He also has Cal as No. 10 in his quality rankings. I know Jahvid Best is really good and the real deal and all, but it takes more than one guy to be worth the tenth overall rating.

As I have a foot in both camps thanks to growing up in California before coming to the SEC for college, I offer the following in the spirit of information exchange. That said, I would invert your statement slightly to read “if they could find one guy – at QB – they’d be well worth the tenth, or higher, overall rating.”

A brief rundown, though Mr. Steele will certainly provide more information should you desire it.

Cal’s defense will contend for the best in the conference and by extension, given the presence of USC, the country. This is fortunate for Cal because it means they’ll be able to win almost every game by scoring 21-28 points and their offense will have time to grow.

They return every member of their secondary off of last year’s unit which was first in takeaways and second in scoring defense, especially Syd’Quan Thompson who is all over the pre-season All-American lists. Darian Hagan, who wasn’t so bad himself, is the other corner and Marcus Ezeff and Brett Johnson are at safety, though Johnson might lose his starting job to Sean Cattouse.

Their DLine will also be among the conference’s best with last year’s all-conference (2nd team) end Tyson Alualu returning as well as nose tackle Derrick Hill. Cameron Jordan, the most talented player on the line, will be stepping into a starting role to fill Rulon Davis’ shoes.

The only “question” area on Cal’s defense is at LB, where they lost three of last year’s four starters. I use scare quotes, however, because Eddie Young is a returning starter, Mike Mohamed actually recorded more tackles last year than any of the departed players, and Mychal Kendricks is regarded as having shall we say….a large upside. Which leaves the final starting spot to be contested between Devin Bishop, younger brother of another celebrated Cal linebacker Desmond Bishop, and Ryan Davis a JUCO transfer.

As for Cal’s offense, the strength is obviously with Jahvid the Jet. He was able to amass his yardage totals last year despite serious injuries up and down the line and very little aerial attack. Also notable is his back-up, Shane Vereen. Both situations look to be remedied this year with more depth on the OL, including the return of Mike Tepper to left tackle after receiving a sixth year of eligibility, and Chris Guarnero at C, who has been the designated heir to Alex Mack for 2 seasons now, and more seasoned wideouts. The only issue, as it has been for the past three years since Nate Longshore hurt his ankle against Oregon, is who will throw to them? Presumably it’s Kevin Riley, and if he can hit 60% completion pctg with a low number of turnovers, the only team they should lose to is USC. Which is why, knowing Cal, 10-2 is the likely result.