Lawler hungry to get Bears to a bowl
Dykes pleased with strides receiver has made in offseason
BERKELEY — Junior Kenny Lawler was Cal’s most dangerous receiver by the end of last season, and now he’s added strength in the offseason. Coach Sonny Dykes has seen the results after five days of spring workouts.
“To me, Kenny’s a different guy,” Dykes said. “He’s come back stronger and bigger and more focused, more mature. A lot of confidence.
“Running routes, he’s more explosive. He’s playing lower, transitioning better in and out of his breaks. I just think he’s so much stronger, particularly in his lower body. He’s playing at a really high level.”
Lawler, a 6- foot- 3, 195pounder with huge hands, led a balanced Cal receiving corps with 54 catches for 701 yards and nine touchdowns last season. But the Bears finished 5- 7 and missed playing in a bowl game, so Lawler was not satisfied.
“After last season, the way it ended, how close we were to being bowl eligible, that just made me that much hungrier,” he said. “We could have taken the program to the next step, but we just came up short. I Kenny Lawler, left, led Cal’s receivers last season with 54 catches for 701 yards and nine touchdowns. just used that motivation to fuel me and get a fire burning under me. I got after it in the weight room and that’s really transitioning onto the field.”
Lonny Powell is 5- footn 10, 210 pounds with legs that look like tree stumps. He can back- squat 475 pounds and is comfortable being likened to one of Cal’s greatest running backs.
“I guess the comparison is Marshawn Lynch, that’s what everybody says,” Powell said. “I’m OK with that. He’s great. I really like the Beast. I like to run through people.”
Powell just turned 17 in November. The newest member of Cal’s suddenly deep running backs corps won’t celebrate his 18th birthday until two days before Cal’s regular- season finale next season.
A mid- year graduate of Sacramento High — alma mater to former Cal basketball star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson — Powell said he will return to Sacramento for graduation ceremonies.
“My mom is making me,” he said.
Powell understands he isn’t first in line among a backfield group headed by senior Daniel Lasco ( 1,115 yards, 12 touchdowns), junior speedster Klahfani Muhammad and sophomores Vic Enwere and Tre Watson.
“He’ll push all those guys for playing time,” Dykes said. “It’s still early. But I certainly like what I see so far.”
Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Franklin said at first glance Powell doesn’t appear to run hard. “But people bounce off him,” Franklin said. “He’s not elusive as much as he is shifty.”
nSenior defensive tackle Mustafa Jalil, finally healthy last season after struggles with knee problems, will be held out of contact work this spring. “We want him to get his snaps next fall,” Dykes said.
The Bears are beginning to develop depth on the defensive line, and one of the spring standouts is senior Trevor Kelly, who has dropped weight and is moving better, according to Dykes.