Cal, Stanford Go 1-2 in NFL Draft; Home Schedules for Bears, Cardinal; Kuminga Revisited

It got little attention from the national and local media, but two Bay Area college alums were the first two players selected in last week's NFL Draft.

Former Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders.

And former Stanford edge rusher David Bailey was the next player selected, going No. 2 to the New York Jets.

Of course, they weren't picked on the basis of their performances in Cal and Stanford uniforms. No, while they played well during their time here, both players emerged as superstars only after leaving the Bay Area.

Mendoza led Indiana to the national championship and won the Heisman Trophy last season after transferring from Berkeley to Bloomington. 

Bailey became a first-team All-American after leaving Stanford for Texas Tech, where he led the Red Raiders into the College Football Playoff.

Amazing what you can accomplish with some excellent coaching and a better supporting cast. Not to mention a bigger NIL payday.

Mendoza is one of only five players to accomplish the trifecta--Heisman, national champion and No. 1 pick--in the same season. The others are Joe Burrow (LSU, Cincinnati, 2020), Cam Newton (Auburn, Carolina, 2011), Leon Hart (Notre Dame, Detroit, 1950) and Angelo Bertelli (Notre Dame, Boston 1943).

If you include players who've done it over two years, the list grows to include Jameis Winston (Florida State 2013, Tampa Bay 2015) and OJ Simpson (USC 1967, Heisman 1968, Buffalo 1969).

To their credit, both Bailey and Mendoza are excellent students who graduated in three years. No small accomplishment.

Mendoza earned his degree from Cal's Haas School of Business, while Bailey got his Stanford degree in science, technology and society.

7 No. 1 Overall Picks: Historically, this is the first time Cal and Stanford went 1-2 in the NFL Draft, but it's the seventh time a quarterback who played in Palo Alto or Berkeley was the first overall pick. And there have been plenty of local players who joined them in the first round.

The Bay Area's first No. 1 overall pick was Stanford's Bobby Garrett in 1954. He was chosen by the Cleveland Browns, who promptly traded him to Green Bay, where he played in a few games as backup QB before going into the Air Force for two years and then retiring in '57.

In 1971, Stanford's Jim Plunkett went No. 1 and another Bay Area product went at No. 3, but it wasn't a Cal player. It was quarterback Dan Pastorini from Santa Clara. 

Plunkett is the player who came closest to getting the trifecta--no national championship, but winning the Heisman and the Rose Bowl (beating No. 1 Ohio State), then getting picked No. 1.

In 1975, Cal's Steve Bartkowski was the top pick and San Jose State corner Louis Wright was taken at No. 17.

In 1983, Stanford's John Elway was the first pick and two other NorCal products went in the first round--San Jose State DB Gil Byrd was picked at No. 22 and UC Davis QB Ken O'Brien at 24.

In 2012, Stanford's Andrew Luck went No. 1 and his teammate, offensive guard David DeCastro went at 24.

In 2016, the Bears' Jared Goff was the No. 1 pick and Stanford guard Josh Garnett went at No. 28.

It's quite a feat for two schools 45 miles apart, both outstanding academic institutions, to produce seven overall No. 1 picks, all quarterbacks, in the NFL draft. 

Stanford is the only school with four quarterback No. 1s who played only at one school.

In terms of overall No. 1s, regardless of position. USC leads with six--Caleb Williams (2024), Carson Palmer (2003), Keyshawn Johnson (1996), Ricky Bell (1977), Simpson (1969) and Ron Yary (1968. Only one in the last 23 years, which points to the decline in the Trojan program. 

Georgia, Oklahoma and Notre Dame are next with five each. The Irish haven't had a No. 1 overall since defensive end Walt Patulski in 1972, who, along with Stanford's Garrett, is considered one of the biggest draft busts of all time.

Stanford is tied with Auburn for fifth place with four, and Cal is now tied with LSU, Ohio State, Miami and Texas for seven place with three.

Stanford/Cal Home Schedules: Stanford GM Luck and head coach Tavita Pritchard have been doing an excellent PR job of getting out to meet fans and alums at various speaking engagements, hosted meet and greets, etc., and promoting what they hope will be a turnaround season for the Cardinal this fall.

But this year's home schedule is a very hard sell. All the good stuff is done by the end of September.

The season opens at home Aug. 29 with Hawaii, which should be a good, high-scoring matchup. The next week one of the nation's top teams, CFP runner-up Miami, visits Stanford Stadium. Then, after an away game at Duke, Stanford hosts Georgia Tech on Sept. 26.

After that, Stanford Stadium will be a ghost town. 

The only Oct. home games are against Elon, (no not Musk, rather a tiny teachers' college in North Carolina), on Oct. 10, and NC State on Oct. 23 or 24 (most likely Friday night the 23rd).

The only Nov. home game is the season finale on Nov. 28, Thanksgiving weekend, against SMU. If Stanford has less than five wins at that point, good luck drawing a crowd.

Cal has a much better home slate, with seven games, and only one dog (Wagner). The Bears host UCLA and Clemson in September, Va. Tech and Wake Forest in October, and Stanford and Pitt in November. All six should do well at the gate.

Kuminga Revisited: Not to beat a dead horse, but it's worth returning to consider the Warriors' highly-questionable trade back in February, when they gave up Jonathan Kuminga for the oft-injured, always sick Kristaps Porzingas. In all likelihood, Porzingas--who is a free agent-- has finished his brief career with the Warriors, having played in all of 15 games.

Meanwhile, Kuminga, a potential star in our humble opinion, is leading the Atlanta Hawks against the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.

Kuminga was a big reason the Hawks registered back-to-back one point wins in Games 2 and 3 of the series. He has excelled coming off the bench, finishing both games while guarding center Karl Anthony Towns at one end and supplying instant offense at the other.

Kuminga had 21 points in 28 minutes in Game 3, 19 points in 35 minutes in Game 2. He also hit 16 of 26 shots and played great defense, something he didn't always show in his Warriors' tenure.