Cal Fall Practice Recap: #11
Today marked the sole scrimmage of Fall Camp for the Bears, who ran through the scrimmage in just about an hour of real time. It was a day dominated by the offense in the early going, for most of the day in fact, before the defense turned it around a little bit near the end.
Some notes from post-practice:
- Khari Vanderbilt was held out of the scrimmage, mostly due to some nagging inuries. Walk-on Jacob Anderson started in his place, and had a solid day. Coach Greg Burns said during his press conference that Vanderbilt was still the starter at the position, but Anderson is definitely pushing him
- Anderson had an unexpectedly good day, saving a touchdown on a Khalfani run and busting up a screen to Enwere for a loss of 7. Dykes called Anderson one of the surprises of camp, and that he's a guy who has changed his body and has found his position. Anderson, a transfer from Golden West College (where Veasy and Granado came from), has bounced between playing the nickel and safety, but he appears to have found his comfort zone. He credited coach Burns for his approach, and that Burns being a "detailed man" has helped lay the foundation for Anderson's improvement
- The offensive line had an excellent day, making large holes for the backs to run through, resulting in 127 yards for Khalfani Muhammad. They also opened a few holes for Fabiano Hale and Patrick Laird who both had solid performances. Laird did have ball knocked right out of his grasp by Evan Rambo, which Aisea Tongilava returned for a touchdown. The line strength is something Tre Watson called "a blessing," and today was a tally in the positive collumn
- Conversely, the defensive front seven struggled against the run. The defense as a whole struggled for the first half of the scrimmage, giving up four touchdowns and a field goal over six drives. There were a few five man boxes, where the offensive line took a guy and did their job, which certainly helped, but the defense needed to make more plays by getting off their blocks. They improved mightily in the second half, giving up only one TD and a field goal in six drives
- Although the unit as a whole didn't look great, Jordan Kunaszyk had an excellent showing, playing from sideline to sideline and making consistent tackles. Despite being only 14 days into camp, Kunaszyk, at 6'3" 240lbs, has the athletic ability to keep up with an offense this fast, and the mental side of the game is coming around quickly as well.
- Chad Hansen and Demetris Robertson had excellent days with limited receptions. Hansen had 3 receptions for 99 yards while Robertson wowed the crowd with 2 receptions for 84 yards. Hansen has turned into the most reliable receiver for the Bears, with Robertson providing a roller coaster of emotions for any defensive back matched up with him. With consistent 6-7 yard threats in Melquise Stovall and Jordan Veasy, the wide receiver group does not appear to miss a step from last year's group.
Some other miscellaneous notes:
- Traveon Beck almost had another interception, but it got called back due to an unsportsmanlike conduct call for hitting a defensive receiver. Beck got the ball on a tip, and he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.
- Burns stated that he wanted 3 turnovers out of the defense today, and he got only 1.
- A few visits today, with commits Taariq Johnson, Jeremiah Hawkins, and Gabe Cherry coming up to take in the action. Also taking a visit today was Bishop Gorman RB Biaggio Ali-Walsh. Ali-Walsh decided to commit to Cal the next day, possibly from seeing the holes created by the offensive line.
- Special teams appeared to be solid, with Noah Beito and Matt Anderson hitting all their field goals and extra points. Dylan Klumph impressed with a couple of monster punts, one going 61 yards.
- Along with the 127 yards mentioned earlier, Muhammad had a 70 yard run showing some burst in taking a run off the right guard outside of the right tackle.
- Zeandae Johnson had a couple of sacks today, continuing a hot stretch for him. Johnson is showing more burst off the edge, and is making some noise to get playing time amongst the other ends. Devante Wilson and James Looney didn't have too many reps today, with the coaching staff wanting to give them a rest while they can.
Cal will back be back at practice on Monday afternoon after reviewing the film on Sunday with their day off.