Allen, a wide receiver, took a handoff on an end-around designed for him to pass the ball.   When he saw no one  open, he simply reversed his field, weaved his way through the defense, and scored on a dramtic touchdown run that offcially covered 18 yards, but actually covered about 50 yards

Those few seconds told us a lot about Allen:

– Cal coaches will do anything to get him the ball, which means handing him the ball on end-arounds.  He ran the ball three times Saturday.

– Allen can throw the ball.   Although he did not get an opportunity to do so, the mere fact that the play called for a pass suggested he’s a proficient thrower.

– He showed good judgment.  When he saw the intended receiver covered, Allen did not force the ball, never panicked or hesitated and looked for somewhere to run instead.

– Allen can make something out of nothing while carrying the ball, showing a willingness to be creative while following blockers... 


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About Jake

Jake Curtis spent 27 years as a San Francisco Chronicle sports writer, most of them covering Bay Area college football and basketball. While at the Chronicle, Jake covered 11 Rose Bowls, 9 football national championship games and 12 Final Fours. He also covered an NBA Finals and a World Cup.


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