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Football: Even without a coach, Bears get commitment from significant recruit

By Jeff Faraudo
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012 at 7:48 pm in Football, Recruiting.

One week after firing Jeff Tedford, Cal got an oral commitment Tuesday from Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks standout Khalfani Muhammad, according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Rivals rates him as a four-star prospect, Scout gives him three stars.

Running backs coach Ron Gould is getting credit for landing Muhammad, who rushed for 1,420 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior last fall.

Muhammad is an undersized prospect who is listed as an “athlete” by Rivals, a running back by Scout. The former puts him at 5-foot-8, 174 pounds, the latter at 5-7, 160. Either way, he’s not big. But he runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash and competes in track and field.

Muhammad had offers from a variety of schools, including Pac-12 rivals Washington, UCLA, Oregon State and Utah.

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  • Juancho

    This is Erics guy right?

    Welcome brother to the fightimg klines

  • H8sRed

    If you build it, they will come. No matter what, we need to thank Jeff Tedford for that.

  • Juancho

    No. We dont.

    He got a $250,000 bonus for the rennovations. Thats thanks enough.

  • ScottyBear

    Reggie Dunn was an undersized recruit that Cal left hanging and look what he has done for Utah and against us. Two 100-yard kick-off returns. Did it again this year. Welcome Khalfini! We love your type!

  • Eric

    This is my guy. Super nice kid, super smart. Family is very supportive, very down to earth. Cal HS 100 meter/200 meter champ as a sophomore and junior (and will win again this upcoming track season). This season he was far more willing to run people over by building up strength. Really good friends with Koa Farmer (the junior who committed a few weeks ago).

  • H8sRed

    Juancho — Sometimes your comments make me wonder if Juancho is just another screen name for Moron. No matter what bonus Tedford received, those facilities would not have been possible without his dedication and accomplishments.

    No, the last few years have not gone the way any of us would have liked, but with Tedford, we ended up with amazing new facilities and the athletic department is tens of millions of dollars ahead of where it would have been without him — even after his contract buyout. That’s worthy of thanks and appreciation.

  • Juancho

    H8s i posted my thoughts. I didnt attack you. If you need to attack me thats on you.

    I dont think tedford needs to keep receiving credit. Hes a thing of the past.

    In my opinion program needs to move on.

    Tedford was an employee who did some good things.

    To say were indebted to him for facilities is wrong.

    He was paid to help get them. It wasnt a benevolent act were indebted for.

  • Boaltblue

    Juancho:

    What are your thoughts on firing the current Raiders coach given the teams’ win-loss record?

    On a different note, please educate me on Hue Jackson’s claim to fame? What has Jackson done to impress you so much?

    While I was once a Raiders fan, I have not followed the Raiders closely for years so I don’t know much about either of these coaches.

    Thanks.

  • Juancho

    And ron goulds been recruiting top running backs for over a decade. To tie tedford to this commitment is not fair. Lynch didnt need facilities. Or jahvid. They needed gould.

    If anything the fact zero commits uncommitted with tedford being fired speaks volumes.

    All year ive complained that tedford snd clancy dont recruit. I guess the positive is their dismissal has zero effects on recruiting.

  • Boaltblue

    Per the LA Times, Khalfani Muhammad won the 100m in 10.61 and the 200m in 21.37? That is fast. Anyone know of any faster times for Muhammad at any other meets?

  • Juancho

    Boalt my brother.

    That first question i hard. As illogical as it may be im nostalgic for the al davis raiders. I miss the raiders that had an image and style.

    On the one hand i think what their new gm is doing i the right thing based on history. But on the other hand i feel like the raiders way has always been to be different. To not run a cookie cutter program. Whats hurt me moremthan the losses this year has been the teams lack of identity.

    I wouldnt fire the coach. And i have to admit i dont like dennis allen. I think hes done an average to bad job. But i think itd be toomrash to fire him in his first year. If he is off to a losing record after six games next year i say fire him. If the team is just as lifeless and has a bad record next year, fire the gm.

    Hue jackson in my opinion is the exact guy who will divide the fan base if hes hired. I think he did okay with the raiders. I think hes a great o coordinator. And he helped tony gonzalez have a great year when he was o coordinator at cal.

    But hes a former raider which is a strike. Hes a short time nfl head coach. Strike. No college hc experience. Strike. Unique personality that will rub some wrong. Remember his press conferences talking about drinking irish coffeesmtill the wee hours. Strike.

    But – hes a good coach. Just look at how the raiders fell off the face of the earth after he was fired.

    The real question is what will he be in charge of and what will he delegate. And will he keep guys accountable? Will he recruit?

    I think the following guys will have more support

    Gruden duh
    Petersen duh
    Mike macintyre
    Gary anderson
    Willie taggart

    I think the two guys that will be the most polarizing are hue jackson and petrino.

  • Dan

    Can we please stop throwing bouquets at Tedford. Seriously. The guy made WAY MORE money than he deserved. Case in points is Juancho’s reply at #2 – well said Juancho.

    For goodness sake, you guys that keep talking about being sad about Tedford and giving him so much credit sound like pathetic little wimps that got dumped by a hot girl in bad fashion but keep talking about how great she was. Tedford was the MOST OVERPAID COACH IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL. The ridiculous tens of millions he earned was thanks enough. The pinnacle of his career was taking Cal to the Holiday Bowl and getting embarrassed by Texas Tech and out coached by Mike Leach.

    On a brighter note, this recruit is a player, and he is FAST. He borders on DeAnthony Thomas fast. A good coaching staff will lick their chops finding ways to get kids like this the ball in space. Just like Chip Kelly does. The fact that he committed in the wake of the Tedford firing shows me he’s coming to Cal for the right reasons.

    Juancho, respect the heck out you and your opinions. But I vote a big NO on Hue Jackson. As you know, I’m all in on Chris Peterson. Also now very, very intrigued by Derek Mason. As per my post today on another thread. Check it out, let me know what you think.

  • Picard

    Dan – “pathetic little wimps”, “hot girl”, “bad fashion”? Who talks like that? You sound like the teenage meathead antagonist from a John Hughes movie.

  • Boaltblue

    Juancho:

    Thanks for your thoughts on the Raiders. And here is a wish that they return to quickly to their glorious days.

    On a different note, here is what one player close to your heart, Zach Kline, recruited by former Cal Coach Jeff Tedford said about Tedford per: http://www.californiagoldenblogs.com/2012/1/31/2760612/zach-kline-cal-bears-recruiting:

    “Those who want to be Bears, who bleed blue and gold, will stay with it,” he said. “You don’t play for one coach. You play for yourself, you play for coach Tedford and you play for the university. I think … the guys who are committed understand that. They’re true Bears. They want to be here.”

    * * *

    “He [Lupoi]was not a deciding factor in whether I was coming here or not,” Kline said. “Coach Tedford and coach (Marcus) Arroyo are the ones who recruited me.”

    So, if Zach Kline delivers us to the Promise Land of Roses, or anywhere close to that, we can thank Tedford for recruiting Kline.

    May we find our Messiah in 2013. Feliz Navidad to you and all of my fellow Cal Football fans.

  • Eric

    @BoaltBlue.

    Khalfani ran a 10.55 100 meter last year, either at the Arcadia meet, Mt. Sac, or the Serra league finals (I was there for it, but I forget which one it was). He also anchored the 4×100 meter team last year that won the HS state championship (Koa was one of the legs). The dude is FAST.

  • covinared

    let’s hope he is not a fumbler like BB.

  • Dan

    Picard- great post. You can go back to lurking with Moron now. Enjoy your Cheetos.

  • Juancho

    Boalt, agree on those Raiders wishes.

    Dan – I respect your opinion on Hue. I think he will be a mistake as a hire. But – I see him as a Jim Mora type. Initially the hire will be a huge downer. But there is a shot, b/c of his personality, he will deliver.

    Again, he’s not in my top 5.

    I’m a Mike MacIntyre guy. I know some folks criticized how many points he gave up to Louisiana Tech. But two things:

    1. Louisiana Tech leads the country in scoring. And SJSU held them under their average. Sad but true.

    2. It’s San Jose freaking state. And they’re ranked # 25 in the BCS. Literally 2-3 years ago they were going to kill the football program because it isn’t profitable. MacIntyre did the reclamation of all reclamation projects at San Jose State. With no resources, in a super competitive recruiting market, he got some real good players to go to SJSU. Because they have no resources his staff decided to do a roving tour of camps for HS players throughout the State. That’s innovation. That’s an idea I wish our program would do to build the brand at the key schools around here.

    My revised coaches list:

    1. Gruden
    2. MacIntyre
    3. Petersen

  • ScottyBear

    Agree with Juancho. MacIntyre’s body of work at SJSU with no resources and DOA fan base is incredible. Imagine what he could do at Cal with fans starving to support an aggressive coach and our new facilities. Tedford as a personality was so hard to warm up to and for what he got paid he should be smiling 24/7.

    He always appeared to be distracted on the sidelines behind those sunglasses. 4th and 2 on our opponent’s 32? Let’s see, should I buy a new Porsche or house in Carmel. Oh shit sorry…take a knee..oh no, wait. Punt!! We owe Tedford nothing.

  • ScottyBear

    Of course, still prefer Gruden or Petersen (either one)

  • H8sRed

    Juancho — I’m just tired of the ad hominem attacks on Tedford. I get it — you don’t like him. But his accomplishments early in his tenure at Cal completely transformed Cal Football and Cal Athletics. That transformation is embodied in the Simpson Center and the new Memorial Stadium. To express appreciation for those accomplishments, beyond his salary and bonuses, is entirely warranted.

    Unfortunately, you, Dan and others want to focus only on the slide the past few years, as if it has been 11 more years of Holmoe. No, Tedford did not get us to a Rose Bowl. We came agonizingly close twice. One or two bounces going our way, or without the wh@ring of one Texas coach, and we would have found Cal Football’s Holy Grail — multiple times. (Whereas, Stanford has repeatedly gotten that lucky bounce the past few years and they are likely headed to their third straight BCS bowl as a result.)

    Remember, Tedford could have left Cal to work for the highest bidder after 2004, 2005 or 2006; yet he chose to stay at Cal, even though deadline after deadline for stadium renovation and/or facilities upgrades continued to pass unfulfilled. Had Tedford not remained committed to Cal, it is likely we would have little more than an extra coat of paint on the stadium today — and 15 other sports would still using their cars as “locker rooms” instead of having state of the art facilities.

    Yes, it was time for Tedford to go. Somewhere along the way, his inability to incorporate new offensive schemes without overly complicating the playbook, his refusal to bench an under-performing QB and his obsession with secrecy got the best of him. For me, as a Cal fan for the past 35 years and a Cal alum, it most definitely has been frustrating to watch, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t express our appreciation for Coach Tedford’s accomplishments and commitment to Cal.

  • Eric

    @H8sRed,

    I appreciate your post. I do, however, think you should balance all of the factors. It wasn’t just the fact that Tedford’s coaching was lacking (and when it starts can generate a lengthy slew of posts), but it was (to me):

    - the arrogance in failing to acknowledge the flaws in the coaching or putting the best players on the field (when Jon Wilner repeatedly asks why Bigelow isn’t on the field, that is an issue. When your back QBs are ill prepared, that is an issue. When you are repeatedly blown out by the top half of the Pac-12, that is an issue) – you generally acknowledge these in your last paragraph, so I am just adding specificity.

    - the lack of guts or go for broke attitude. Now compare it to the other recent Pac-12 hires – Kelly, Harbaugh, Shaw, and Mora (RichRod and Leach were already known quantities). Each has shown a willingness to take risks, and it has translated into success.

    - perhaps most significantly, the outsized salary. At the end of the day, regardless of whether one credits Tedford’s early success for allowing the facilities/stadium retrofit to move forward, Tedford was paid extraordinarily well for mediocre results. yes, he stayed when he could have left for greener pastures. But he made sure he got his in the meantime.

    Also, the Dans of the world were pointing out Tedford’s flaws – that you now acknowledge – years ago, and in doing so, was attacked ad nauseum for daring to criticize. For those who defended Tedford by attacking those that criticized his play-calling, secrecy, style, and stubborness, a gracious concession that Dan was correct goes a long way!

  • Juancho

    H8s how about this. I propose a truce. Lets let by gones be by gones. The tedford era is over. There was some good. Some bad.

    If boalt and i can bury the hatchet so can we.

    Jankoski and the rest who left. Come on back. The great tedford schism is over.

  • Dan

    Juancho and Eric – you guys are great. I dont always agree with you Juancho, but I usually do and I always respect your passion, viewpoint and ability to let bygones be bygones.

    Eric, I always agree with you, it’s kind of freaky, and you always say what I would much more eloquently than I do. And you have a much cooler head than mine has become in my grumpy old age.

    Also, ScottyBear at #19 – your 2nd paragraph was HILIARIOUS. Well done there, thanks for the best laugh I’ve had in weeks.

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