The Fresno Connection Pays Off

Chalk up another California commitment this week as the Bears received word from fast-rising Clovis West quarterback Beau Sweeney that he’s heading to Berkeley.

“I committed to Cal last night,” said an excited Sweeney. “I talked to Coach Tedford last night and he was really fired up. He said he was really looking forward to the opportunity of working with me next year." Sweeney received an offer from the Bears last month and the Cal staff had the opportunity to see quite a bit more of what Sweeney could see on the field last weekend.

The 6 1 1/2/200 Sweeney ran a 4.65 forty and was tested at 28 in the vertical and 14 reps of 185 on the bench at Stanford on Saturday. He threw the ball very well both Friday at the Elite 11 tryout in Berkeley as well as the Stanford Nike Combine on Saturday.

“I thought I did pretty well at Nike,” said Sweeney. “It was just really fun being out there playing with some great competition and some guys that could really throw it. It was a good way to see how I stack up with them and I thought I did well.”

Scouting reactions definitely agreed with Sweeney’s assessment as he received strong reviews across the board on his performance.

After not receiving a lot of early recruiting attention, Sweeney’s recruiting momentum picked up substantially, with offers from Cal, Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, Oregon State, Nebraska and Colorado.

“It’s been great,” said Sweeney. “It’s really picked up in the last couple months. I had some great opportunities to consider. It’s been really exciting so far. It’s been pretty awesome.”

Playing in primarily a running offense with Clovis West, Sweeney threw for 1,268 yards and 15 td’s along with 563 yards on the ground and an additional 4 tds in leading the Golden Eagles to the Central CIF Championship game before losing a tough contest to archrival Clovis East.

Originally, Sweeney intended to make his decision in early July to be able to focus on his upcoming senior season, but his timeline changed as his recruiting momentum picked up and he focused on what he was looking for in a college program.

“I was supposed to visit Cal after the Nike camp but I wasn’t able to make it. I was there Friday for the Elite 11 tryout and I was also there during my spring break though, so I had a chance to check things out. I’ve been around Cal quite a bit and I’m really liking what I’ve seen so far.

“I was looking for somewhere that I could come in and compete, a place where I could learn from other players and that’s a good football environment with a strong football history,” said Sweeney. “I’m also interested in getting a very good education, so Cal’s a great combination of all those things.”

Besides excelling on the field, Sweeney also excels in the classroom, with a perfect 4.0 GPA and nothing but A’s to date. He recently took the SAT for the first time but will not receive the results for another week.

Growing up in the Sweeney family had a profound impact on Sweeney and his athletic career. Sweeney’s uncles played at Alabama, Ohio State (2) and Montana State and Sweeney’s father, Kevin set an NCAA record for career passing yards with 10,623, passing Doug Flutie of Boston College in the process in 1986. Sweeney’s grandfather, Jim was the longtime Fresno State Head Football Coach as well.

Sweeney spoke glowingly of the football tradition in his family.

“It’s really been awesome,” said Sweeney. “I’ve always really looked up to my family. My dad played in college. My grandpa was a coach. All my uncles have played football. So it was kind of instilled in me as a kid and I’ve always loved it. It’s just awesome to have a great football family.”

The Sweeney family’s connection to Cal Head Coach Jeff Tedford extends back to his father’s days at Cal, as Tedford played quarterback under Jim Sweeney and was teammates with Kevin during Sweeney’s redshirt freshman season before going on to set the NCAA record along with a 2 year stint in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

“I grew up right down the street from Coach Tedford, so that’s a pretty good relationship,” said Sweeney. “I’ve also gotten to know (Cal QB) Coach Daft recently, too during my recruitment.

“Ever since I was a little kid I’ve been watching football and studying the game. Now I watch film with my dad quite a bit. And on weekends, if I don’t have a practice, I’ll go out and get workouts in with my dad. He’s just taught me so much of the game that it gives me a big advantage.”

Beau Sweeney Profile:

Sweeney is looking forward to working with another mentor to take his game to the next level in Jeff Tedford.

“Coach Tedford has really done some great things with quarterbacks so that’s really what did it for me,” concluded Sweeney.

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