Lauren RabainoTwo days after his team’s season came to an end, Cal Poly football head coach Rich Ellerson voiced appreciation for what he praised as an extraordinary senior class.
The Mustangs, who were ranked third in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) for seven consecutive weeks before Saturday’s 49-35 first-round playoff loss to Weber State, lost 17 seniors.
Seven of them were starters on an offense that entered the game leading the FCS in points and yards per game.
Ellerson said he “certainly” felt the class was the best he’s coached at Cal Poly.
“I’m not talking about necessarily their athletic prowess – just the quality of the men, how much they’ve accomplished, how hard they’ve worked, how much they overcame and how much they meant to each other,” he said. “I was jealous of what I was seeing. The experiences they were sharing and the fun they were having was really something.”
While winning the Great West Conference championship, the Mustangs set numerous school and NCAA records.
Senior All-American receiver Ramses Barden set Cal Poly career marks for catches (206), yards (4,203) and touchdowns (50), broke Larry Fitzgerald’s all-time NCAA record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch (20) and tied Randy Moss’ all-time FCS standard of single-season consecutive games with such a reception (11).
Senior all-conference quarterback Jonathan Dally’s career passing efficiency rating of 183.82 would be an FCS record if he had enough completions to qualify, and his 293.23 rating during a 69-41 win over Southern Utah on Oct. 25 (when he was 22-of-26 for 410 yards and six touchdowns) is the best single-game mark in FCS history.
As a team, the Mustangs, who finished 8-3, broke school season records for first downs (262), first downs by rushing (162), points scored (488) and touchdowns (67).
“This feeling will fade and all the wonderful experiences and accomplishments that this group has had while they’ve been here will shine through and dominate their memories,” Ellerson added.
Next year’s schedule
features two FBS opponents
Cal Poly athletic director Alison Cone said Monday that the school has secured 10 games for next year and is seeking one final game that needs to be at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
The slate will feature two Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A) opponents, neither of which are from Bowl Championship Series conferences, Cone added.
Last year’s schedule was announced April 3. It also featured two FBS foes – San Diego State, which Cal Poly defeated 29-27, and Wisconsin, which the Mustangs never trailed before the final play of a 36-35, overtime loss.
“I don’t think this year helped anybody be anxious to return our calls,” Cone said.
Ellerson scoffs at
Washington speculation
Ellerson laughed off a column in Monday’s Tacoma (Wash.) News Tribune strongly suggesting him as a candidate for Washington’s head coaching job.
John McGrath, writing Ellerson as Washington’s head coach should be “as mouth-watering a proposition to Huskies fans as the sight of another turkey sandwich,” recommended Ellerson not only because of the Mustangs’ six straight winning seasons and unique systems, but also because of his recruiting success on the West Coast and his knowledge of the Pac-10 Conference (in which he was an assistant at Arizona from 1992 to 1995 and 1997 to 2000).
McGrath wrote that the idea was first brought up on local talk radio by Don Borst, who’s covered college football for USA Today and Fox Sports.
“It was just funny,” Ellerson said. “It was reason to smile today when there weren’t a lot of reasons to smile. The whole thing’s tongue-in-cheek.”
Washington officials wouldn’t specifically comment on candidates, associate athletic director Richard Kilwien said Monday.
“The amount of articles, stories and rumors related to our coaching staff are numerous, but the simple fact is the athletic director and president are conducting the search silently and effectively,” he added.
Kilwien said getting the Huskies “back into the national scene” may not require someone with a Pac-10 pedigree.
“Whether a person has Pac-10 ties is not necessarily any one characteristic we’re looking for,” he said. “The main thing is for us to get it right.”
Barden could be
first-day pick
An NFL executive told Newsday on Nov. 3 that Barden was one of five “under-the-radar” NFL Draft prospects who could go on the first day – or in the first two rounds – on April 26.
“If I’m guessing, I think he can get into the second round,” Ellerson agreed Monday.
Barden, who will play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17 on ESPN2, finished fourth in the voting Monday for the Walter Payton Award, given to the FCS’ best offensive player.
He’ll likely be invited to the scouting combine in Indianapolis from Feb. 18-24, when he’ll look to put to rest questions about his straight-line speed, agility and route-running.
“He’ll have a line of about 15 corners walk up on him and press him because everybody wants to see how tall receivers are going to handle a press, and he’ll do fine there,” Ellerson said. “Really, the ticket will be how he runs that 40 (yard dash) time. It seems silly that you can do so much and then have a couple of ticks on the clock make all the difference in the world, but it will. But I have great confidence he’ll do just fine in that regard.”
Barden might not be the only graduating Mustang with a professional shot, though.
Dally received two write-in votes for the Walter Payton Award.
“It’d be a shame if Jonathan Dally doesn’t find a niche somewhere,” said Ellerson, who coached in the Canadian Football League from 1984 to 1986. “He would be a spectacular guy in the CFL.”
Running backs James Noble and Ryan Mole, as well as center Stephen Field, among others, all have a “legitimate chance” but will face questions about being undersized for their respective positions, Ellerson said.
“All those NFL guys come through and they recognize that that guy can play, but it’s like they have a height requirement or something,” Ellerson said. “It’s like he’s trying to join the Navy or something – it’s like he’s not tall enough.”
Taylor a dark horse to
take over at quarterback
While Ellerson said the coaching staff is still “in decompression mode,” he named a possible surprise in the competition to take Dally’s place under center next year.
Redshirt freshmen-to-be Andre Broadous and Doug Shumway, as well as redshirt junior-to-be Tony Smith, figure to be the favorites at quarterback, but Ryan Taylor – a 6-foot-3, 180-pound prep signal caller who was projected as a redshirt freshman receiver next year – could be a “wild card” at the position, Ellerson said.
“He has some of those, dare I say, Dally-esque qualities,” Ellerson added. “He could be a spectacular receiver. Having said that, he might be the best quarterback in the program.”
Cornerback Asa Jackson and linebacker Quentin Greenlaw were the only true freshmen to play this year, but running back Ryan Solomon often practiced with starters, Ellerson said.
“Most of the solutions, most of the answers, are here right now,” he said.
Spring practice starts in 11 weeks.