Some Vol fans are salivating at the news that Steve Levy has been suspended indefinitely after his arrest on felony assault charges in connection with a bar altercation earlier this week. That reaction might be understandable if Levy were Cal’s No. 1 quarterback. But he isn’t. He isn’t even No. 2. He came out of spring practice No. 3 on the depth chart, trailing both Nate Longshore and Joe Ayoob.
To put that in perspective: How excited should Cal fans be if Phil Fulmer suspended Bo Hardegree, UT’s No. 3 quarterback?
OK, maybe that comparison is a little extreme. After all, Levy is 2-0 as a starting QB, having guided Cal to season-ending defeats of Stanford and Brigham Young last fall. Hardegree, conversely, has never started a college game.
Still, Levy’s suspension is not the kind of news that should send Vol fans dancing in the streets. For one thing, Tedford has not suggested Levy will miss the UT game … only that he “will be suspended from all team activities until we have more information.” Besides, Tedford could probably take his second-team left guard and turn him into a competent quarterback. After all, Levy is a converted fullback and Tedford has a reputation as perhaps the best molder of QBs on the planet.
If Vol fans are to take any pleasure from Levy’s misfortune, it probably is this: Assuming his suspension extends through the UT game, Cal’s quarterback depth will suffer a bit. If the East Tennessee humidity and Game 1 jitters adversely affect Longshore and Ayoob, Tedford will have one less option available to him.
According to police reports cited by the Associated Press, Levy and another patron at Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub in San Francisco’s North Beach community engaged in a dispute early Sunday morning. When a bar employee tried to intervene, Levy allegedly picked up a pint glass and struck the employee in the face.