Fall Camp Primer: What To Know
Cal starts Fall Camp this afternoon, an oddity because it's still July, but with the NCAA banning two-a-day practices, the practice schedule has been bumped up a week. That just means there's actual football sooner, as today marks 33 days until the kickoff against North Carolina. With this being the beginning of Cal back on the field, there's a lot to know about the Bears.
Position Competitions
QB Competition Has Three:
At Pac-12 Media Day, RB Tre Watson said that true freshman QB Chase Garbers had looked great in their time working in 7 on 7. Justin Wilcox noted later that day that Garbers would compete for the spot with Ross Bowers and Chase Forrest. Garbers was an incredibly accurate passer during his days at Corona del Mar, and incorporated running ability into his game as a senior, which makes him an ideal fit for the Baldwin offense. That being said, he has to learn the offense, as Forrest and Bowers have a jump on him.
In the end, it's more likely that one of Bowers or Forrest will win the job, as Forrest will probably take the first reps today, but it'll be a three way race to start.
What's a bit curious is that those three are the only eligible QBs on the roster, as Brandon McIlwain will have to sit out a year, and walk-on Colin Moore has moved to TE.
RG is back open:
Dwayne Wallace left the team during the offseason, opening up a hole on the offensive line that was already set to have depth issues. To replace him, there's multiple candidates. Semisi Uluave has played at right guard, and seems like the most likely candidate to start, though Oregon transfer Valentino Daltoso and incoming freshman Poutasi Poutasi could come in and make an impact, along with redshirt freshman Gentle Williams. Wilcox did note that it'll be the best five linemen who will play.
One DE spot needs filling
The announcement of Zeandae Johnson being out for the year struck a massive blow to the Bears defensive line depth, as Johnson had emerged after showing flashes over his first two seasons. Now they have a hole, somewhere that Rusty Becker, Gabe Cherry, Tevin Paul, Chinedu Udeogu will likely fight over. Udeogu had a solid spring, as did Becker, and they need an impact player to compliment entrenched starters James Looney and Tony Mekari
Safety Spots Up in the air
Last year's starter at one spot, Evan Rambo, is out for the year, and both safety spots have been open for competition this year. The two standouts during the spring were Quentin Tartabull and Derron Brown, and it's likely that they'll have the first reps at the safety spots. Jaylinn Hawkins, Luke Rubenzer, and Trey Turner will be in play for the spots as well, and Malik Psalms has the talent to force his way into the conversation for playing time as well.
Punters are People Too, Competing People
In one of the strangest situations of the summer, Cal added a punter, Aussie grad transfer Steven Coutts to go along with their perfectly good returning punter Dylan Klumph. Coutts got on the Guy Award watchlist as well, as he was brought in to "add competition to the spot." It's rare to have a punter battle, but this'll be the camp for it.
New Faces, New Numbers, New Positions
- Jeremiah Hawkins also has #6, to match his nephew Jaylinn, and to confuse people
- Chase Garbers has #7
- Daniel Scott gets #10
- Brandon McIlwain gets #11, considering he's not going to play this year, there's no overlap with Ray Hudson
- Walk-on QB Colin Moore has been moved to TE
- Walk-on Alex Netherda has changed numbers, he'll have #21
- Biaggio Ali-Walsh gets #26
- Walk-on WR Chas Peterson will have #31
- Graduate transfer punter Steven Coutts gets #37, in honor of Ron Artest I'm assuming
- Kyle Harmon has #43
- Branden Smith will have #45
-Long Snapper Alonso Vera has #47
-Mike Saffell has #53, right next to #51 Cameron Saffle
- Oregon transfer Valentino Daltoso will have #61
- Poutasi (x2) has #70
- Ben Moos has #83
- Gavin Reinwald has #84
- Siulagisipai Fuimaono has #99
New Walk-Ons
- Eric Phillip, junior WR from CCSF, has #27
- Parker Caldwell, freshman WR from La Salle Prep in Portland, has #32
- Michael King, freshman WR from Menlo-Atherton, has #39
- Connor Brazeel, freshman LB from Mater Dei has #47
- Daniel Etter, freshman LS from Riordan, has #48
- Tim Newman, sophomore LB from Saddleback College, also has #48
- Chris Landgrebe, freshman K from Madeira HS in Cincinnati, has #49
- Jake Tonges, freshman TE from Los Gatos, also has #49
- Arwin Rahmatpanah, freshman C from Corona del Mar, has #52
- Jack Beeman, freshman OL from Del Oro HS in Loomis, has #56
- Matt Robinson, junior OL from Santa Rosa JC, has #67
Injuries:
DE Zeandae Johnson - out for the year- knee
OL Daniel Juarez - out for the year- hips
DB Evan Rambo - out for the year - lower body injury
RB Billy McCrary - out for the year - upper body injury
Other Questions:
Who will man the return spots?
Something that the Bears didn't work on much, if it all during the spring, was the return game. Demetris Robertson, who came to prominence as a returner during the Army All-American Game as a high school senior, will be part of at least one of the return teams. Other names that could be seen include Tre Watson, Melquise Stovall, Jeremiah Hawkins, and Vic Wharton. Cal hasn't had an effective return game in a number of years, and that's on the new staff to work on.
How will the defense continue their upward trajectory they started during the spring?
The defense looked leagues ahead of where they ended 2016 during the spring campaign, but there's still the aforementioned questions about who takes the DE and safety spots. To make the progression to a defense that ends the year in the middle of the pack, a couple players have to emerge outside of a Looney, Allensworth, Downs or Davison. Whether that's Cameron Saffle becoming a consistent pass rusher from his natural OLB position, Derron Brown making hits from a safety spot, or Alex Funches building on his solid spring to become a speedy threat off the edge, someone needs to step up.
Will the offense continue to utilize tempo?
Something Beau Baldwin kept mum on during the spring was whether the Bears would utilize tempo to the same extent that his Eastern Washington teams did. With limited open practices during the spring, it wasn't too easy to tell, and the spring game utilized it due to its situational nature. It'll depend on a couple of things, which ties into the next question.
Run/Pass Balance Question?
"Run the dang ball Jake" was a constant refrain from Nam and company a year ago, and getting that consistent running game going with Watson and Enwere will be a focus. Consistently moving the ball is the primary goal, but with two talented running backs available, they'll get use.
How will the OL depth hold up?
There's 12 scholarship offensive linemen on the roster. One is already out for the year. The margin for error is pretty low for this group, though if you're going to have an offensive line coach to weather this storm, you could do a whole lot worse than Steve Greatwood, who's been working the players in at every position because of this. There'll be more shifting during the spring to find the most consistent group, but they'll need to be good enough to keep a first time starter upright.
Will a concrete pass rush develop?
The hallmark of the DeRuyter defense is the blitz packages. It forces turnovers, almost always bringing four guys on the rush, but not from the same place every time. Devante Downs will get use as a gap shooting backer. Saffle, Funches, Cameron Goode, and Russell Ude will come off the edge or slant inside. Safeties can come down and blitz. It's unpredictable at times, but the challenge will be finding the balance that can get pressure. That will have to come with help from the defensive line, but there's a bit more creativity in the playcalling set to come.
Cal starts their spring today with an open practice at California Memorial Stadium at 3:30.