Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave was clear as far as who the starter is at quarterback moving forward.

"This is Chase's squad," Musgrave said, "we're riding Chase and we're going to have a great year. Our defense is always going to be good, and we've got to pick it up on offense so we can come up to the defense's level, then we will be cooking with gas."

It's not often that Cal has had a three-year starter at quarterback returning, with the last player to have done that being Kevin Riley from 2007 to 2010, but Chase Garbers is the guy for the Bears moving forward,

Garbers had some growing pains in a different offense last fall, as his yards per attempt fell from 8.2 to 5.7 and he struggled in throwing to the right side of the field. While his stats in the Bears' first scrimmage weren't great, he threw for 3 touchdowns in the second scrimmage Saturday as he's building more confidence in the Bears' offense.

"He's definitely more comfortable in the system," Musgrave said, "he has gotten a ton of time on task, he's gotten a ton of turns thus far in these 13 practices. We had nearly 90 plays of 11 on 11 football, and he's getting the lion's share of those reps."

The biggest difference for Garbers this year has been a luxury he, nor anyone on the Cal roster had last fall, and that's time. There was missed time last spring, which leads to a lack of film study from that spring practice, which means you have to keep building a base in the fall. This spring, the Bears will get all 15 practices, they will get a full offseason of preparation, and will get a full fledged fall camp. That will help building Garbers up more, as he looks to make more plays 'on schedule.'

"The more turns on the concepts he gets, the more comfortable he is," Musgrave said, "and the more he can throw it early with anticipation, not waiting to see if the receiver is going to cut this way or that or where the pockets in the defense might be. He's anticipating better, which is natural for all QBs."

That growth has in turn cemented the trust Musgrave and Justin Wilcox have in him, as Garbers has shown some growth in recent practices.

"He's smart, today he was making really risky throws in small windows," Musgrave said, "but at the same time if it wasn't there, he was content to protect the football, and it's tough to achieve that balance. We're really pleased with his spring, and we're looking to build on the foundation from last fall."

While the work isn't done in the race for a backup QB, Zach Johnson has pulled to the front of the group. The second year QB from Hart HS has thrown more touchdowns than incompletions during the Bears live scrimmage sessions, going 24-28 for 250 yards and 6 TDs over the two days

"He'll be the number two when we go into the spring game Saturday," Musgrave noted. "Chase will roll with the ones, both Robby and Spencer will get the rest of the reps as it shakes out, then we'll see how it goes in fall camp. We're still ways away, but as it stands now, Zach is rolling with the twos."

Johnson has made the jump in learning the offense, and has been said to throw well with anticipation. The battle for the spot should continue through the summer, when Kai Millner arrives, but Johnson has the upper hand.