All-Time NFL Team of Cal Players

As we creep towards the 2015 NFL Draft I was thinking about the lack of Cal players likely to be involved in that draft. Receiver Chris Harper has the best shot and he wasn't even invited to the Scouting Combine. He should have been to the Scouting Combine. Anyway, the lack of Cal's presence in this draft got me thinking about  their presence in the NFL through the years. Here's an All-Time NFL Team made up of players from the University of California at Berkeley.

Receivers:
Wesley Walker
DeSean Jackson
Cal has sent some nice receivers to the NFL in recent years. Jackson, Marvin Jones, and Sean Dawkins. Walker had 71 touchdowns and averaged over 19 yards per reception during his 14-year career with the New York Jets. Nice numbers.  He was the Jets MVP in 1978. Jackson continues to be a big play waiting to happen.

Offensive tackles:
Todd Steussie
Tarik Glenn
Steussie and Glenn were among the best players in the league at their positions.

Guards:
Ed White
Bob Reinhard
White played on the defensive line at Cal. The Minnesota Vikings quickly switched him to the offensive side of the ball. It proved to be the right choice as he was one of the best guards in the league for most of his 17-year career. Reinhard actually played tackle for Cal, the Los Angeles Dons of the AAFC and the Los Angeles Rams. Reinhard deserves to be on this team. It just happens to be at guard.

Center:
Alex Mack
He's one of the best centers in the game. If not the best.

Tight end:
Tony Gonzalez
This is one of the easiest choices on the team.

Quarterback:
Aaron Rodgers
This is one of the easiest choices on the team.

Running backs:
Marshawn Lynch
Chuck Muncie
No offense to Johnny Olszewski but these were pretty easy choices too.

Defensive ends:
Sherman White
Andre Carter
Brick Muller was probably the greatest end in Cal history but he played in the early 1920s when the NFL and college football largely ignored the west coast. Muller helped change that. He should be in this spot but he didn't establish a presence in the NFL. He would have. White had a solid 12-year NFL career. Carter also had a solid NFL career. He was a terrific pass rusher for most of it.

Defensive tackles:
Brandon Mebane
Chidi Ahanotu
Mebane is one of the unsung heroes of the Seattle Seahawks defense. The same could be said of Ahanotu's contributions to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense of the late 1990s.

Linebackers:
Les Richter
Hardy Nickerson
Ken Harvey
Forget Penn State. Cal might be Linebacker U. Cal has sent a bunch of solid-spectacular linebackers to the NFL. Richter is Cal's lone representative in Canton, for now. And he had to wait far too long for that honor. Nickerson was a big part of the excellent Buccaneers defenses under Tony Dungy. Harvey was an excellent pass rusher throughout his 11-year career. He was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins. Terrific players such as Matt Hazeltine, Gary Plummer, Ron Rivera, Tully Banta-Cain, Bob Swenson missed the cut at this position.

Cornerbacks:
Deltha O'Neal
Nnambi Asomugha
If O'Neal had reached the heights in the NFL that he reached as a player at Cal he'd be destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was one of the best football players that I've seen in a Cal uniform. He had some very good years in the NFL. A couple of Pro Bowls. An All-Pro honor. Asomugha had a several great years in the NFL. He was considered the best at his position for a few of them.

Safety:
Herm Edwards
Thomas DeCoud
This position is as bleak as linebacker is strong. I had to take the liberty of moving Edwards from corner just to fill out the position. I thought about moving Asomugha seeing as he actually played safety at Cal but he was too great at corner. Edwards might be better known as coach these days but he was a very good player. He didn't play all of his college career at Cal. He finished up his school days at San Diego State but his two years at Cal were enough in my book. Plus, I had to fill out this position. DeCoud has had a solid NFL career so far. More so than Chris Conte. That should say all that needs to be said about the position.

Kicker:
Ryan Longwell
No offense to Mick Luckhurst but this was a pretty easy choice. Lomgwell was one of the most efficient kickers throughout his career.

Punter:
Bryan Anger
Nick Harris is very deserving of this spot. Probably more deserving. He was fantastic in college. He was one of the best punters in the league for all of his 12 years. Anger has only been in the league for three years but there's something different about his punting. It's as if the ball explodes out of a cannon. I saw it and felt it at Cal. I've seen it in the NFL.

Cal has one player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Les Richter. That's not a lot. Fortunately, he'll have company soon. Tony Gonzalez will join soon. Five years after he retires Aaron Rodgers will too. Marshawn Lynch is also putting together a career that will be hard to ignore. Cal's NFL presence through the years reflects their football success. They haven't had much. They were a powerhouse in the early 1920s when west coast football was largely ignored. Their players didn't get much attention from the NFL because the team didn't get much attention from the eastern sporting press. Brick Muller was the first All-American west of the Mississippi. He also turned to the more viable medical profession after college. Cal went to three straight Rose Bowls from 1949-51. One of the best players on those teams was Jackie Jensen. He found a nice career in baseball. Cal has had a modest football presence and as a result they have had modest representation in the NFL.