California’s trip to SMU on Saturday carries a little extra meaning for two Golden Bears who know the Metroplex well.
Defensive back Isaiah Crosby, a Fort Worth native, expects 20-30 family members and friends at Gerald J. Ford Stadium.
Running back Ashten Emory, who grew up in Dallas, figures he’ll have at least 40 people in the stands backing him. For both players, it will be a homecoming in every sense.
“We have a lot of Texas guys,” Crosby said, “and it’s always cool to just talk about going back home and being able to play in a stadium that we grew up around.”
Said Emory: “I think it will be a great blessing. I’m looking forward to it.”
Cal’s Texas presence runs deeper than just those two. Eight players on the roster this season hail from the state, and the Bears have long had a line into Texas talent. Three Lone Star State products - running backs Justin Forsett and Daniel Lasco, plus defensive back Craig Woodson - eventually reached the NFL after their time in Berkeley.
Forsett, who came to Cal from Grace Prep in Arlington, was the first big Texas recruit for the program in the 21st century. He finished third in school history in rushing yards with 3,220, and his senior season in 2007 still stands out as one of the best in Cal history. That year, he set the school record for rushing attempts with 305, piled up 1,546 yards on the ground - third-most in program history - and matched a school record with 15 rushing touchdowns.
Current Travers Family Head Football Coach Tosh Lupoi was on the roster with Forsett during the running back’s first two seasons at Cal, and he hasn’t forgotten what he brought to the program.
Forsett is “as good as they come. He’s a brother to me,” Lupoi said. “I’d love to go find some Justin Forsetts or have some playing right now.”
Forsett went on to spend nine seasons in the NFL and was inducted into the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021, the same year Marshawn Lynch was honored. Lynch and Forsett shared the field as Bears from 2004-06, and Emory said Lynch was one of the backs he grew up watching.
Lynch “ran physical. He extended the plays,” Emory said. “He was just a very talented player.”
Emory played his high school ball at Rockwall, a suburb of Dallas, before starting his college career at UTEP. Last season, he rushed for 569 yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry before transferring to Cal.
With Adam Mohammed and Carter Vargas dealing with injuries, Emory’s role has grown over the past three games. That stretch included a two-touchdown performance in Cal’s 25-20 win over Virginia Tech on Oct. 10, when he scored the deciding 2-yard run with 18 seconds left.
Crosby’s path back has been just as notable. A serious hamstring injury ended his season after four games last year, but he has worked his way back into a major role. He leads the Bears with 40 tackles.
The Manor High product and former Trinity Valley Community College player talked about the rehab grind that got him back on the field.
“Just focusing on the things that I can control,” Crosby said, “which is preparing my body to be able to get back right and get back to playing...
“It’s a hard process - don’t get me wrong...Just trying to focus on one day at a time and just stacking good days. I feel like that’s how you get progression and then ultimately, that’s how you get back to where you need to be.”
For all the excitement around Saturday’s trip, both players know the real payoff would be taking the win back to Berkeley.
“You still have to understand that you’ve got one job: You’re going down there to play football and that’s it,” Emory said. “Of course, it’s good to have people in the stands cheering for you, but it’s just a regular game. You’ve got to make the main thing the main thing.”
Lupoi said Cal wants that Texas pipeline to keep flowing.
“We get the opportunity to drop in there, heavily recruit that place,” he said.
In Other News...
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The challenge for Cal is that the film it can study may only tell part of the story. NC State moved on from its head coach and made another change on defense as well, leaving the Bears to sort through a matchup that could look one way on paper and another way on game day. [Read more 🡒]
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Sagapolutele pointed to the Mustangs halftime adjustments and Cals drop in intensity as part of the explanation, and that is where the bigger question now lives. Was this simply a young team getting caught by a sharper second-half response, or a warning sign about how quickly momentum can disappear when the pressure changes? However the Bears sort it out, the final margin made the first-half promise feel a long way away. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Fans Got An Encouraging Sign And A Worrying One
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But the final score also offered a reminder of how much work remains before the regular season gets underway. Oregon State had seven players score at least eight points, and Cal was never able to keep pace in an 89-76 loss, a result that puts some early pressure on the Bears as they prepare to open Nov. 2 at home against Adams State. [Read more 🡒]