Bye Week Notes: Development Before Big Game, Saffell on First Start
Cal had their first break of the year this past week, going ten weeks before their bye. For some, it's an opportunity to take a quick trip home over the three day weekend. For others, it's time to rest, catch up on some schoolwork, and prepare for the Big Game yet to come. For the team as a whole though it was a chance to develop players who haven't seen the field as much on the season.
"There's been a few guys that have (stood out during the bye week)," offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin said Thursday, "it's good to see Garbers getting a lot of reps at the quarterback position in these developmental squads, and then some of the young O-linemen doing some things up front, and some of our running backs who have played a little bit, in terms of DC (Derrick Clark) and Z (Zion Echols), they had some reps and they had some nice stuff at the end of this one too."
The Bears also had the time to see what Brandon McIlwain can do at QB, as this week he didn't have to just be the scout team quarterback.
"Brandon's done some really good things," Baldwin said, "and you see it, you see more of a, he understands more and more about the offense so he can get to things that much quicker."
It bodes well for a quarterback room that may end up being very competitive next year, with Garbers coming off his redshirt year and McIlwain being eligible, with Ross Bowers and Chase Forrest returning, and 2018 QB commit JT Shrout coming in with some impressive tools.
For now it's time to get a number of guys redshirting going in one fashion or another, to get them into the system they'll be playing in for the foreseeable future.
"It’s nice for them to transition from scout," head coach Justin Wilcox said, "where they’re running somebody else’s offense and defense back to running our offense and defense, so we try to get some of that every week for those guys."
Saffell on His First Start
Mike Saffell saw his first action this year against USC, playing a bit out of position at right guard, but adding depth to the spot. That depth was needed after Valentino Daltoso went down late in the Colorado game. Saffell started the matchup against Oregon State, and contributed to a rushing attack that got Patrick Laird 214 yards on 33 carries.
"It was funny because it felt the same," Saffell noted, "whether you come in and play a little bit or you play a big role, it feels the same. I wasn't nervous or anything like that. Coach Dave White at Edison in high school never asked if I was nervous when I started my sophomore year, so it's the same game now, I played it the same way as I'm always gonna play it, but I think I played well."
Saffell is currently one of four true freshmen seeing the field for the Bears, joining Jeremiah Hawkins, Gavin Reinwald, and Elijah Hicks, and his performance has been expected from this coaching staff.
"He's just like we expected from the get-go," Baldwin said, "he's got a lot of stuff to him. He's got a lot of stuff from a talent standpoint, but he's got a lot of stuff mentally. What I mean by that is he's someone that loves the game, loves playing the game, loves studying the game, and when he's in a one on one matchup on the field, whatever his assignment is, he loves that competitive moment, and those are the type of guys that give you a great opportunity to win football games."
Saffell has also been playing next to Addison Ooms, who plays Saffell's natural position at center. Saffell will likely take up the position after Ooms graduates after the 2018 season with the way things are going at the moment, and it helps to have that sort of mentorship going forward.
"It's fun to play with Addy because he gets so excited," Saffell said, "and I'm out there as a young guy trying to stay within myself, not trying to let the bigness of the game or the crowd get to me, and it's really good having him out there because of the energy he brings and how encouraging he is towards me."
Saffell is likely to start again in his first Big Game, another opportunity to learn from Ooms firsthand.
"I think the biggest thing with him is just his mental processing," Saffell noted, "everyone talks about it, and it's so true. Every time he's asked a question in film he knows it right away, and that's a big advantage for a freshman kid to have, is a role model, just with mental processing of the game, because the game stays the same, but it's a lot faster, different looks, stuff like that. Just having, especially when I go in at guard next to him, how quick he is with his calls, how fast he knows it, really helps when you're a freshman, and it really takes the thinking out of the game when you have a center that's that smart."
Big Game Time Set and Preparation has started
Cal's matchup with Stanford has officially been set, the 120th edition of the Big Game set for 5 PM on Saturday, and the Bears have an opportunity to win back the Axe, something they haven't done since 2009. The bye week allowed for some early preparation for Stanford, though the two practices held Wednesday and Thursday were relatively simple, low-contact days.
"You don't want to get ahead of yourself," Baldwin said, "there's a lot of elements of Stanford this week, but there's a lot of elements of fundamentals and what we do."
The biggest preparation the Bears have done in the early going is looking at Bryce Love. The Heisman candidate was hobbled a bit against Washington, but still carried the Cardinal to a 30-22 win.
"I thought we played a lot of good running backs this year," Tim DeRuyter noted, "but this guy’s special, a guy that’s got great vision, great patience, and when there’s a little crack he explodes through the hole and next thing you know, the officials are holding their hands up. You’ve got to be really, really efficient in maintaining gap integrity and you’ve got to get multiple guys there because he makes guys miss then he runs away from them, or he runs through them."
Even with lower contact, getting multiple guys to the ball was stressed during the week. It's something Cal did well against Oregon State and Ryan Nall, now they have to do it against someone who's a bit faster in Love.
"It’s something we stress all the time, DeRuyter said, "just getting multiple guys to the point of attack, and we absolutely have to do it when we play Stanford, because he, every week it seems like, breaks off explosive plays, and they’ve got great gap integrity, and all of a sudden one guy gets out of his gap and it’s gone, you’ve just got to have great integrity and then you’ve got to have great effort to the ball."
As far as the rest of the Cardinal offense and defense, Wilcox noted that their Palo Alto rivals have a set identity that they've done a good job of emphasizing.
"Each year, they’ve done a great job of sticking to who they are," Wilcox said. "They’re a really physical team, on offense, they’re multiple, will give you a lot of formation groups, obviously will go big and shift in motion, pro-style offense. Obviously the tailback’s a very very talented player, they’re really good up front. Defensively, give you different looks, they get off blocks really well, they tackle really well. It’s a really sound team, and they’ve got good players and good schemes."
It's going to be a challenge for a Cal team that needs one win in their final two contests to get to a bowl game. They'll have to prove they can stop one of the biggest home-run threats in the country in Love to have a chance in this one.
A List of Big Game Week events, via Cal Athletics
Sunday, November 12
Noon – Battle Of The Bands (Pier 39, Beach St & The Embarcadero, San Francisco)
1 pm – Men's Basketball vs. Cal Poly (Haas Pavilion, 115 Haas Pavilion, Berkeley)
Monday, November 13
11 am – Cable Car Rally Begins (Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point Street, San Francisco)
Noon – Cable Car Rally Ends (Union Square, 333 Post Street, San Francisco)
Tuesday, November 14
11:30 am – The Big Sail (St. Francis Yacht Club, 99 Yacht Road, San Francisco)
Noon – Tree Chopping Rally (Sproul Hall, Barrow Lane, UC Berkeley)
Wednesday, November 15
7:30 pm – The Big Sing (155 Dwinelle Hall, South Drive, UC Berkeley)
Thursday, November 16
6 pm – Men's Basketball vs. Wofford (115 Haas Pavilion, UC Berkeley)
8 pm – Night Rally (Starts at Bowles Hall, 1928 Stadium Rim Way, UC Berkeley … runs thru campus and City of Berkeley … ends at Unit 3 Courtyard, 2400 Durant Avenue, Berkeley)
8:45 pm – The Big Freeze (519 18th Street, Oakland)
Friday, November 17
All Day – MPSF Championship (Avery Aquatic Center, 235 Sam McDonald Mall, Stanford)
2 pm – Women's Swimming and Diving vs. Nevada (Spieker Aquatics Complex, 2301 Bancroft Way, UC Berkeley)
6 pm – Volleyball vs. USC (115 Haas Pavilion, UC Berkeley)
6 pm (Doors)/Approximate 7 pm (Rally) – Big Game Bonfire Rally (The Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley)
Saturday, November 18
All Day – MPSF Championship (Avery Aquatic Center, 235 Sam McDonald Mall, Stanford)
5 pm – The 120th Big Game vs. Stanford (Stanford Stadium, 625 Nelson Road, Stanford)