Cal coach praises QB Longshore

By JONATHAN OKANES
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

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BERKELEY — Cal coach Jeff Tedford spent part of his first weekly press luncheon of the season praising the manner in which fifth-year senior Nate Longshore has handled his loss of the starting quarterback competition to sophomore Kevin Riley.

"Nate has been awesome," Tedford said. "Obviously, the first meeting I had with him, was very disappointing to him. But there is no other person on this team that is dedicated like Nate to team success.

"He still provides great leadership for Kevin and the offense. He has a great attitude. It's really impressive to see a guy take the approach of not going into the tank and feeling sorry for himself but really, really dedicated to the success of this football team."

Longshore is a two-year incumbent as the Bears' starter. In 2006, he became the second Cal quarterback to pass for more than 3,000 yards in a season. But he was inconsistent last season, and Riley was terrific in Cal's win over Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl.

Tedford named Riley the starter last week but said both quarterbacks will play in Saturday's season opener against Michigan State.

"You never want to disappoint somebody," Tedford said. "It's hard when you disappoint somebody. It's emotional for them. It's not easy to do. But he understood what I was saying."

• BEST-CASE SCENARIO — Perhaps nobody is more eager to start the season than Jahvid Best, who was forced to sit out the last three games of last season and spring practice because of a hip injury. Best, who sparkled in a reserve role as a freshman, now is the starting running back and will return kicks.

"I'm anxious, a little bit nervous," Best said. "I'm ready."

The Bears were cautious with Best during training camp, holding him out of several practices in an effort to keep him fresh. Best wanted to do more and tried to sneak in reps when he could.

"It bothered me," Best said. "They're looking out for my best interest, but I feel like I need the reps, and I need the drills to make myself better. So I tried to get in there as much as possible."