California junior quarterback Nate Longshore don't have a lot of fond memories of the the two season openers he’s played in as the Golden Bears' starting quarterback in 2005 and 2006.
He'll try to reverse that trend of misforturne when his highly-ranked Golden Bears host the Tennessee Volunteers next month in the 2007 season opener for both teams.
In 2005 against Sacramento State, Longshore hit eight-of-11 passes for 131 yards before injuring his ankle on a touchdown pass in the second quarter of the Bears’ 41-3 win.
Longshore missed the rest of his redshirt freshman season and was forced to watch from the sidelines as his Golden Bears put together an 8-5 record that included a 35-28 Las Vegas Bowl win over Brigham Young.
Last year’s season-opener in Knoxville against the Tennessee Volunteers wasn’t as painful physically for Longshore but it had to be just as damaging mentally. With a nationally-televised ESPN audience watching, the Vols scored the game’s first 35 points before a raucous, sold-out crowd at Neyland Stadium on their way to a 35-18 romp.
Longshore, a 6-foot-5, 233-pounder pocket passer, endured his least productive game of the '06 season against the Vols, accumulating just 85 passing yards while completing just 11 passes in 20 attempts.
Longshore recovered nicely after the loss in Knoxville and helped guide the Golden Bears to a 10-3 overall record and a co-Pac 10 Championship in 2006.
Following the humbling setback in Neyland Stadium last year, Longshore and the Golden Bears didn’t lose again until mid-November, reeling off eight straight wins before dropping back-to-back games to Arizona and USC, respectively.
Cal finished the season ranked 14th nationally after bouncing back with wins over Stanford in the regular-season finale and Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl.
Longshore enters his junior season—he redshirted as a true freshman in 2004—as Cal’s first returning starter at quarterback since 2004.
Of all the returning quarterbacks in America, Longshore ranks fifth overall in career passing efficiency. The Sporting News recently ranked the Canyon County, California native as the country’s fifth best quarterback entering the 2007 season, and ESPN’s Mel Kiper, an NFL Draft expert, tabs Longshore as the third best junior signal caller.
He’s coming off a year in which he earned honorable mention All-Pac 10 honors after a season that saw him become just the third Golden Bear quarterback to throw for over 3,000 yards.
Longshore might have his best chance yet to finally break his opening game jinx when he faces the Vols next month for the second time in 366 days. Instead of having 107,000 screaming Vols fans to deal with, this time around Longshore will be leading his offense at the friendly surroundings of the California Memorial Stadium with the San Francisco Bay in the background.
The game is slated to be played in primetime on ABC.
A home field advantage won't be all Longshore will have going for him on the first day of September when the Vols visit for the showcase match-up between the Pac 10 Conference and the Southeastern Conference.
Longshore’s top target at wide receiver is DeSean Jackson, a Heisman Trophy candidate, who at 6-foot, 170-pounds is like a stick of dynamite on the football field. He could very well be the most dangerous offensive performer the Vols' defense will face all season.
Jackson is rated as the No. 1 receiver in America by The Sporting News and Rivals.com. Kiper Jr. tabs Jackson as the top junior receiver in college football. He has 21 touchdowns in 24 career games and has been Cal’s leading receiver in each of the past two seasons.
Jackson led the nation in punt return average and punt return touchdowns as a sophomore in ’06.
Five of Jackson’s 26 punt returns have gone for touchdowns. He has seven career 100-yard receiving games and ranks third among the nation’s returning players in yards-per-catch.
Instant excitement, Jackson opened his career by scoring on his first collegiate pass reception as well as his first college punt return. He was named First-Team All-American after last season by The Associated Press, The Sporting News, Rivals. Com, The Football Writers, and The Walter Camp Foundation.
If Jackson is being double or triple-teamed, Longshore actually has another viable option at receiver to look for.
Lavelle Hawkins, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, has improved every year of his college career.
He ranked second on the team with 46 catches for 705 yards and five touchdowns last year while earning honorable mention All-Pac 10 honors.
What could be even more of a scary thought for UT defensive coordinator John Chavis is Hawkins’ versatility and his propensity to line up at different spots on the field.
In the last scrimmage of spring practice, innovative Cal head coach Jeff Tedford finally gave in to Hawkins’ pleading and allowed the starting wide-out to move behind center to take some snaps at quarterback. Hawkins was reportedly electric in limited action at quarterback. On one memorable play of the scrimmage he broke loose on an awe-inspiring 10-yard touchdown run where he left the ground inside the five and sailed over hapless defenders into the end zone.
Longshore and Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge were both part of the High School quarterback Class of 2004. Longshore was rated the eighth best pro-style quarterback in America that year and Ainge was rated the 11th best.
Rivals.com top pro-style quarterback coming out of high school in 2004:
Name College Choice
1. Rhett Romar Oklahoma
2. Anthony Morelli Penn State
3. Chad Henne Michigan
4. Stephen McGee Texas A&M
5. Brian Brohm Louisville
6. Drew Weatherford Florida State
7. Graham Harrell Texas Tech
8. Nate Longshore California
9. Blake Barnes Georgia
10. Sean Gennon Virginia Tech
11 Erik Ainge Tennessee