Cal Football: Nikko Remigio Working With Ex-NFL WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh

Cal wide receiver relieved that it appears there will be a college football season in 2020

Nothing is certain yet, but recent news suggests there will be a 2020 college football season at some point, and no one is more relieved than Cal wide receiver Nikko Remigio.

""Yeah, absolutely, absolutely," Remigio said at the end of the video interview below. "I've been--oh my gosh--it's been eating at me."

Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said this past week his conference is preparing to start the fall sports season as currently scheduled, according to Yahoo.com. That might not be the case for the Pac-12, though. The governor of Texas said he thinks college football will start on time and with fans in the stands.

Remigio, who was Cal's leading receiver as a sophomore in 2019, has been staying in shape throughout, even in the days when a season seemed unlikely.

His dad invested in some weights for a garage weight room, allowing Remigio to stay fit.

"And I've been doing receiver training two or three times a week with T.J. Houshmandzadeh--he used to play for the Bengals back in the day," Remigio said. "And I'm going to start some speed training, probably next weeek. I've been fortunate to have access to everything I need."

For younger folks who do not remember T.J. Houshmandzadeh, he was known for two things among sports writers: He has one of the toughest names to spell, and he was an outstanding wide receiver at Oregon State and in the NFL. 

Houshmandzadeh was a second-team all-Pac-10 performer in 2000 when he teamed with fellow wideout Chad Johnson on an Oregon State team that finished the season 11-1 and ranked No. 4 following a 41-9 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame. In the NFL, he had 90 receptions or more in three straight seasons for the Bengals from 2006 through 2008, including a league-leading 112 cathes in 2007 when he was a Pro Bowl selection.

Remigio got in touch with Houshmandzadeh through quarterback JT Daniels, Remigio's teammate at Mater Dei High School who remains on the USC roster despite being in the transfer portal.

Remigio is looking forward to returning to campus for voluntary workouts, although he does not know when that will be. His best guess is that a decision will be made by Cal sometime in June.

For now, he's just pleased that he may get to play football during his junior year at Cal. He ended the 2019 season with a flurry, catching 18 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns over the final three games.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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