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Cal commit wins MVP at Passing Down

With the finals of the Elite11 Quarterback Competition coming up soon next weekend in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Cal quarterback commit Kyle Boehm doesn't yet know if he'll be on the final list, but whether he makes the cut or not, he's already had a busy summer.
This past weekend, his rivalry with future USC signal-caller Cody Kessler deepened as the two squared off twice in the Passing Down Camp, where he took home MVP honors.
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"Our only loss was against Cody's team, then we beat them again in the playoffs," Boehm said. "It was a lot of fun. We went out there and had a pretty small team, only eight or nine guys, so everyone was a two-way starter. A lot of our first games, we only won by one or two points, so they were real close, real intense games. It came down to, not the final championship game, but me and Cody ended up playing each other twice back-to-back. He got the best of us in the first game, and then in the playoffs we came back and pulled out ahead at the last second."
After defeating Kessler in the semifinals, Boehm and his Prosport team took home the gold in the championship game.
While at the camp, he got a chance to rub elbows with one of the Bears' most coveted targets, running back Brendon Bigelow.
"I met Bigelow, he was there at the 7-on-7 camp this weekend," Boehm said. "We exchanged numbers a few weeks back, so we'd been texting a little bit back and forth. I got to see him again this past weekend, and I feel like me and him are pretty cool together. We get along pretty well."
Despite having committed to the Bears several weeks ago, Boehm has been crisscrossing the country to compete in passing camps and 7-on-7 tourneys, using those opportunities to learn and to get his competitive fix.
"It's a bit of both," Boehm said. "I'm a really competitive guy. I love to compete and I love to get out there and compete against the best. I knew Cody would be there (at Passing Down), so I knew it'd be a great chance for us to go head-to-head and just show our skills. I love to compete, I love to train as hard as I can.
"The other thing that I'm taking out of these camps is just that it's a great learning experience for me. I was in Hawaii for the Super 7 thing with Steve Clarkson, and the entire week I was there, it was like, a great, great learning experience for me. I learned from some of the best coaches, Joe Montana, Steve Clarkson, all those guys. They really gave me a lot of input on life and on myself. They gave me a lot of tips that I can use in how I work, and, overall, just things that I can use to better myself as a quarterback and as a person."
Competing in so many events this summer has allowed Boehm to help Cal out a bit in the recruiting department. He has in-hand eight or nine phone numbers for Bears receiving targets.
"I've been talking to them, as well, just keeping in touch," Boehm said. "I just talk to them about their interest in Cal and all that kind of stuff. I'm just trying to help out as much as I can."
One of the players Boehm has spoken with has been three-star wide receiver Ty Montgomery out of Dallas (Tex.) St. Mark's, who is currently committed to Stanford.
"He texted me the other day," Boehm said of Montgomery.
But, mostly, the summer events have allowed for Boehm and Kessler to fan the fires of a rivalry that will continue when the two reach the Pac-10 in a year's time. While the pair don't actively dislike one another, there is no love lost between the two.
"There's definitely a rivalry, I'm not going to lie about that," Boehm chuckled. "There's always going to be a competition between us. We're going to two Pac-10 schools, we're probably going to see each other a bunch in the future. We don't really know each other too well. We say 'hi' and say 'what's up' to each other when we meet at camps, but we don't really talk or anything. I think we're cool with each other, but there's definitely going to be a rivalry that will develop over the years."
Despite his passing prowess, Boehm's coaches at San Jose (Calif.) Archbishiop Mitty will not re-tool their running-based offense to showcase his arm, though there has been talk of adding in some new elements for Boehm's senior season.
"I think it's going to be pretty much exactly the same," said Boehm, who threw for 936 yards and eight TDs while rushing for 877 and 14 scores for the Monarchs last season. "My coach said that we might install some shotgun stuff, like the same type of offense, except with a shotgun series or a shotgun formation or something like that."
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