Aug. 8, 2011

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2011 Cal Football
Outlook | Schedule | Tickets | Gameday Tee

(BERKELEY) - Keenan Allen became the latest Cal football player to receive preseason recognition when he was one of 50 players named Monday to the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse.

The honor is given annually by the Louisville Sports Commission (LSC) to the most versatile player in major college football. The award was created by the LSC in January 2010 with the support of the Golden Boy himself, Paul Hornung, a native and lifelong resident of Louisville and member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame.

Cal's sophomore wide receiver had previously been named to the College Football Performance Awards preseason watch list for its Wide Receiver Trophy and is a second-team preseason All-Pac12 selection of Phil Steele.

Allen racked up the honors in a record-setting rookie season as a freshman in 2010 when he was a fourth-team Freshman All-American according to Steele and an honorable mention pick of College Football News. Scout also honored him as a second-team All-Pac-10 choice as an all-purpose player, while he was a fourth-team All-Pac-10 pick of Steele at wide receiver. Allen posted one of the top campaigns by a true freshman wide receiver in school history, setting a single-season Cal record for receptions with 46 catches for 490 yards, surpassing current Philadelphia Eagles player DeSean Jackson's previous record of 38. Both his receptions and receiving yards were second on the team behind Marvin Jones, while he added a team-high five touchdown grabs. Allen also led the team with a kick return average of 22.6 yards on a team-high 18 returns to rank ninth in the Pac-10 and 85th nationally. He rushed 18 times for 136 yards (third on the team) and a touchdown on the ground, and even threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jones on his only passing attempt. Allen's final total of 1,040 all-purpose yards (136 rush, 490 receiving, 8 punt return, 406 kick return) was second on the club behind Shane Vereen, while his 36 points scored were third. In addition, he ranked among the Pac-10's top 15 in per-game averages for receptions (No. 13, 3.83), receiving yards (No. 15, 40.83) and all-purpose yards (No. 15, 86.87). He began his record-setting rookie season by making one of the most memorable debuts in Cal football history in the season opener against UC Davis, when he caught four passes for a career-high 120 yards, including a career-long 48-yard touchdown reception. He totaled 176 all-purpose yards against the Aggies by adding 38 yards rushing and a touchdown on three carries, as well as one kick return for 18 yards.

"Our goal from day one with the Paul Hornung Award has been to recognize versatile players that excel at multiple positions to help their teams win, which is how I played the game," Hornung said.

Texas Roadhouse signed on as presenting sponsor of the Paul Hornung Award in 2011 and will team with the Louisville Sports Commission to power fan voting on Facebook. College football fans nationwide will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite player during the regular season and again during the bowl season. Fan voting will open in late September and factor into the selection of the finalists and winner.

Players from all FBS teams are eligible and appearing on the Paul Hornung Award Watch List is not a prerequisite for winning the award. The selection committee, comprised of 16 national sports journalists and former college and NFL players, will narrow the field to approximately three to five finalists in early December then will select the winner from among the finalists following the bowl season in early January. Finalists will be announced on paulhornungaward.com and at the Louisville Sports Commission Breakfast December 9.

The Louisville Sports Commission successfully launched the Paul Hornung Award in 2010 to honor its namesake and native son and to promote outstanding performances by versatile college football players that often go unnoticed.

After playing the last 88 seasons and every home game at Memorial Stadium since the facility opened for the 1923 Big Game, Cal will host its home games outside of Berkeley for the first time in 2011 while Memorial Stadium undergoes an extensive renovation and retrofit. For updates on the progress of the renovation and retrofit of Memorial Stadium as well as the Memorial Stadium webcam, visit stadium.berkeley.edu.

Cal football tickets for the team's five-game 2011 regular-season home schedule at San Francisco's AT&T Park are on sale now. Cal will host Pac-12 opponents USC (Thu., Oct. 13), Utah (Sat., Oct. 22), Washington State (Sat., Oct. 5) and Oregon State (Sat., Oct. 12) at the venue after playing Presbyterian in its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 17.

Single-game tickets for the TicketCity Battle by the Bay at San Francisco's Candlestick Park against Fresno State on Saturday, Sept. 3 are also on sale now. The neutral-site season opener for both teams is not part of the Bears' season-ticket package.

Tickets can be purchased online for at CalBears.com or by calling the Cal Athletic Ticket Office at (800) GO BEARS.

Here's an up-to-date summary of the 2011 preseason honors and recognition given to Cal football players and awards that Cal players are candidates for.

INDIVIDUAL
Keenan Allen - Preseason Wide Receiver Trophy Watch List (College Football Performance Awards), Paul Hornung Award Watch List, Preseason Second-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele), Biletnikoff Award Candidate, Paul Hornung Award Candidate, Paul Warfield Award Candidate (Touchdown Club of Columbus), Fantasy Flash Stock Rising (Athlon)

Bryan Anger - Third-Team Preseason All-American (Phil Steele), Preseason Honorable Mention All-American (GoDaddy.com), Ray Guy Award Watch List, Preseason Punter Trophy Watch List (College Football Performance Awards), Campbell Trophy Candidate, No. 3 National Top Punter (Athlon), No. 3 Draft Eligible Punter (Phil Steele), Preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 (Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele, Sporting News), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's)

Marc Anthony - No. 34 Draft Eligible Cornerback (Phil Steele)

Todd Barr - No. 16 National Defensive Lineman Recruit (Athlon), No. 16 National Freshman Defensive Lineman (Phil Steele), No. 15 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon)

Brendan Bigelow - No. 13 National Running Back Recruit (Athlon), No. 17 National Freshman Running Back (Phil Steele), No. 13 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon), No. 2 Cal Recruit (Sporting News), Fantasy Flash Freshman Phenom (Athlon)

Kyle Boehm - No. 17 National Freshman Quarterback (Phil Steele), No. 18 National Quarterback Recruit (Athlon)

Sean Cattouse - Preseason All-American Third Team (Sporting News), No. 5 Draft Eligible Strong Safety (Phil Steele), Jim Thorpe Award Candidate, Tatum Award Candidate (Touchdown Club of Columbus), Preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 (Sporting News), Preseason Second-Team All-Pac-12 (Lindy's), Preseason Fourth-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's)

Jason Gibson - No. 17 National Freshman Linebacker (Phil Steele), No. 36 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon)

Trevor Guyton - Ted Hendricks Award Candidate, Willis Award Candidate (Touchdown Club of Columbus), Preseason Fourth-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Maurice Harris - No. 25 National Wide Receiver Recruit (Athlon), No. 50 National Freshman Wide Receiver (Phil Steele), No. 33 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon)

D.J. Holt - No. 15 Draft Eligible Inside Linebacker (Phil Steele), Preseason Third-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Mustafa Jalil - No. 25 National Freshman Defensive Lineman (Phil Steele), No. 33 National Defensive Lineman Recruit (Athlon), No. 32 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon), No. 5 Cal Recruit (Sporting News)

Jalen Jefferson - No. 59 National Freshman Linebacker (Phil Steele)

Marvin Jones - Biletnikoff Award Watch List, No. 39 Draft Eligible Wide Receiver (Phil Steele), Paul Warfield Award Candidate (Touchdown Club of Columbus), Preseason Second-Team All-Pac-12 (Lindy's), Preseason Third-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's), Fantasy Flash Top Target (Athlon)

Will Kapp - Burlsworth Trophy Candidate

Mychal Kendricks - Preseason Honorable Mention All-American (GoDaddy.com), Bednarik Award Watch List, Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, Butkus Award Watch List, Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List, College Football Performance Awards Preseason Linebacker Trophy Watch List, Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List, No. 9 National Top Outside Linebacker (Lindy's), No. 30 Draft Eligible Outside Linebacker (Phil Steele), Lambert Award Candidate, Preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 (Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's)

Daniel Lasco - No. 42 National Freshman Running Back (Phil Steele)

Zach Maynard - Top National Transfers (Athlon), Top Cal Newcomer (Lindy's)

Stefan McClure - No. 18 National Defensive Back Recruit (Athlon), No. 38 National Freshman Defensive Back (Phil Steele), No. 31 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon), No. 3 Cal Recruit (Sporting News)

Anthony Miller - College Football Performance Awards Preseason Tight End Trophy Watch List, John Mackey Award Watch List, No. 20 Draft Eligible Tight End (Phil Steele), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's)

Viliami Moala - No. 99 National Incoming Freshman (Lindy's), No. 8 National Defensive Tackle Incoming Freshman (Lindy's), No. 9 National Defensive Lineman Recruit (Athlon), No. 10 National Freshman Defensive Lineman (Phil Steele), No. 6 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon), No. 18 Pac-12 Recruit (Lindy's), No. 4 Cal Recruit (Sporting News)

Jordan Rigsbee - No. 24 National Freshman Offensive Lineman (Phil Steele), No. 31 National Offensive Lineman Recruit (Athlon)

Richard Rodgers - No. 26 National Freshman Tight End (Phil Steele)

Brennan Scarlett - No. 23 National Freshman Defensive Lineman (Phil Steele), No. 26 National Defensive Lineman Recruit (Athlon), No. 28 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon), No. 2 Oregon Recruit (Lindy's), No. 1 Cal Recruit (Sporting News)

Mitchell Schwartz - Preseason Third-Team All-American (GoDaddy.com), Outland Trophy Watch List, No. 24 Draft Eligible Tackle (Phil Steele), Campbell Trophy Candidate, Lowe's Senior Class Award Candidate, Parker Award Candidate, Rotary Lombardi Award Candidate, Preseason First-Team All-Pac-12 (Athlon, Phil Steele, Sporting News), Preseason Second-Team All-Pac-12 (Lindy's), Cal Players to Watch (Lindy's)

Isi Sofele - Game-Changer (Sporting News)

Eric Stevens - Burlsworth Trophy Candidate

Giorgio Tavecchio - Burlsworth Trophy Candidate, Preseason Fourth-Team All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Jeff Tedford - Best Pac-10 Recruiter (Sporting News)

Avery Walls - No. 17 National Defensive Back Recruit (Athlon), No. 25 National Freshman Defensive Back (Phil Steele), No. 30 Pac-12 Recruit (Athlon)

Matt Williams - No. 48 National Incoming Juco Player (Phil Steele)

MISCELLANEOUS
Best Road Trip To - along with Stanford (Sporting News)

Bowl Predictions - Kraft Fight Hunger vs. Northwestern (Phil Steele)

Experience Rankings - No. 96 National (Phil Steele), No. 9 Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Most Improved Teams - No. 14 (Phil Steele)

Opponent Winning Percentage - No. 47 (Phil Steele)

Plus/Minus Power Rating - No. 10 Pac-12, 120.78 (Phil Steele)

Power Play MIP Offensive Pass - No. 15 National (Phil Steele)

Schedule Difficulty - No. 43 (Phil Steele)

The Big Ones - Cal at Oregon, Oct. 6 (Lindy's); Cal at Stanford, Nov. 19 (Lindy's)

POSITION UNIT RANKINGS
Defensive Back Rankings - No. 28 National (Phil Steele), No. 5 Pac-12 (Phil Steele), No. 7 Pac-12 (Athlon)

Defensive Line Rankings - No. 29 National (Phil Steele), No. 2 Pac-12 (Phil Steele), No. 5 Pac-12 (Athlon)

Linebacker Rankings - No. 20 National (Phil Steele), No. 3 Pac-12 (Athlon), No. 4 Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Offensive Line Rankings - No. 37 National (Phil Steele), No. 4 Pac-12 (Athlon, Phil Steele)

Quarterback Rankings - No. 9 Pac-10 (Phil Steele), No. 12 Pac-12 (Athlon)

Running Back Rankings - No. 9 Pac-12 (Athlon, Phil Steele)

Special Teams Rankings - No. 33 National (Phil Steele), No. 4 Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Wide Receiver Rankings - No. 29 National (Phil Steele), No. 6 Pac-12 (Phil Steele)

Wide Receiver/Tight End Rankings - No. 6 Pac-12 (Athlon)

RECRUITING RANKINGS
Running Back Recruiting Rankings - No. 3 National (Lindy's)

Team Recruiting Class Rankings - No. 13 National (Athlon), No. 14 National (Phil Steele), No. 17 National (Lindy's), No. 3 Pac-12 (Athlon, Lindy's, Phil Steele), No. 4 Pac-12 (Sporting News)

TEAM RANKINGS
Team Rankings - No. 4 Pac-12 North (Lindy's), No. 5 Pac-12 North (Athlon, Phil Steele, Sporting News), No. 8 Pac-12 (Lindy's), No. 42 National Power Poll (Phil Steele), No. 48 National (Phil Steele), No. 54 National (Athlon), No. 55 National (Lindy's)

2011 CAL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Day, Date - Opponent (Time, TV)
^Sat., Sept. 3 - Fresno State (4 p.m. PT, CSN California)
Sat., Sept. 10 - at Colorado (1:30 p.m. MT/12:30 p.m. PT)
Sat., Sept. 17 - Presbyterian (TBA)
*Sat., Sept. 24 - at Washington (TBA)
*Thu., Oct. 6 - at Oregon (6 p.m. PT, ESPN)
*#Thu., Oct. 13 - USC (6 p.m. PT, ESPN)
*Sat., Oct. 22 - Utah (TBA)
*Sat., Oct. 29 - at UCLA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 5 - Washington State (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 12 - Oregon State (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 19 - at Stanford (TBA)
*Fri., Nov. 25 - at Arizona State (8:15 p.m. MT/7:15 p.m. PT, ESPN)
!Fri., Dec. 2 - Pac-12 Championship Game (TBA, FSN)
Home Games in Bold at AT&T Park, San Francisco, Calif.; ^TicketCity Battle by the Bay at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, Calif.; *Pac-12 Game; !Pac-12 Championship Game at Home Site of Regular-Season Champion; #Homecoming