Cal Spring Football Most to Prove Series: WR Jeremiah Hawkins

With 5 of Cal’s 6 leading receivers from last year gone, including Kanawai Noa, who transferred with eligibility remaining, the guy with the returning yardage is now Jordan Duncan, with 20 catches for 267 yards. Behind Duncan, who missed most of the year with injury, is where you’ll find our man Hawkins, who had 16 catches of his own – for a respectable 177 yards -- but dropped what felt like twice that many.

Now, one could argue that Duncan’s the guy who deserves to go in this space, since he’ll be tasked with carrying the mantle of defacto leader for the remaining wideouts, but Hawkins offers more explosive potential than Duncan – a reality clear from the few touches he received – and for an offense severely lacking big playmakers of any kind, Cal can’t afford the luxury of not playing the 5’8 speedster.

Here’s what we can say on Hawkins statistically:

- He caught 16 of 31 targets a year ago, with 3 drops. Two of his targets were intercepted (both thrown by Chase Garbers during the Oregon game)

- He didn’t avoid a tackle on any of his receptions, which points to a couple things. The first of those being that his drops came on passes where he could have avoided tackles.

- The second would speak to either him not being used as effectively as possible or the quarterback not putting him in positions where he could operate in space, which may or may not be true. Per PFF, 7 of his 31 targets came on passes behind the line of scrimmage, another 9 came within 10 yards, as the Bears did try to get the ball to him in space. He had 75 yards after the catch on those 16 targets (10 receptions)

- A curious quirk to Hawkins catch chart, he didn’t have a single reception outside the right hash, an area where Chase Garbers notably struggled to throw to during the year. It’s a small sample size, as Hawkins only had four targets over there (with one drop), but it’s an interesting area to see if that’s self-scouted by the Bears.

- Just from the eye test alone, Hawkins showed an explosiveness that this Cal team lacked. He got open when given the opportunity, but the ball didn’t always get to him in a catchable fashion. The drops cost him playing time to Nikko Remigio, who ended up playing 5 more reps in three fewer games.

Now, Hawkins and Remigio, for better or for worse, are what Cal will have in the slot next year, and here's what we'll be looking for from Hawkins during the first couple weeks of Spring Ball

- General use, how and where he's catching the ball (he did well with 5 receptions on 8 targets in the intermediate range of 10-20 yards downfield). The expectation would be more bubble screens and crossing routes to utilize his shiftiness in space.

- Confidence, in catching the ball and making a move. In practice, Hawkins doesn't lack confidence, as in one on one situations, he's gotten the better of his nephew Jaylinn on multiple occasions. The confidence needs to carry over from drill-work, though it's also not too big of a leap to think that better QB play should lead to better opportunities for Hawkins.