Day Eight of Fall Camp marked a scrimmage day, with the Bears getting referees out onto the Memorial Stadium turf. While all the hallmarks of a scrimmage were there, with Cal running 87 plays of team, there wasn't tackling to the ground. Plays were whistled dead with defenders only touching the ball-carrier in some cases, but with wanting to protect players from injury, that's what Cal looked to do.

"You have to play to get better," head coach Justin Wilcox noted. "That's what we're trying to simulate out there. Is it a perfect world when you go 'thud' out there? Not really, because there's going to be some of those tackles that are blown dead that are much more difficult to make when it becomes live, and we all know that."

That lack of tacklling makes some of the selected stats compiled by Cal Athletics less telling than stats would normally have you believe. In those stats, Cal ran 43 times for 145 yards and 2 TDs, not exactly numbers that show an offense that can run the ball, but plays were often blown dead at the first sign of contact. Cal will likely work some full tackling drills in the next week, with the potential for more contact during next weekend's scrimmage, but for now, it's something to keep in mind.

Back From Injury: S Daniel Scott

First Team Offense:

OL (L to R): Ben Coleman, Matt Cindric, Brian Driscoll, McKade Mettauer, Valentino Daltoso

QB: Chase Garbers

RB: Damien Moore/Chris Brooks

WR: Nikko Remigio, Monroe Young, Trevon Clark (Mavin Anderson and Justin Baker also took reps with the first team)

TE: Collin Moore, Jake Tonges

First Team Defense:

DL: JH Tevis, Stanley McKenzie, Luc Bequette (Ethan Saunders as a fourth defensive lineman)

OLB: Kuony Deng, Cameron Goode (Braxten Croteau made an appearance with the 1s as well, along with Orin Patu)

ILB: Evan Tattersall, Blake Antzoulatos

CB: Josh Drayden, Chigozie Anusiem (Collin Gamble came in when the Bears went to a nickel defense)

S: Elijah Hicks, Daniel Scott

Second Team Offense

OL (L to R): Brayden Rohme, Everett Johnson, Bastian Swinney/Matt Cindric/Ben Coleman, Ryan Lange/Driscoll, Coleman/E. Johnson/Ender Aguilar

QB: Zach Johnson

RB: Marcel Dancy/Chris Street

WR: Justin Baker, Mavin Anderson, Mason Mangum, Aidan Lee

TE: Nick Alftin, Gavin Reinwald, Jermaine Terry, Elijah Mojarro, Keleki Latu

Second Team Defense

DL: Darius Long, Jaedon Roberts, Saunders/Derek Wilkins

OLB: Orin Patu, Braxten Croteau/Marquez Bimage

ILB: Kyle Smith, Trey Paster

CB: Jaylen Martin, Kaleb Higgins

S: Miles Williams, Ray Woodie

Notes:

- While the Bears didn't show too much of their hand when it came to the offensive playbook, they ran a couple plays to get wideout Justin Baker in space. The second year wideout from Seattle is among the fastest players on the roster, and he got a little more run today with the first team.

"We had a play today that was a little (end)-around," Baker noted, "just different ways to get the ball in my hand, not just passing."

Cal held out a couple other receivers, namely Kekoa Crawford and Jeremiah Hunter, that have been banged up in recent days, along with a handful of other players that haven't practiced in full, which has allowed the likes of Baker, Mavin Anderson, and Mason Mangum to get a few more reps with the first team over the past couple days.

- Ethan Saunders, who has recovered from a lower body injury that took him out right before the Stanford game, but the second year defensive linemen flashed during the early part of the scrimmage. The Cal Athletics staff credited Saunders with only one sack, but there were three or four plays total where he could have been credited with a tackle for loss.

"I thought Ethan, coming off the injury last year really took to the field," Wilcox said, "sometimes you'll see those guys that had his injury be real hesitant. I haven't seen that once out of Ethan. He's shown considerable improvement, and he's been out. I think it speaks to his work ethic and his mentality, he came back on the field on wasn't hesitant at all."

Saunders' emergence, along with the improved depth on the defensive line and others like Derek Wilkins, Akili Calhoun, and Jaedon Roberts stepping into bigger roles, has allowed the Bears to test out a couple new things on defense. Cal ran a four down lineman front for the second consecutive day, giving them a big more size up front, with Saunders being the first DL in that role with the first team.

"Some of the body types we have," Wilcox said, "the guys who we want on the field and what we can get out of the spacing on the defensive front, it gives some more multiples."

- Cal had three touchdown scoring plays, a 1-yard run by Chris Brooks, an 8-yard run by Ashton Stredick, and an 11-yard TD pass from Robby Rowell to Grant Daley to end practice. Walk-on WR Trond Grizzell had the longest play of the day, a 35 yard connection from Rowell going over Tyson McWilliams for the catch.

- In the kicking game, Dario Longhetto hit four of his six FG attempts in the Bears first day against a live rush. One was blocked by Tyson McWilliams, who also blocked one off the foot of Nico Ramos coming from the outside. Longhetto's non-block miss was from 47 out (pushed wide right, had distance), but the Bears' likely starter at kicker was good from 45, 38, 42, and 40.