From the sound of it, the Cal coaches and players are real happy to have all the position groups back in practice.
Wednesday morning, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave called the Tuesday session their first "legitimate" practice in a couple weeks. That sentiment was echoed by Justin Wilcox after their Wednesday practice, as the Bears prepare for Oregon State.
"Practice has been really spirited to tell you that much. Everybody came out Tuesday, and we had our traditional Tuesday practice," Wilcox said, "and there was a lot of spirit in practice. I thought they did a great job, one of our best practices of the year, if not the best, and followed it up with another good day today. Ultimately the test is on Saturday and we've got to carry that over. We know we've got a challenge in front of us, but I expect us to improve, and I thought our players' mentality yesterday and today was right where we needed it to be."
"I think the intensity of practice has been there," senior inside linebacker Kuony Deng added. "the physicality, we're really stressing the finish. Working a lot of tackle drills, working to get a physical finish in practice. It's nice to have the line of scrimmage back, we're taking advantage of that, running team two-huddle, team no-huddle, all those things, getting that uptempo work we need in order to get to play to the level that we can"
The energy level has been mentioned by every coach and player in every interview so far this week, and it's something that the team as a whole has cranked up.
"One thing was that the energy at practice had to be stepped up," senior cornerback Cam Bynum noted "the energy at practice was a lot higher, people jawing at each other, and I think that's what we need as a team, to be more competitive during the week so that it's normal during the weekend."
The energy issue is something Deng mentioned and was apparent in Sunday's loss to UCLA. Cal came out strong over the first couple possessions, but the combination of the excitement to play after the longest offseason of their lives, as well as a lack of 11 on 11 work, ended up quickly taking the wind out of the Bears' sails.
"I think we showed up early on, and guys got pretty gassed," Deng recalled. "A lot of things fell with that, communication, physicality, pursuit to the ball, technique, owning your leverage. People are really challenging themselves to get that great work in practice."
That tackling is something the Cal staff will be relying on, as Oregon State also has a handful of talented skill players, from Trevon Bradford, to their lightning quick return man, Champ Flemings, to running back Jermar Jefferson, who has been seen as one of Oregon State's biggest threats.
"Really good balance," Wilcox noted, "he runs through arm tackles, it looks like he sees things really well, really an all around back, always going forward, doesn't have a lot of negative plays."
The other strength of the Oregon State offense, one echoed over and over is the Oregon State tight end group. Led by Luke Musgrave (Bill's nephew) and Teagan Quitoriano, the Beavers have two 6'6" guys who are heavily involved in the offense (though the Beavers won't primarily run 12 personnel)
"They're big physical guys, tall," Wilcox noted, "they block well at the point of attack, can get down the field and they're a big part of their offense. It's not like they're running a clearout route, they're getting the ball and running it towards them."
There's also Tristan Gebbia, who will be making his third start for the Beavers. The Nebraska transfer was the quarterback at Calabasas in Southern California before Cal QB Jaden Casey took over, and the Bears took a look at him in the class of 2017.
"He can throw the ball, we knew about him coming out of high school," Wilcox said, "and it looks like the more he plays, the more comfortable he gets, which is pretty natural for a QB like that. Jon(athan Smith) will have those guys coached up and ready to go, we know that."
In positive roster news for Cal, the Bears expect to have Stanley McKenzie back. The true freshman nose guard was out last week, but is expected to take some reps for the Bears after being cleared by the medical staff. With Aaron Maldonado out for the year, any productive reps he can give the team will be pivotal for a defensive line that's as thin as ever.
"We expect Stanley to be able to play," Wilcox said, "how much remains to be seen, but we expect him to be available during the game. He's still a young player, he hasn't played in a college football game yet, but he's built for the position. He really likes football, he plays hard, I don't know if he'll be perfect, but I know he's going to go out there and compete. He's been thrust into a position based on roster attrition and I think he's ready for that, we're going to continue to work with Stanley daily."
