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Tedford, revitalized players bring Cal football back

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) LaShaun Ward got the first hint his life was about to change last spring when new California coach Jeff Tedford called him into his office and asked for some fashion advice.

``He said, 'We're thinking about changing the uniforms. You got any suggestions?''' Ward recalled. ``I didn't know what to say. I started making a sketch. The coaches we used to have never would have asked us about something like that.''

Ward, a senior receiver, was around for all the lows of former coach Tom Holmoe's five dismal seasons at Cal's once-proud program. Ward and dozens of talented, successful athletes were reduced to bitterness and frustration as Cal became a Pac-10 doormat and a San Francisco Bay area joke.

Tedford, a former college quarterback and a highly regarded assistant at Fresno State and Oregon, knew Cal needed a fresh start. But nobody expected a first-time head coach to transform the Golden Bears so quickly and dramatically not even his eternally grateful players.

After pounding then-No. 15 Michigan State 46-22 last Saturday, Cal is 3-0 for the first time since 1996. The Golden Bears, ineligible in the coaches' poll because of a one-year probation that's under appeal, cracked the AP Top 25 at No. 23 a stunning achievement for a team that went 1-10 last season.

``Last year was horrible,'' cornerback James Bethea said. ``You come out here to practice every day and you work so hard, almost knowing you're going to lose. I almost stopped going to school. I was depressed. When most of your life has been dedicated to football, and then you're just losing all the time, it's miserable.''

Cal also rolled past Baylor and New Mexico State with an offense averaging 50 points per game. The Bears, who committed 12 turnovers in their first three games last season, have forced 12 in their first three games this fall.

``These guys have worked so hard since (the new coaching staff) got here, and that's the only reason I'm excited about the ranking,'' Tedford said. ``They deserve it. They deserve to have some fun and get some recognition. They've been through a tough time.''

Tedford's hiring was the first big decision made by new athletic director Steve Gladstone, who's also a championship-winning crew coach at Cal. Gladstone gave Tedford wide-ranging freedom to revamp the program and Tedford changed almost everything.

Tedford retained just one coach from Holmoe's staff. He installed new menus, two new strength coaches and entirely different weight-training and stretching programs from a previous regimen often criticized by the players.

He moved training camp back to campus to give his players a better chance to survive Cal's demanding academic requirements. He improved their training table meals. After his players voted on 12 possible uniform changes, he suited them up in dynamic new blue-and-gold togs that are getting rave reviews from alumni.

``I've been telling my brothers and my cousins, 'We've got a football program now!''' Ward said. ``Every time something changes, I call home and say, `We got this!' Now, we have everything we need.''

The school also began an extensive renovation project at Memorial Stadium, Cal's rustic but gorgeous football venue nestled high in Strawberry Canyon and providing spectacular views of the entire Bay area.

With that same atmosphere in mind, Tedford instituted the ``March to Victory'' before home games. In a ploy copied from other schools, Tedford's team walks across a portion of campus more than two hours before each home game as students and fans cheer them on.

``It's just a way to get people excited and get our guys focused,'' Tedford said. ``It's the kind of thing that's unique to college football.''

Tedford has been just as inventive on the field. For the first play of his tenure, he called a double pass against Baylor. Running back Terrell Williams hit David Gray for a 71-yard TD for the first blow in a 70-22 victory.

Tedford coached quarterbacks Trent Dilfer, Akili Smith, David Carr and Joey Harrington, all of whom ended up as first-round NFL draft picks. His new project is Kyle Boller, the top prep quarterback in the nation in 1998 who has floundered in three seasons at Cal.

Under Tedford's intense direction, Boller is a changed man. He has a 142.4 quarterback rating, and he's making the tough decisions and difficult throws that eluded him earlier in his career.

Air Force visits Cal on Saturday before four straight games against ranked Pac-10 foes. But even if the Bears don't win another game which seemed to be a possibility almost every week last season Tedford's first season has been a roaring success.

``What we're doing is a shock to me,'' Bethea said. ``This is how you always dream of your college football career being not to say that we'll win every game we play, but that we feel proud of playing for Cal, and we have a chance to win every time we go out there.''

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