BERKELEY – Ben Hawk Schrider wasn't exactly on Miss Fowler's good side during second grade at John Muir Elementary School in Berkeley.

It began when Hawk Schrider began using journaling time to write out the entire Cal football roster. It continued when Hawk Schrider missed a day of school to watch Aaron Rodgers' pro day at Cal.

"I remember my mom got a call because I wasn't writing in the journal. Instead, I was writing down the Cal roster," Hawk Schrider said. "I was truly obsessed."

Hawk Schrider is now a graduate transfer for the Bears and wears a bracelet that says "obsessed" on it. All Cal players wear it, and it's a nod to the hard work the team puts in during offseason conditioning.

It couldn't be a more appropriate accessory for Hawk Schrider.

As a second-grader, Hawk Schrider used to regularly attend Cal practices, play catch on the field with Rodgers and fellow former Cal greats Geoff McArthur, Burl Toler and Lorenzo Alexander, and learned his multiplication tables by answering with Golden Bear jersey numbers.

 "He'd wake up in the morning and he would have barely opened his eyes and he'd say, 'Who's No. 1 on Cal football,?'" said Hawk Schrider's mom, Tracy. "We'd have to recite it back to him."

A Berkeley native, Hawk Schrider's love affair with Cal football began around age 7 when his father, Brad, would take him and his neighbor, Michael Brewer, to practices after school every Monday. It became such a regular occurrence that he got to know several of the players, and eventually it became routine for him to come on to the field at Memorial Stadium after practice and play catch.

"We looked forward to seeing him after practice," said Toler, now the wide receivers coach for the Golden Bears. "He would be in the stands from stretch until the end. We'd throw the ball around with him. He loved Cal football and wanted to be around it as much as possible."

Tracy Schrider grew up the daughter of a massive Washington Redskins fan. When it came time for her to learn her multiplication tables, Hawk Schrider, Ben's grandfather, made her answer correctly with the jersey of Redskins players. Tracy decided to pass on the tradition to Ben.

"Two times three was Geoff McArthur. Two times four was Aaron Rodgers," Tracy Schrider said.

Hawk Schrider ended up attending St. Mary's High School in Berkeley and signed to play at the University of Richmond. After playing in all but one game for the Spiders, Hawk Schrider transferred to Chattanooga, where he earned his degree in Social Work and was a two-time Academic All-SoCon selection.

Hawk Schrider wanted to attend graduate school and exhaust his final season of eligibility. He originally entertained a couple of scholarship offers – until he received an offer to walk on at Cal.

"This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," Hawk Schrider said. "This was everything for me. The opportunity was something I couldn't pass up. I truly couldn't be happier where I am."

Even when Hawk Schrider was playing collegiately elsewhere, his eyes were still always on Cal. He would watch every game he could, even if it meant staying up until 2 a.m. Sometimes, Cal would be playing when Chattanooga was on a bus returning home from a road trip. While the television on the bus would be airing an SEC game, Hawk Schrider would be watching a Cal game on his phone.

"I could tell you where I was watching every game last year," Hawk Schrider said. "Most of my teammates were SEC fans and trying to get the Alabama game on. I got the Cal game on the main TV on the bus once. That was pretty cool."

As Hawk Schrider got older, he began his own playing career and couldn't be quite as attached to the program, he still kept in touch with some of the players, especially Toler and McArthur. When Hawk Schrider committed to come to Cal as a grad transfer last spring, Toler spread the word to former teammates like McArthur, Rodgers and Alexander.

"I told them Ben is coming here, and they all knew who he was right away," Toler said. "They said, 'Young Schrider, he's coming?' We share some of the same memories, from the same games – he as a fan and I as a player."

Hawk Schrider made his Cal debut in last week's season-opening win over UC Davis with about 40 family members and friends looking on. And even though he is now a member of the team, that hasn't stopped him from being a fan of the team as well.

"This is a program that I play for now and I obviously want to make an impact, but I'm out there with all these guys I was watching on TV back in Chattanooga as a fan," Hawk Schrider said. "I want to see the Bears win, but now I have personal relationships with guys who I once rooted for. Now, I'm playing with them. I want to see them win on a personal level."