The California Golden Bears mounted an epic fourth quarter comeback last Saturday to defeat bitter rival Stanford 24-21 to clinch bowl eligibility.
The story in the immediate aftermath of the win was the epic postgame interview given by Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza in which he emotionally described what it meant to become bowl eligible. However, a second storyline has emerged that's capturing headlines as Cal prepares for SMU in the regular season finale this weekend.
Following the victory over Stanford, Cal fans rushed the field in celebration of the comeback win in the rivalry game. While this was happening, a fan attempted to steal a Cal football helmet in the midst of the chaos. But one of Cal's equipment managers, Trevor Skogerboe, was not going to allow that to happen. Here's the clip of the elite speed in pursuit by Skogerboe and the epic takedown to retrieve the helmet from the would-be thief.
If anyone knows this @CalFootball equipment guy, please tell him we have a spot on staff for him during @seniorbowl week.#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/Fu1lZSj5C7
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) November 25, 2024
What's even better? Skogerboe not only got a film breakdown of the chase down tackle as Cal reviewed the Stanford tape, but he got a personal shoutout from coach Justin Wilcox in his weekly press conference.
Here's the clip of Cal's players watching the highlight and then reacting in celebratory fashion when Skogerboe made the tackle, which ended with a high five and a hug from Wilcox.
This absolutely rocks 😂
— Old Row Sports (@OldRowSports) November 26, 2024
Cal equipment manager gets a film breakdown pic.twitter.com/J2LDeFYt6A
"The one critique I would have is when we teach tackling on a chase tackle is we really want to come and secure the tackle and come over the top and violently [punch down] to separate the runner from the ball, or in this case the helmet," Wilcox said describing the incident involving Skogerboe. "Other than that, flawless technique by Trevor, is his name, and I really appreciate the effort. He was enforcing one of the beliefs we have as a program which is, 'Don't steal things!' I think we would be a lot better off with more Trevors out there, so we appreciate his effort, and again, just next time we'd like to see the big right hand chopping down like we would on a chase tackle, but other than that it was flawless," Wilcox added with a smile.
Cal coach Justin Wilcox gave his evaluation of this critical Big Game strip sack from @Skogerboe7 during his Tuesday press conference.
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) November 26, 2024
"Next time we'd like to see the big right hand chopping down like we would on a chase tackle, but other than that it was flawless." https://t.co/pkaorqOSQO pic.twitter.com/Rct052ioKk
If Cal is down some players in the secondary at any point in the remainder of the season, get the kid some pads!
More of the Latest Around College Football
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cal Equipment Manager Gets Film Breakdown After Epic Tackle of Helmet Thief.