Nate Longshore Bio in High School
Nate Longshore graduated from Canyon High School in 2004. Nate Longshore set ten school passing records and rang up 6,750 yards and 64 touchdown passes during his career. Rivals.com rated Nate Longshore the No. 8 "pro-style" quarterback in the nation and the 17th-best overall player in California.
Nate Longshore Bio in 2005
After redshirting his freshman year, Nate Longshore was chosen to succeed Aaron Rodgers, who left for the NFL, to be California's starting quarterback. Nate Longshore's 2005 season ended in the season's first game with a fibula injury and ligament damage in his ankle against Sacramento State. Joe Ayoob took over starting duties for Longshore.
Nate Longshore Bio in 2006
Nate Longshore entered spring practice in 2006 in a heated battle for the starting quarterback job with veteran senior Joe Ayoob. During fall practice, head coach Jeff Tedford named Nate Longshore the starting quarterback the week leading up to Cal's season opener at Tennessee. Coach Jeff Tedford particularly liked Nate Longshore's mental understanding of the game of football. Despite passing for only 85 yards in a lopsided loss to Tennessee and being replaced by Ayoob in the second half of the Tennessee game, Nate Longshore remained the team's starter. He led the Bears to a 10-3 record, a share of the Pac-10 title for the first time since 1975, and a victory in the 2006 Holiday Bowl. He was named the co-offensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl.
Nate Longshore was particularly effective in his first full season as California's starting quarterback. He became the second quarterback in California school history to throw for 3,000 yards. Nate Longshore was second in the Pac-10 in passing touchdowns with 24 and second in passing efficiency at 141.6. Nate Longshore was an honorable mention Pac-10 honoree and earned various player of the week awards.
Nate Longshore Bio in 2007
Nate Longshore entered 2007 as the established starting quarterback. In the preseason, Nate Longshore was rated as the No. 5 quarterback in the nation by The Sporting News and ESPN's Mel Kiper ranked him the 3rd best junior quarterback in the country. Nate Longshore lead the Bears to 5-0 start and a number #2 ranking with wins against #15 Tennessee and #11 Oregon, but suffered a sprained right ankle that resulted in a bone spur in California's close victory over Oregon. Nate Longshore missed the Oregon State game, Cal's first loss. He returned to start the Bears' last six regular season games, but he and the Bears were not the same, winning only one game, against Washington State. Cal sustained two losses against two of the Pac-10's worst teams, the Washington Huskies and the Stanford Cardinal, who beat Cal for the first time in five and six years, respectively. Nate Longshore started for Cal at the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl, but was replaced by backup Kevin Riley in the second quarter, who finished the game and was named the game MVP in Cal's 42-36 victory over Air Force.
Nate Longshore faltered over the second half of the season, throwing 11 interceptions compared to 9 touchdowns over the team's final six regular season games. His struggles were particularly apparent in the fourth quarter of close games where he threw several interceptions in critical game situations that prevented California from making a comeback. Cal won just one game during that rough six-game stretch, and fell from being national title contenders to barely bowl eligible. Some Cal fans blamed Nate Longshore for the team's decline. In that one victory, against Washington State, Longshore was booed by the home crowd after throwing 2 interceptions.
The extent to which the ankle injury affected Nate Longshore's performance is uncertain. Some media reports and telecasts have noted the injury on several occasions, some saying it was causing him to limp, while others have claimed that it was having more of a mental impact. If Nate Longshore chooses to return for his senior year, he will complete with Kevin Riley and redshirt freshman Brock Mansion for the starting position in 2008.
