Cal Spring Practice Notebook: Feb. 27th
Day two of Spring Practice saw two more quarterbacks enter the mix, zero injuries, and the return of some would-be starters. Here's a plethora of info and analysis from today's practice... (And in case you missed the practice notebook from Monday, click here)
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Defensive end Sione Sina, tailback Brendan Bigelow, center Chris Adcock, defensive lineman Austin Clark, wideout Spencer Hagan, defensive end Chris McCain, defensive lineman Viliami Moala, and defensive lineman Puka Lopa spent the first chunk of practice working a stregth and conditioning circuit that included medicine balls, a boxing station, and a sledgehammer/tractor tire station where they took turns basically hammering the hell out of the tire.
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Quarterbacks Kyle Boehm and Jared Goff took an equal number of reps Wednessday, with Allan Bridgford, Austin Hinder, and Zach Kline splitting the third rotation reps. Goff was very accurate for most of the day, he had good zip on the ball, hit the short and long pass, both with a high percentage and had a handful of highlight-reel deep balls including an over-the-shoulder 45-yard bomb to wideout Jake Harris, perfectly in stride, and another of the same variety to WR Darius Powe. His most impressive throw of the day though: flushed out of the pocket running to his right, he strung a 25-yard touchdown pass to Powe on a rope, jumping off of one foot with the defensive line in pursuit. "Obviously there were some passes a tad behind receivers," Goff told GoldenBearReport.com Wednesday night. "They're looking for the guy who can make completions. I'll watch film tonight. I expect to be perfect, I expect to complete every pass every time."
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Unlike practice No. 1 where Kline, Bridgford, and Hinder took turns driving the ball half the field in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 situations, Boehm and Goff did some two wide receiver work with and without defenders. Boehm was erratic for most of the day, going from pinpoint balls to the sidelines, to balls at receivers' feet or overthrows on deep slants. The only time Goff really looked like a true freshman was in the full-speed 11-on-11 against a live defense, which saw Mustafa Jalil put him on his backside on one occasion. "I was just talking to him in the tunnel," Goff said. "He said 'I didn't touch you, why'd you fall.'"
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For the second straight practice, Jalil was an absolute monster. He put Boehm and Goff both on the ground in the 11-on-11, moved inside to defensive tackle and roped Lucas Gingold for a tackle of loss, and had 4+ sacks spread across a variety of drills. "Moose," Kameron Jackson said. "He was out there in the backfield." Added head coach Sonny Dykes: "He was active, he was feeling good, he's healthy. He showed up a lot these last two days."
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On the right end it was Kyle Kragen again cleaning up, with back-to-back sacks of Goff in an 11-on-11 series. We counted four on the day for the JuCo transfer.
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All five quarterbacks participated in a trash can in the corner of the end zone drill where they tried to lob the ball from the five-yard line into the trash can in the corner of the end zone. Kline knocked the trash can on his first throw and accidentally bounced another one in. Walk-on Brendan Keeney and Goff were the only two to cleanly put it into the can. "I've done that before in camps a little," Goff said. "This was a lot more serious though."
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Head coach Sonny Dykes said he plans to trim the five-man race down soon. "We're repping five guys, we're try to evaluate them, and cut it back if we can. You want to eliminate someone until you have a starter. We'll do it as quick as we can."
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Maurice Harris had another lights out day. Caught every catchable ball thrown his way, including a diving grab toward the sideline from Goff. Beyond Bryce Treggs, who has been a stud as expected, Harris has been lights out.
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Daniel Lasco and Chris Harper both saw some non-contact action Wednesday running routes. All of the injured players were in full gear, including wide receiver Chad Smith who landed awkwardly on his knee on Monday. He took part in the circuit some, but spent most of the time on the bike and using the kettle ball.
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The starting secondary in the 11-on-11 offense/defense drills: Jackson, Avery Sebastian, Alex Logan, and Stefan McClure. Starting linebackers: David Wilkerson, Nick Forbes (who looks to have the Mike spot locked up), and Khairi Fortt.
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Cedric Dozier looked very good on Wednesday. Broke to the ball well, had a couple pass breakups and a near interception.
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Drake Whitehurst had more end zone balls thrown his way within the 10 than any receiver.
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Treggs played the role of kick returner in kickoffs.
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There were a ton of interceptions on the day, two for Kameron Jackson in the two quarterback/two receiver drill (one on Boehm, one on Goff), Adrian Lee picked off Bridgford (who maybe threw the ball fewer than 10 times on Wednessday), and redshirt sophomore DE Antoine Davis had the Defensive Play of the Day pick on Hinder, where he just plucked the ball right out of the air and ran it back 15 yards for a score untouched.
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Gabe King had a really nice day. Had a couple sacks in the 5-on-5 quarterback dummy drill, and really hustled on everything, whether it was sprinting back after the whistle blew, or hustling up to the line on his rotation.
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One of the most noteworthy things on Wednesday: things got heated. When Dykes said he wanted guys competing, he certainly got it Wednesday. Several players got into physical back-and-forths, Fortt and Maximo Espitia had to be separated after wrestling each other to the ground, Jordan Rigsbee was mixing it up at the bottom of a pile that saw 40+ players all get into it. All in good fun, all clean, but there was some fire. "Well, the offense did good on us the first day, so…" Jackson said. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to pads on Friday."
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