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BERKELEY, Calif. (KTVU) - The dawn of a new era in Cal football is upon us. A brief - but potentially significant - era.
When the Bears open their season tonight (well, actually tomorrow in Sydney) against Hawaii, starting quarterback Davis Webb will be playing his first game in blue and gold. Mind you, it won’t be his first collegiate game. Webb played three seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Cal, having earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science.
He’s only been on campus since May, but is already well versed in the seismic differences between Berkeley and Lubbock, Texas.
“Lubbock is the plains, it's West Texas, it's hot, it's dusty there's wind,” he notes. “The Bay Area - it's 60 degrees all the time, there's little to no wind, the girls have been great out here.”
But when it comes to offensive systems, the Red Raiders and Golden Bears are actually quite similar, which made Cal a perfect fit for Webb as a graduate transfer.
“I just dive right in. I just kind of embraced it when I got here on Telegraph. I always say this is like studying abroad for me. From Lubbock to Berkeley, I'm just embracing it, and going with the flow a little bit and enjoying my great teammates that I have.”
His new head coach was impressed from the get go.
“When Davis came in, he had a specific plan, that's one thing that's unique about him,” said Sonny Dykes. “He got here on a Thursday night, was in the office Friday 7 a.m., and he's been in there 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. pretty much every day since.”
Long hours for a guy facing a tall task, replacing campus legend – and top draft pick - Jared Goff. Webb knows Goff well, and has all the respect in the world for his predecessor.
“He had a great 3 years here, really turned this program around. He left a legacy that's going to be remembered forever. I wish him luck in LA but at the same time this team is very excited to get a fresh start. I don't think about Jared Goff, the passing yards the touchdowns he's broken or how many games he's won as quarterback at Cal. I just control what I can control that's having a great fall and perform each and every Saturday.”
“The thing about Cal football is the QB bar is set pretty high,” adds Dykes. “You look at the guys who have had success here going back to Aaron Rodgers and Jared last year, and so there's a great history of great quarterback play here at this university, and we think Davis is going to be eventually in that same kind of breath as those guys.”