We obviously didn’t know what to make of Cal’s receivers before the season started. I’m not sure we still do.

The Bears entered the season completely unproven at receiver. Guys like Nyan Boateng, Verran Tucker and Jeremy Ross proved to at least by steady and serviceable, but nobody really knocked your socks off.

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Here’s the brief press release just put out by Cal’s athletic department.

Just received word confirming some of the comments floating around the past day or two, that offensive lineman Mike Tepper is indeed coming back to play at Cal next season. Tepper was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. Tepper missed last season as he recovered from pectoral muscle surgery, and had to sit out the 2005 season with a broken leg after he was hit by a car as he attempted to protect a companion in Berkeley.

This is not a surprise. Tepper clearly had two good medical excuses for missing each season so the NCAA ruled correctly.

Tepper’s return will help an offensive line otherwise marked by inexperience. Tepper played right tackle in 2007 but was slated to be the left tackle this season before he was unable to return. It will be interesting to see if the Bears keep Mitchell Schwartz at left tackle and put Tepper back on the right side, or perhaps Schwartz moves to the right, where he would have played had Tepper been healthy. Cal used Chet Teofilo and Donovan Edwards at right tackle last season, each of whom are also coming back.

I’ll have more later…

After being nicked up for much of the season, Cal’s Jahvid Best said he finally was feeling pretty healthy down the stretch.

He ended up rushing for 698 yards in the Bears’ final three games.

We now pause to put two and two together.

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Ah, yes. I’m sure just reading the word “quarterbacks” already has many of you worked into a tizzy. Let’s all settle down and work through this. Deep breath, everyone. Think pleasant thoughts.

The quarterback position got almost as much attention at the end of the year as it did in the beginning — albeit, for a substantially different reason. We all know why the focus was there in the preseason — to see who would win the starting job. Would Jeff Tedford stick with embattled incumbent Nate Longshore or tantalizingly talented redshirt sophomore Kevin Riley? We all know how that played out. Of course, it didn’t stick.

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Cal’s recruiting efforts continued to pick up steam Sunday with the live announcement by center Mark Brazinski that he plans on attending Cal.

Brazinski, a senior at Immaculata HIgh School in Somerville, New Jersey, made his intentions known in a ceremony during ESPN’s broadcast of Sunday’s Under Armour All-America Game. Brazinski is rated as the top center in the country by scout.com. He chose Cal over Boston College, North Carolina, Florida State and Rutgers.

Steve Williams, a four-star cornerback, was another Cal commit who played in the game.

Scout.com now ranks Cal’s recruiting class at No. 38 nationally while rivals.com has the Bears at No. 28.

There were a couple of future Bears and a few others whom Cal hopes becomes future Bears represented Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Quarterback Allan Bridgford and defensive end DeAndre Coleman, each of whom have orally committed to Cal, were on the West roster. Also on the West roster were defensive end Devon Kennard, wide receiver/defensive back Adam Hall and wide receiver Randall Carroll. Those three reportedly have Cal as on of their finalists.

Hall had an interesting moment when he was asked to make his decision during the live broadcast of the game. While a handful of other players made their college choices during the telecast, Hall simply narrowed his down. He began with five hats — Cal, USC, Alabama, Arizona and Oregon — on the table in front of him. He then removed the USC hat and Alabama hat, indicating he will no longer consider those schools. So it’s down to Cal, Oregon and Arizona.

Hall, who is from Tucson, Arizona, is considered a blue-chip recruit who could play either wide receiver or defensive back in college. Who knows? Maybe he could do both.

Carroll is a one-time USC commit who now is believed to be strongly considering Cal. Kennard is considered by many the top defensive line prospect in the country and has narrowed his choices to Cal, USC and Texas.

It will be interesting to see if Jeff Tedford’s new contract extension finally will silence the seemingly endless speculation that he ultimately will wind up somewhere else.

What’s interesting here is that Tedford didn’t get any more money out of this extension. His base salary and annual talent fee will remain exactly the same. It’s clear Tedford was being pursued by at least one other suitor. If that’s the case, one could hypothesize that he could have used it as leverage to get a pay raise. The fact that he just wound up with more years could be one the strongest signs yet that he wants to remain at Cal.

“This wasn’t about making more money,” Tedford said. “This was about longevity by me and by the school.”

Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour confirmed that the impetus for this extension was because Tedford’s services were being sought elsewhere. Without getting specific, Tedford said he wanted the extra years as a form of stability, to know he wasn’t making a mistake when other teams come calling.

He seemed genuinely pleased with everything about his situation when I spoke with him on the phone today. ”There’s no place I’d rather be,” he said. Tedford cited all the friends he’s made during his time here, the alumni, the appeal of the Bay Area, the quality of life, the fact that his wife, Donna, loves it here as many of the reasons he isn’t interested in moving on. When I asked him if he could see himself spending the rest of his coaching career at Cal, he said “I definitely could see that.”

Of course, he also pointed to the beginning of construction of the Student-Athlete High-Performance Center as another reason he is so encouraged to remain at Cal (Barbour, by the way, said things continue to progress. The water line currently is being put in — that’s the reason for the construction currently going on along Piedmont Ave.)

In other news, Tedford said he still wants to take a look at a handful of candidates as replacements for departed offensive line coach Jim Michalczik. He didn’t want to put a timeline on the hire because he said he wants to make sure the make the best hire possible.

Cal coach Jeff Tedford has signed a contract extension through the year 2015. I’ll have more later.

just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very happy new year. Thanks to everyone for all the kind words over the past few days. See you in 2009!