Zach Maynard, QB

11/08/2012 - Zach Maynard, Cal's starting quarterback the past two seasons, left the practice field Tuesday morning riding on a cart with a brace immobilizing his left knee. Hardly an encouraging scenario with No. 2 Oregon, the nation's highest-scoring team, coming to town Saturday. Injured four days earlier against Washington, Maynard's status for Cal's home finale remains iffy. "I have no idea," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. An MRI showed no ligament damage to Maynard's knee, but there no timetable on when he might resume practicing. So junior Allan Bridgford is being prepped to start while Maynard rehabs. "It's totally dependent on how he's moving, what he feels like," Tedford said of Maynard. "It's kind of out of our control." The Bears are saying all the right things about Bridgford, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder from Mission Viejo. In his two significant stints this season -- against Nevada in the opener and Friday against Washington -- Bridgford is 4 for 16 for 32 yards. This week, he gets reps with the first team for the first time. "That'll definitely help. He's never had that," center Brian Schwenke said. "That first week against Nevada, we didn't even know he was playing until the night before." Maynard was benched at the start of the Nevada game after missing a tutoring session early in the summer. - Jeff Faraudo, The Oakland Tribune

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Though he's since proven to be a cultivator of talent at virtually every position on the field, Cal coach Jeff Tedford initially made his name as a developer of quarterbacks. His star pupil, of course, was Aaron Rodgers but Tedford also coached several other first round signal-callers, including Trent Dilfer and David Carr while at Fresno State, Akili Smith and Joey Harrington while at Oregon and Kyle Boller to go along with the reigning NFL MVP during his time at Cal.

While some will argue that the other component that ties these quarterbacks together (other than Tedford having coached them) is that the majority of these passers failed to live up expecations at the NFL level, it is difficult to pin any of that "blame" on a coach who stopped working with his pupils once they were signed into the professional ranks. Because of Tedford's past success with quarterbacks, there was quiet optimism that he may have found a new diamond in the rough to polish in Maynard, who transferred to Cal after playing the first two seasons of his career at the University of Buffalo.

Maynard earned the starting role as a true sophomore, completing 57.5% of his passes for 2,694 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. After sitting out the 2010 season due to the NCAA's transfer rules, Maynard (who is the half-brother of Cal's star receiver Keenan Allen) emerged as Cal's starter last season.

While he certainly had his rough games (combined seven interceptions vs. rivals USC and UCLA) in his first season with the Golden Bears, Maynard improved as he gained experience, actually raising his QB rating over 100 points over the course of the final four regular season games and finishing with much more palatable numbers than some may have thought, completing 57% of his passes for 2,990 yards and accounting for 21 touchdowns (17 passing) against 12 interceptions.

Maynard currently lacks the frame NFL scouts are looking for at the quarterback position and must improve significantly in his decision-making and overall ball placement. He is a mobile athlete capable of keeping the defense honest and boasts a surprisingly strong arm. Should he continue his improvement this season, don't be surprised if NFL teams give the latest Tedford project a strong look.

--Rob Rang