Cal Bears Football

Will Craig, a 4-star offensive tackle from Granite Bay, California, committed to the California Golden Bears on Saturday.

https://twitter.com/will_craig_22/status/891449777971372032

The 6'5", 265-pound Craig is Scout.com's No. 26 offensive tackle in the class of 2018. Greg Biggins of Scout broke down Craig's game:

"Craig shows up well on film on both sides of the ball but we like his upside highest as an offensive tackle. He was the OL MVP at the Nike Opening Regional Camp in Oakland and shows the natural athleticism to be a dominant tackle in college. He moves well, has good lateral mobility, is equally strong as a run blocker or pass protector and is among the most talented line prospects out West."

That combination of skill, athleticism and upside makes Craig a very exciting prospect for Cal.

If he is able to add bulk and strength without sacrificing his mobility, he could be an absolute beast at the next level and earn a starting job sooner rather than later.

As far as the Golden Bears are concerned, Craig represents a major score for a 2018 recruiting class that currently ranks 72nd in the nation and eighth in the Pac-12 and will need to keep scoring big commitments moving forward in order to keep pace with the likes of Oregon, USC and UCLA.

The University of California, Berkeley, reportedly came to official terms on a contract with new head football coach Justin Wilcox on Wednesday. 

According to Jon Wilner of the Mercury News, Wilcox signed a five-year deal that will pay him an average of $1.9 million annually.

While Wilcox will be paid a base salary of $250,000 per year, he has a guaranteed talent fee that ranges from $1.25 million to $2.5 million, as well as a $100,000 hiring bonus and additional incentives.

Wilcox was hired as the Golden Bears' head coach in January following the firing of former head coach Sonny Dykes.

The 40-year-old Wilcox previously served as a defensive coordinator at Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, USC and Wisconsin.

His first head coaching job could be a difficult one, as Cal has reached just one bowl game in the past six seasons.

California bolstered their aerial attack after receiving the commitment of Nikko Remigio, who announced his decision to join the team Friday.

Remigio told Scout.com's Ryan Gorcey about his plans to attend Cal. 

"I think something special is going to happen over there," he said.

The 4-star wide receiver ranks 16th in the west region and 62nd nationally at his position on Scout. 

Remigio's production rose sharply in his junior year at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. He caught 20 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns in 2015 and followed up with 46 receptions for 758 yards and seven touchdowns in 2016, per MaxPreps.

Mater Dei has a reputation for grooming talented quarterbacks, a list that includes Matt Leinart, Colt Brennan and Matt Barkley. Remigio has undoubtedly benefited from having the next passer in that lineage, J.T. Daniels, a 2019 recruit whose reputation grows with each year.

Of course, that's not to say Remigio isn't talented in his own right.

At 5'11" and 170 pounds, he projects as a slot receiver. He lined up in the slot as well as in a more traditional wideout position as a junior. He's an agile runner who can create separation on shorter routes or find space farther down the field.

While he doesn't possess breakaway speed, Remigio can make defenders miss and turn short plays into long gains.

Despite his size, Remigio is also capable of reaching up and snatching the ball out of the air. Fox Sports West shared a replay of his touchdown grab in his team's 58-16 victory over Servite High School:

How did @nikkoremigio hold on to this TD catch?! Great 👐🏈. @MDfootball @CIFSS #FOXPrepZone pic.twitter.com/TUQP76Kj9M

— FanDuel Sports Network West (@FanDuelSN_West) October 29, 2016

It's doubtful Remigio will be a revelation immediately upon stepping on the Cal's campus. He doesn't have the physical tools to make a player of his size an otherworldly pass-catcher.

However, Remigio will likely make incremental improvements with each year until he's a vital piece of the offense by the time he's a junior or senior. Golden Bears fans will want to keep the California native on their radar in 2019 and 2020.

Former Cal head coach Sonny Dykes had a hard time building the program over the past four seasons with a 19-30 record and one bowl appearance before he was fired after a 5-7 mark in 2016.

Justin Wilcox is heading into his first season leading the Golden Bears and has his work cut out for him. Recruiting was not kind to the Golden Bears in 2017, with Scout.com ranking the class as the worst in the Pac-12 and 66th in the nation. 

The addition of a high-ceiling playmaker like Remigio in 2018 certainly puts California on a much better path for success under Wilcox. 

Former California Golden Bears quarterback Davis Webb believes he could be selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft based on feedback he's received during the predraft process. 

"I've talked to a lot of NFL people," Webb said after Cal's pro day on Friday, according to ESPN.com's David Lombardi. "And double-digit teams have told me I'm a first-round guy.

"Every meeting [with an NFL team] I've had, they've said I'm one of the best quarterbacks on the board."

In his latest two-round mock draft, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller projected Webb to the Washington Redskins at No. 49 overall. That represented a 13-spot jump for the 22-year-old, who was slotted in at No. 62 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Miller's post-combine mock draft. 

As things stand, Miller has Webb as the sixth quarterback off the board behind North Carolina's Mitchell Trubisky, Clemson's Deshaun Watson, Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes, Notre Dame's DeShone Kizer and Pittsburgh's Nate Peterman. 

During his senior season at Cal, Webb completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 4,295 yards, 37 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, questions cropped up regarding his viability as a signal-caller at the next level because he played in a pair of Air Raid systems at Texas Tech and Cal. 

As Bleacher Report's Doug Farrar noted, "The next step is convincing NFL teams that he was more than a product of two Air Raid systems. To that end, he employed the services of Jim Zorn, the former pro quarterback and coach, with the plan of filling out Webb's palette with pro-ready concepts."

Despite those concerns, Webb appears to be winning teams over with his arm strength and classroom acumen. 

"Every time I'm in a private interview with teams, I have an opportunity to get on the board, and every team's been impressed with my football IQ," he told Farrar. 

With his stock now surging, Webb will have to try to convince prospective employers he's worthy of a first-round pick that could thrust him into the spotlight much sooner than was originally anticipated. 

Looking for the best NFL coverage around? Bleacher Report is the go-to destination for armchair quarterbacks everywhere. B/R's NFL coverage delivers must-see gridiron analysis on a daily basis.

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Follow NFL Analyst Jason Cole for more news and updates. 

California announced on Jan. 14 it has hired former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox to be its head football coach.

On Jan. 13, ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman reported the sides agreed on a five-year contract. Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com confirmed the deal.

Cal athletic director Mike Williams spoke about the hiring in the school's announcement:

Cal Athletics is about high academics, it's about a comprehensive student-athlete experience, and it's about winning championships. We have found a coach in Justin Wilcox who embodies all of those principles. Justin is a smart, driven person of high character with a proven record of success. As a former assistant coach for us, Justin understands what it takes to be successful at Cal – in the classroom and on the field. He has deep West Coast roots, having grown up and spent the bulk of his career in the Pac-12 and the conference footprint. Justin just led the No. 7 defense in the country at Wisconsin and his teams have consistently ranked among the best in the nation. I am confident we have found someone who is clearly the right fit for Cal.

Wilcox also spoke about joining the Golden Bears:

I couldn't be more excited to become head football coach at the University of California. It has been a dream of mine to lead a college football program and there's no better place than here at Cal where I got my start and at a school that means so much to me. I would like to thank Director of Athletics Mike Williams and his staff for putting their trust in me with the Cal football program. I'm looking forward to getting to know our team and hiring our staff, and we will get to work immediately recruiting student-athletes of high character who are good fits for Cal both academically and athletically. I can't wait to get started. Go Bears!

Wilcox was officially introduced as Cal's new head coach at a press conference held Tuesday and provided more insight into his vision for the program moving forward.

While he will get to work on recruiting and building the type of roster that fits his philosophy, Wilcox made it clear he is comfortable with the players already in place, according to California Golden Blogs: "The players on the team are our players. We're not looking to change them. We will put them in the best position to succeed."

He also stressed the importance of Cal fans and the role they must play during his first year at the helm, per California Golden Blogs: "To the fans out there, we are grateful for all of you. ... We need you to make Memorial Stadium to be a hard place to play."

Wilcox is getting his first opportunity to become a head coach after spending more than a decade as a coordinator with several high-profile programs around the nation. He's made stops with Boise State, Tennessee, Washington, Southern California and the Badgers dating back to 2006.

His coaching career began with Boise State as a graduate assistant in 2001. He made a pretty rapid rise up the ranks, making a three-year stop at Cal as a linebackers coach and then returning to the Broncos to begin his various stints leading defenses.

The 40-year-old former Oregon defensive back guided Wisconsin's defense to a strong 2016 campaign, his first year with the program, after arriving from the Trojans. The unit ranked fourth in scoring defense (15.6 points per game) and seventh in total defense (301.4 yards per game).

In addition, the Badgers gave up just 16.2 points per game in their five regular-season games against ranked opponents during a 10-2 (7-2) journey to the Big Ten West title.

Alas, the lasting memory many Wisconsin fans will have of Wilcox's tenure is the defense's collapse against Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Nittany Lions put up 435 yards despite only 23 minutes of possession in their 38-31 triumph. Wilcox and the Wisconsin defense bounced back in a Cotton Bowl win, holding Western Michigan to 16 points to help the Badgers finish 11-3.

Jason Galloway of the Wisconsin State Journal passed along comments from senior safety Leo Musso about the impact the coach made over the course of the season.

"He's meant the world to us," Musso said. "He really, truly does care about his players. We really appreciate that and love him for that. He's one of the best at what he does. That shows each and every week."

Those types of remarks combined with his experience at the highest levels of college football make him an intriguing hire. That said, he also comes with some risk since he hasn't been the leader of a program before.

Wilcox is set to replace Sonny Dykes, who went 19-30 in four seasons as Cal's head coach. The Golden Bears waited until the first wave of coaching changes was complete before making their decision to let Dykes go, which led to speculation they might seriously consider a marquee option like Chip Kelly.

Although the longtime defensive coordinator won't bring the same type of hype, he's a promising hire with upside. A lot of that comes from coaching just about everywhere on the map, including the West, Midwest and Southeast. Those are all key recruiting areas.

Now Wilcox will be tasked with jump-starting a Cal program that's been stuck in neutral since the latter stages of the Jeff Tedford era.

       

California was pursuing a new head coach after firing Sonny Dykes following a 5-7 season, but it appears they have found their man.

Continue for updates.

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Wilcox, Cal Reportedly Agree to Deal

Friday, Jan. 13

Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox has agreed to a five-year contract to become Cal's next head coach, per Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports initially reported the sides were in negotiations on Thursday. Feldman reported Wilcox interviewed for the job on Jan. 11.

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Mason Comments on Cal Rumors

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Regarding Cal rumors....to my team, our fans & #GoldRush17, I'm firmly Anchored Down in Nashville. Let's Ride! 💫

— Derek Mason (@CoachDerekMason) January 11, 2017

Feldman reported the Bears may have had interest in Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason.

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Niumatalolo Reportedly Among Cal's Targets

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo is among the candidates Cal is considering to fill its head coaching vacancy, according to FootballScoop.

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Musgrave Could Potentially Be a Target for Cal

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Feldman reported Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave "may get a look" for the Cal job.

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Cal Targeting Multiple Names

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Feldman speculated that in addition to Mason, Southern California offensive coordinator Tee Martin, Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, Washington co-defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and former Oregon, Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers head coach Chip Kelly could also be names of interest for the team.

Feldman also reported that, along with Mason, "one other sitting head coach is in the mix."

David Lombardi of ESPN.com, meanwhile, reported Spavital—who is serving as the interim head coach—would indeed interview for the position.

As for Kelly, Jon Wilner of the Mercury News broke down the pros and cons of making such a splashy hire:

First off: Cal can afford him. Thanks to the guaranteed money Kelly is collecting from the Eagles and 49ers, the Bears could pay market rate without having to actually pay market rate — they could structure the deal in a manner that forces the NFL teams to shell out millions per year, at least in the short term.

Also, the Bears want a coach who can energize the fans and donors, and Kelly would do that.

But Cal also wants a coach who wants to be at Cal, who won't cast a wandering eye at the first point of success, and Kelly surely has larger ambitions.

Does Kelly even want to return to college, where he would have to recruit, deal with boosters and bureaucracy and have limited time with the players?

Those are all fair points. Kelly would put Cal on the map in a way that the other candidates wouldn't, but he'd also come with plenty of other complications.

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Next Head Coach Will Have to Turn Around Struggling Program

The task will be turning around a program that has had just one winning season in the past five years and was a disappointing 19-30 under Dykes. The Golden Bears also have just one bowl win since 2009.

Certainly, reinvigorating the program and competing consistently with the likes of USC, UCLA, Washington, Oregon and Utah, among others, in the competitive Pac-12 will be a challenge for the next head coach. Getting this hire right is paramount for Cal.

           

You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.

More than a month after completing his third losing season in four years, Sonny Dykes is out at Cal.

Cal confirmed the move Sunday after Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports first reported the decision. The Bears went 5-7 in 2016 but closed their season with an impressive 36-10 win over UCLA, and Dykes finished his Cal tenure with a 19-30 record.

Cal also announced that offensive coordinator Jake Spavital will serve as interim head coach. Cal athletic director Mike Williams also spoke about the decision to fire Dykes in the release, which reads in part:

This was an extremely difficult decision and one that we take very seriously. There was no rush to judgment; we wanted to be thorough and thoughtful. Ultimately, it was a combination of factors that brought us to this outcome. We are continuously evaluating our program and looking for ways to make it better – whether that's through additional academic support, recruiting, facilities, staffing, culture, leadership or anything else that can help our football program succeed. Primarily, we want what's best for our student-athletes and have a head coach in place who is fully committed to our program and our university.

Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com later shared Dykes' message to his players after his firing:

I am as surprised as you all about the news today. I am sorry you all found out the way you did. All I can say is I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you; it has been an honor to be your coach. If you keep working hard and doing things the right way, you will have success in everything you do. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me any time. God Bless.

While the program hasn't produced elite results, there were no rumors of a potential Dykes departure during the season. In fact, he was considered a buzzworthy candidate for other openings. ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach reported Baylor was interested in pursuing Dykes, although the program ultimately hired Matt Rhule.

This may be a case of Dykes' wanderlust finally being too much for Cal. In addition to recently interviewing for the Baylor job, he was a candidate for openings at South Carolina, Missouri and Virginia in 2015. Feldman reported Dykes' interest in other opportunities "didn't sit well" with Cal players or the administration.

Despite the tension, Dykes and Cal negotiated an extension to keep him in Berkeley through 2019. The school will now be forced to pay a buyout. Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports reported Dykes will receive $6 million in severance.

The timing of the move is curious. If Cal was looking to move on for performance reasons, it likely would have done so immediately after the season. The school has already missed out on a number of high-profile coaching candidates who were interested in a move to a Power Five conference.

Jeff Brohm went to Purdue, P.J. Fleck to Minnesota, Willie Taggart to Oregon and Rhule to Baylor. All four could have been potential targets for Cal, which will instead have no choice but to interview candidates who fell short of other openings.

Should Cal desire an alternative to Dykes' high-octane offense, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables could be at the top of the list. Venables has had success as a defensive coordinator at Clemson and Oklahoma for more than a decade, helping the Tigers to two straight College Football Playoff finals.

Feldman reported Wisconsin defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and Spavital are other potential full-time candidates. Offense was rarely the problem under Dykes. Jared Goff parlayed his three years under Dykes into the No. 1 overall pick in last April's NFL draft, while Davis Webb threw for more than 4,000 yards in his first year as a starter.

Defense and Pac-12 performance, however, were major issues. Cal gave up 42.6 points per game, which was second-worst in the nation in 2016. Dykes never produced a winning record in the conference and was 10-26 overall against Pac-12 foes.

Dykes previously spent three years as the head coach at Louisiana Tech, producing a 22-15 record.

    

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

Marshawn Lynch is back (and almost ran over the band). pic.twitter.com/MdqIBnJSUc

— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) November 6, 2016

Marshawn Lynch is back at his alma mater, California, and reliving his famous cart ride from 10 years ago.

Just before the Golden Bears took the field Saturday night to face off against Washington, Lynch came tearing out of the tunnel, whipping and weaving a cart onto the gridiron while E-40 blasted in the background.

Fans were already aware that Cal was commemorating Lynch's infamous golf-cart joyride, as 10,000 spectators received a free bobblehead of Beast Mode driving a Cal cart.

But Lynch shocked everyone—particularly a few members of the band, whom he nearly sideswiped—when he whipped onto the field with his mother riding shotgun.

Here's another look:

Marshawn goin dumb. 😂 pic.twitter.com/WRdi91RWhv

— Nick Yoko (@nickyokoyama) November 6, 2016

[Twitter]

As two Texas defenders sandwiched California quarterback Davis Webb, he did what quarterbacks are taught to do: throw the ball away.

As it floated toward the sideline during the fourth quarter back on Sept. 17, Webb watched from the ground as Cal receiver Chad Hansen appeared in the ball's path. Hansen leapt into the air, reached over the sideline and not only caught it but also somehow contorted his body to land with his left foot in bounds.

"I thought it was the best catch I've ever seen in my life," Webb said. "I watched it on film, and it was the best catch I've ever seen in my life."

The only person in the building who imagined turning that pass into a reception was the one who made it so, kind of like Hansen's career itself. 

Ten weeks ago, almost no one knew who Chad Hansen was.

His path would make a doubter out of most. He is a former walk-on who was seventh on the depth chart a year ago. He started his career at Idaho State, and when he decided to transfer, he was begging FBS schools to take a chance on him.

Those who responded told him to return to Idaho State. 

One of the biggest questions Webb had when he visited Cal in the spring was who would catch his passes if he signed with the Bears. Along with No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Jared Goff, Cal's top six receivers were all leaving. A team with that much turnover on offense isn't a dream destination for a graduate transfer quarterback with one year left of eligibility. Cal head coach Sonny Dykes tried to sell Webb on Hansen.

"He compared him to a lot of receivers that he coached," Webb said, noting former Texas Tech and current Oakland Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree was the first comp. "I knew absolutely nothing about him. I'd never heard of Chad Hansen."

When Webb arrived on campus in May, he watched the tape of every spring practice three to five times. The tape confirmed what he had heard about Hansen, a 6'3", 205-pound pass-catching machine who recently clocked a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. 

"Wow," Webb remembers thinking as he watched the tape. "He was unbelievable."

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In January 2014, Hansen walked into the office of Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer and delivered the message that he thought he could play at a higher level.

The market had said otherwise. Hansen received one scholarship offer as a senior in high school, and that was from Idaho State. 

Hansen had been a late bloomer and did not play varsity ball until his junior year at Moorpark High School in Southern California, putting up modest numbers that year (20 catches, 216 receiving yards and two touchdowns). Still, his high school coach, Tim Lins, believed he had a player with upside and tried to showcase Hansen during spring ball that year when 11 Pac-12 schools came through.

But there wasn't any interest.

"They all got to see him practice, and they all got to hear me tell what an upside he had, but it's hard for them to really take a chance on projections, I guess," Lins said. "I'm sure if I had it to do over again, we'd throw him 100 balls. It was like, after spring, if there's nothing there, it's rare something appears between the end of spring recruiting and the season. That was the tough part."

Hansen did enough as a senior (49 catches, 882 yards, 12 touchdowns) to get both San Diego and Cal Poly to offer walk-on spots along with the one scholarship from Idaho State. He was a true starter at Idaho State as a freshman, earning All-Big Sky Conference honorable mention. He believed that was enough to convince FBS schools to take another look. 

But Kramer had found a gem in the Southern California product and had the reaction that just about any coach with that kind of potential in his possession would have.

"He was obviously very mad, sort of angry, and he let me have it a little bit," Hansen said.

Kramer refused to grant Hansen his release. The player eventually appealed to the school, but his hearing wasn't until March. Between those months, the Idaho State coaches did everything they could to make him regret his choice.

At first, Sheldon Cross, who was Hansen's position coach, tried to talk him out of leaving and sell him on the future at Idaho State.

"Then it turned into more malicious type of talk," Hansen said.

The ploy that stuck with Hansen was Cross giving him the number of an assistant coach at Arizona State to see what the response would be from an FBS school. It was quickly apparent to Hansen that he'd been set up. 

"He said I'm probably not good enough to play at the Division I level and I should stay at Idaho State," Hansen said.

Hansen joined the track team to stay in shape and maintain a sense of team camaraderie, which he said helped him through that time. But when his parents, Tim and Sheri Hansen, came to visit that spring, they realized how much the Idaho State football coaches had worn him down.

"He physically was sick," Sheri said. "His eyes were sunk, and he was thin. He was pale. It was bad."

Hansen said he lost 15 pounds, and his grades slipped because of the stress. In March, he finally got the opportunity to present his case to an appeals committee made up of professors at the school, and he won. It was still weeks before he was free, though. The Idaho State athletics department waited until the final day legally possible to grant him his release.

A spokesman for Idaho State declined a request for comment from Kramer.

"It was the worst experience ever," Sheri said. "And here we have a coach come into our living room and say 'I'm going to take care of your son. I'm going to turn him into a man' and that kind of thing. I'm thinking, after what you're doing right now, I would never ever recommend you telling a parent that you're going to turn them into a man. That's not the kind of man I want. I do not want somebody telling my kid he was a quitter, ditching his team. They beat him down."

Once Hansen got his release, he was part of a cold-emailing machine that included his mom, father and uncle. The family contacted every coach along the West Coast they could find an email address for.

The Hansens thought it would be easier the second time around equipped with his college stats, but unfortunately, they did not have much game video from his freshman season. Idaho State refused to give him any video, and Hansen went to a local news station in an effort to include some college footage with his high school highlights.

"The film wasn't all that great," he said. "It was field level, and they really didn't have all that many plays. They helped me put together maybe 10 plays from my whole season, so that was helpful. But I think mostly what I sent out was high school tape. It was a little tough."

And barely anyone responded.

The Hansens decided they might have better luck if they hand-delivered their package. Arizona was one of the schools at the top of his wish list, so his family drove eight hours from their home in Fillmore, California, to Tucson, Arizona, to ask in-person for a chance. He did the same at UCLA.

"Absolutely nothing," Sheri said of the response. "Crickets."

It took two months before they got a bite. "After I got a few no's and nobody else was responding, there was a lull," Hansen said. "I got worried and broadened my search [nationwide], and that's when Cal popped up, which was a blessing."

Cal grad assistant David Gru saw potential in the highlights he watched of Hansen—he originally thought Hansen was still in high school based on the film—but Gru was impressed enough to suggest that Dykes take a look.

Dykes told Gru to follow up. Hansen came to visit campus, and the Bears offered a walk-on spot.

"We were like, 'Heck yeah, this is a free guy and it looks like he might develop into something,'" Dykes said.

On the first day of fall camp in 2014, Hansen was working out back home in Fillmore when he got a call from Gru. A spot had opened up, and they needed another receiver. Hansen headed home, packed one suitcase and headed to Berkeley. He spent the first week sleeping on the dorm floor of some of his teammates until he was able to line up housing.

"He was really raw and didn't have a lot of confidence, but you could see the size and the fact that he could run," Dykes said. "You could kind of start to see this guy has a chance to become a good player."

---

On Webb's first day on campus this past May, he invited any receivers in town to play catch with him. Hansen was one of the first to show up, and they went through the route tree.

"I threw the first couple balls, and I knew we were going to have something special," Webb said. "The last guy I had that with was [former Texas Tech teammate] Jace Amaro, who is now a tight end for the Tennessee Titans. We threw a couple throws and had a chemistry.

"Just watching him cut in and out of routes, catch the ball with his hands. I threw him a streak, and he went up and got it. Dang, this guy is pretty good."

Hansen could sense the connection right away.

"He was able to hit me in stride on almost every route, and that's pretty crazy for somebody that's never thrown with me before," Hansen said. "For a quarterback to not know a receiver's speed or height, throwing a ball that's very accurate is pretty rare throwing for the first time."

The match was perfect. Not only did Cal have two NFL-level talents at their respective positions, but the two had a bond because of what had happened at their previous schools—Webb had been a starter as a true freshman at Texas Tech and eventually lost his spot in the middle of his sophomore season to Patrick Mahomes.

Webb and Hansen spent the rest of the offseason working out together every chance they got, developing a rapport that has allowed the Bears to turn into the second-best passing offense currently in college football.

It also didn't hurt that the schedule played out perfectly to ignite a fire in Hansen. Two schools stood out to the receiver when he thought back to his search: San Diego State and Arizona State.

Both schools responded, but their rejection stuck.

"They told me they don't miss people coming out of high school nowadays," he said. "There's a reason you're playing at a lower Division I level."

Against San Diego State, Hansen caught 14 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown and was the nation's leading receiver after two weeks.

In the regular-season finale last year against Arizona State, Hansen had a breakout performance with 91 receiving yards and a touchdown. He made the Sun Devils look foolish again in the fourth game of this year. Hansen put up 10 catches, 110 yards and a touchdown, and he had another ridiculous grab along the sideline that rivaled his Texas catch.

Name to remember: Chad Hansen.

The @CalFootball WR recorded 110 receiving yards tonight and LEADS the NCAA in receiving yards. #IsThatGood pic.twitter.com/9k4YjGmmS2

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 25, 2016

"Throughout the week, he's a normal guy. He's very chill," Webb said. "But on Saturday, he turns into a monster, and he's ready to prove people wrong."

Hansen has even proved his own coaches wrong in a way. During spring ball following his redshirt season, the defensive coaches approached him about moving to defense and floated the potential of earning a scholarship if he did so.

"I hadn't played defense since high school," Hansen said. "All my coaching and skill was on offense. They let me make the decision, and I was more comfortable playing offense. I just decided to tell them no."

Even with last year's talented receiver group that included six players currently on NFL rosters, Hansen found his way onto the field and started to show his potential late in the year.

"Once he started to realize, 'Hey, I can play at this level,' he started to get some confidence," Dykes said. "We had six receivers who went onto the NFL, and he was as good as those guys. It just took him a while. Bowl practices, I thought this guy really has a chance to be something special. He just needed more reps and more opportunity."

With Hansen's success, Dykes sees him slowly breaking out of his shell this year, finally starting to ask questions in the meeting room—when he used to sit silent in the corner.

"He really wants to understand the little nuances that make guys really good, and you can tell that he has a feel for things and see things," Dykes said.

That will be music to the ears of NFL scouts. Hansen is a next-level talent with a rare combination of size and speed, and he's at his best when the ball is in the air. He has the ability to maneuver his body to block defenders and make a catch at the highest point.

He's graded out as one of the nation's top receivers, according to Pro Football Focus. Two weeks ago, an NFL personnel executive told Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com that Hansen was the nation's most surprising player through the first half of the season.

"I love how he waited his turn and then stepped up when his opportunity arrived," the exec said. "He really put himself on the map with his play this year."

Hansen was still without a scholarship until this summer when he stepped out of his comfort zone and approached Dykes about it. "Already in the works," the coach told him. "I promise you we're taking care of you."

Hansen has more than returned the favor. Even though he missed the last game, he is on pace to set Cal's single-season record for receptions, yards and touchdowns. With similar output as a senior, he would also set the school's career records in all three categories—and remember, he'd do so in three years. Currently, Hansen has 59 receptions, 770 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. 

"It's really surreal," Hansen said. "It's crazy going from where I was to where I am now. It's honestly a blessing. I can really attribute my success to my family and their support."

And do not forget Gru.

After Cal upset Utah earlier this month, the man who discovered Hansen grabbed him on the field and gave him a big bear hug.

"I love you, Chad," Gru told him.

"I love your kid. I just love your kid," he shouted to Hansen's parents nearby.

Before Hansen left the field, he ran toward the stands and handed his receiver gloves to a young Cal fan, which has become his ritual. He says he searches for a "little guy who has that look he had."

It's almost as if Hansen knows he's living a Disney script. We see it as that, anyway.

To him, this is all rather procedural, like the best catch Webb has ever seen. 

       

C.J. Moore covers college basketball and football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.