James Montgomery Gone - Reaction
As many of you already know, James Montgomery has been given his release and intends to transfer.
This move should come as a surprise to Cal fans. Montgomery was listed as the #1 back going into Spring camp. With Jahvid Best coming off an injury, there was little doubt that Montgomery would probably be the #1 runningback come fall camp and gameday versus Michigan State (I say Montgomery would have been the #1 back instead of Best because I foresee Best being utilized more as a 10-carry scatback rather than an every-down back).
So why’d he leave?
There are two plausible possibilities.
First, the most obvious, playing time. Cal has Vereen, Best, Deboskie, and Slocum all waiting in the wings. As we all know, Best is sure to see snaps next year (as long as he’s healthy). For those of you that followed spring ball closely last year (2007), you know that Vereen was touted as one of the best freshman players (besides Best and WR Calvin). And for those of you that have been reading Tedford’s quotes from this year (2008), you also know he’s spoken pretty highly of Slocum too. Interestingly enough, we haven’t heard much about Montgomery.
Most Cal fans speculated that if any RBs were to leave, it was Slocum. He’s been buried under the depth chart for two years now. Had Montgomery not left, Slocum would have had to fight with Best, Vereen, and Montgomery for game time (I leave out Deboskie assuming that he’d red-shirt this year). And while we have heard Tedford speak about Slocum in the past few months, it’s mainly because people have been asking about whether Slocum was going to transfer since he was the hot pick to jump ship. So of all the runningbacks, the one we’d least expect to transfer is the one that transfers. That’s a head scratcher.
Now, the second possibility on why Montgomery transferred, he just didn’t like Cal. Or Berkeley. Or The Bay. It’s less likely than the first possibility but still a very plausible possibility. Remember, Montgomery did originally commit to Washington during the recruiting process but then switched his commitment to Cal towards the end. You’d think that if he was really in love with Cal/Berkeley/The Bay from the start, that he’d commit to Cal first. So maybe he just sort of made the wrong decision and finally came to realize that now.
If I may interject my own personal experiences to support this second theory, I must say that in my time with the team, I never thought that Montgomery looked happy. Now, maybe Montgomery is one of those players that never smiles or talks a lot (such as Cameron Morrah). So maybe that’s just how he is. But because I never saw him smile or laugh that much, or show other visible signs that he was generally enjoying his life as a Cal Football player. The lack of those signs did make me wonder how content he was. Maybe he wasn’t happy with the fact that he red-shirted. It takes a lot of humility for these players to go from high school stars to scout team. It can be demoralizing and a very tough test of one’s motivation and resilience. Who knows?
Anyways, with Montgomery gone, how does that affect the RB situation?
Well, I think that means Slocum and Vereen are competing for the #1 spot. The loser of that battle will share snaps with Best. Best will probably be used more as a scatback and not an every-down back so I don’t think he’s really in the running for the #1 spot. It’s not that Best isn’t talented, it’s just that the maximization of his abilities is best utilized occassionally so he stays fresh and speedy. As for Deboskie, with the departure of Montgomery I think he probably won’t red-shirt.
