Cal Recruits Impress In Miami

The Cal Bears played a big role in this weekend’s Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, with four future Bears squaring off against stars from the East in Miami in the final athletic event in the storied Orange Bowl history.

One of the interesting elements of the week of practice leading up to the game was how often the future Bears squared up against each other in practice.

“It’s been cool going up against each other since that’s what we’ll be doing at Cal,” said Etiwanda receiver Marvin Jones. “It’s fun and competitive at the same time.”

“Yeah, Marvin’s coming up with some big plays on one on ones so I know I’ve got to step up my game,” said Chandler cornerback Marc Anthony, with a smile.

“Marvin’s not like anyone I’ve ever played with,” said Clovis West quarterback Beau Sweeney. “I’m used to playing with little guys where I can’t throw the ball as hard. He’s a lot bigger target and it’s a lot of fun working with him.”

Besides Sweeney throwing passes to Jones, who’s covered by Anthony, he had another future Bear to contend with, with a hard-charging Trevor Guyton often on his heals. The Redmond (WA) defensive tackle provided strong pressure up the middle consistently throughout the week.

“With this being somewhat of a showcase game, they want us to put a lot of pass-pressure on. I’ve tackled Beau a couple times.”

“You mean you ran me over,” said Sweeney, smiling.

The future Bears didn’t disappoint throughout the week and their play stood out to their coaches as well as Scout analysts there to observe.

“Number one, Marvin Jones has good speed, good height, he runs very well, he’s elusive and he’s got good hands,” said West receivers coach Carl Hargrave, who’s coached in the NFL for 11 with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals as well as 18 years in college.

“I’m excited about his work ethic. You can tell he really wants to be a good football player. Secondly, he’s going to Cal and I’ve talked to him and know that it’s really important to him to be a good student.

“You put both of those things together; he’s got ‘success’ stamped right on his head.”

“Marvin had a real good week of practice,” said Scout recruiting analyst Steve Robertson. “He’s probably the #2 receiver here behind Jeffrey Fuller from Texas.

“Marvin’s change of direction is tremendous. He’s the type of player where they’ll drag him across the middle at 5 or 6 yards, make a guy miss and take it the distance.

“He’s the type of guy that can stretch the field or catch the ball in traffic, make people miss and pick up a long gain.

“Mark’s been very, very physical but at the same time, he doesn’t gamble too much and put himself out of position to make a play,” continued Robertson. “He’s very consistent in his coverage and a real smart player. He anticipates plays really well. A couple times he got a little deep in his drops but he recovered well enough to be able to keep it from becoming a big play.

“I was real impressed by him. I think he’s best defensive back on the West squad.

“He has real good change of direction. If a guy gets by him, he’s able to close the gap real quickly. He’s very smart, too.”

“Trevor Guyton’s been lining up at defensive tackle. He’s been really physical and I like the way he’s able to use his hands. He’s a guy that it’s hard for offensive lineman to get leverage on because he plays really low with a low center of gravity. He gets his hands up first and you can see him getting to the point of attack a little quicker than his offensive counter.

“One of the other things about him is he’s really good north to South and gets up field.

“Beau Sweeney’s looked good. He’s thrown some nice balls. He’s going to be the first one off the bench to back up Nate Stanley.

“One of the things I’ve noticed with Beau is that all his underneath routes are always crisp and he’s real confident in his decision-making. He knows where the ball needs to be and he doesn’t hesitate or show tentativeness when making his throws.

“Before the receiver even comes out of his break, the ball’s in the air. He’s got a lot of confidence.”

After a week of practice and bonding as future teammates, the game was almost secondary, as the East slogged its way to a rainy 12-8 victory in a defensive battle. One of the highlights of the game was a leaping interception by Anthony on a deep ball down the sideline, but the West squad was unable to capitalize on the turnover.

Guyton provided consistent pressure along with USC commit Armond Armstead as the West repeatedly hounded each of the East quarterbacks. He showed good quickness off the ball and a nose for the ball as he chased down several plays away from the line of scrimmage.

Sweeney was able to test himself at qb, playing 4 series during the game. He showed good ability to elude the constant pressure he was under, running for nice gains on a couple of occasions. He seldom had time however to hit his receivers down field.

Jones also had limited opportunity to show his skills as the East’s pressure on the rush usually led to rushed throws. He almost hauled in the catch of the day as Arizona commit Matt Scott threw into double-coverage deep into the end zone but the ball was knocked away at the last minute.

Overall, the week was an outstanding opportunity for the four future Golden Bears to start their careers together and strengthen their relationships –the obvious highlight of their cross-country All-American trek.

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