As a (sometimes) proud Cal alum, I haven't decided yet how to feel about the whole Kevin Hart signing day fiasco. Those of you unfamiliar with the saga can find links to all the deadspin posts on the wonderful Mr. Ufford's With Leather. For fans of the Worldwide Leader, Gene Wojciechowski has a pretty thorough article as well.
Honestly, my first reaction was frustration with the Cal program. The team just finished an epic, embarrassing collapse of a season that makes the 2007 Mets look like strong finishers. A 5-0 start followed by a single win in 7 games when the wheels came suddenly, horribly off against Oregon State. A win in the Bell Helicopter Armed Services Bowl against an Air Force team that doesn't even run the triple option anymore. I don't know if it's as bad as the Tom Holmoe years, but it's close.
Cal has enjoyed a strong running game over the past few years, with players like Justin Forsett and the incredibly gangter Marshawn Lynch running rampant out of the backfield. So when a 6'4, 305 pound 2-star recruit, holds a press conference in his hometown and proudly declares his intention to enroll at Berkeley, instead of Pac-10 rival Oregon, why, oh why would Coach Jeff Teford turn down the opportunity to secure a strong addition to the offensive line?
Well, it turns out he's not very good. I guess two stars (out of 5) at rivals.com doesn't mean nearly as much as two stars (out of 3) from Michelin. This also happens to be when the story gets interesting. When it came out that Cal (and, for that matter, anyone) had no interest whatsoever him, Hart initially claimed to have fallen victim to a shady recruiter named Kevin Riley.
Now, I know there are 300 million people in this country, but surely a recruiter just happening to have that name is at least a little coincidental. Cal football fans will remember Kevin Riley virtually single-handedly ruining the Golden Bear's shot at a number 1 ranking in the aforementioned Oregon State game. Remember, the very same day that LSU lost in triple OT to Kentucky? Yeah, so do I. Anyway, that was when alarm bells started clanging in my head.
It turned out in the end that Hart made everything up, getting caught in an elaborate story that went back weeks, if not months. And you can understand his desire to play D-1 football. Heck, I thought of myself as a pretty decent hockey player at one point. But what exactly did he think was going to happen? Sure, if he was a 4 star prospect, Tedford might have said 'Hey, we didn't think we had a shot at this kid, but if he wants to come here so bad, let's try to work something out.' After all, Cal's recruiting class didn't exactly set the world on fire. No top 150 recruits, and only 2 teams in the conference ranked worse. Then again, if the kid was a 4 star recruit, Cal probably would have recruited him.
It's going to be a long offseason, Bear fans. And I haven't even started on the basketball team yet (A lousy 5-5 in conference so far)...
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