Saying Goodbye–Craig Stevens

Posted by: Avinash on Saturday, January 19th, 2008

It’s weird–I went to almost all the Cal home games the past two years, and Craig Stevens never seemed to hit a blip on my radar. Probably my fault. I didn’t know any better and was too focused on the meltdowns and big players that I miss the unsung tight end.

Perhaps if the Bears had pulled up more tight end plays…ugh, no. I’m not going to get into that “what if” game right now. Let’s analyze Stevens’s prospects for the NFL draft.

The upside: He’s a really nice guy. He’s a really honorable guy too. Great blocker. Not an easy player to take down.

The downside: For a coach who loves using the tight end, the Bears sure didn’t go much to Stevens this year. Stevens went from 17 catches and 239 yards in Dunbar’s spread offensive scheme last year to…17 catches and 204 yards this year.  Compare that to the Trojan tight end, Fred Davis, who atoned for the Trojans wide receiver troubles with 62 catches and 8 TDs.

This is no knock on Stevens, who had the misfortune of being stuck with a struggling Longshore for half a season and the most talented receiver corps Cal has ever disposed of. Plus the up-and-coming Cameron Morrah took nearly 30-40% of his possession time. Talk about too much talent. Like Hawkins, he does struggle holding onto the ball.

Most memorable moment: Ride Beavers. Ride.

[youtube b4HSOoWjqEQ]

Future: Probably a backup tight end, would work great in two tight end sets–he averages over ten yards a catch, so he has shown he is more than capable of running his routes and picking up some extra yardage as well. Stevens is a decent run blocker too for goal line situations, but his dropping problems might come back to bite him. Hopefully he overcomes them, and I’ll get to know him better in the NFL. Just never got his chance to fully blossom into a fan favorite.

Any parting thoughts on Craig Stevens? Comments please.



Topics: Cal Football, Draft, NFL, Players

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Dan's avatar

Dan · 897 weeks ago

Craig Stevens played in all 50 games he suited up for. Second to Damien Hughes'51. Unsung hero is right! Let's look back to 2004 when J.J. Arrington busted on the scene. This was Craig's freshman year and I started to notice his domination of opponents he went up against. He was like the energizer bunny blocking from snap to whistle. Then there was Marshawn Lynch. Between Craig and OC's blocks you could drive a truck between them. And to top off his career, take a look at what Justin Forsett accomplished. Three great running backs! I bet they appreciate Stevens more than the average fan. Craig will be a long time NFL player because of his Character, Strength, and work ethic! Craig Stevens you will be missed more than you can imagine. Our next Tight End has some huge shoes to fill!
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dano's avatar

dano · 886 weeks ago

apparently he caught everything at the combine and wowed with his general physical awesomeness ... perhaps some higher level coaching can help him out
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