Fall Practice Notebook: Practice 18, Bowers Shines, D is Opportunistic

It was a day with a slow start for the offense, as the defense continued to be ahead for the first part of practice. It ended with a beautiful pass to Jeremiah Hawkins from Brandon McIlwain from 14 yards out on a nice seam pattern. On a day where the defense was opportunistic early, the offense got going after a fantastic play from WR Kanawai Noa, and 95 plays were run between four different QBs, the Cal picture got a little bit clearer.

With the team emulating a gameday, going to hotel last night, and going through a pregame routine, the day served as a frame of reference for the team. "We treated it like a game and normal pregame routine and stayed at the hotel last night," Justin Wilcox said, "the whole deal, just to get us in that frame of mind."

Wilcox: On QB Play, Opportunistic Defense, and Two Minute Drills

Davison and Noa Discuss Saturday's Scrimmage

Turnovers

Early in the scrimmage, the defense forced three quick interceptions, the first coming when Marloshawn Franklin read a slant route and the QBs eyes, stepping in front of the route for an easy interception off Chase Forrest. The second came on a tip drill, as Franklin got in again on a slant to Veasy, delivering a solid hit and knocking the ball up to Quentin Tartabull, who had to make a diving grab off a Ross Bowers throw. The third came on a seam route to Hawkins, where Josh Drayden played the ball perfectly, turned and made the play on the McIlwain throw.

Later in the scrimmage, Ray Davison stepped in front of crossing route to get a pick that he promptly returned for a touchdown off Forrest, while Gerran Brown popped the ball loose as Demetris Robertson tried to work for a few more yards after the catch. Jordan Kunaszyk recovered.

This is the hallmark of Tim DeRuyter's defenses, one that gets in the QBs head, shortens the clock in their head and forces bad decisions, which the defense made them pay for.

QBs

This might have been the day where Ross Bowers put himself ahead of the pack. Despite the interception, Bowers led three of the four touchdown drives, throwing two TDs and running for a third. Bowers noted that the first of those, a bit of a lofted underthrow that Noa adjusted to and made a tough catch in the front of the endzone, spurred the offense on to more consistent drives.

"You love having guys that can make you look good for sure when it's not the best throw in the world," Bowers said, "he made a heck of an adjustment on that play, OL held their blocks really nicely on that play too, I know I held it a little long. That definitely sparked, if it wasn't the offense, maybe myself to kinda 'hey, let's get going here, let's start building on this type of stuff,' especially when you see something positive like that. I thought that was pretty big for us as an offense."

Bowers also showed off his arm, busting the lid off the defense with a 75 yard TD pass to Robertson on a post. Bowers said that he saw the safety flatfooted as D-Rob ran by him, and made the throw. He also ran a play in on a read play, as Bowers said, "I took that as an opportunity, let's get these guys going and let's get this tempo up," and he got the offense that much more fired up. He looked the best in the QB battle today.

Aside from Bowers, McIlwain played a good game, leading the offense down the field in the two minute drill scenario, converting a couple of 3rd and 4th down situations, including a 4th and 10 crossing route to Kanawai Noa. McIlwain did have the issue of mishandling a couple snaps.

Chase Garbers showed an ability to get away from pressure and step up in the pocket, but for one reason or another, didn't move himself to the forefront as much as he had in other practices.

As for Chase Forrest, the two interceptions he threw weren't pretty. He sat for a while before coming back in and throwing the pick 6 to Davison.

Defensive standouts:

There were a number of these, with an aggressive defense blitzing, making plays in the backfield, and starting the day strong:

- Franklin with his INT and PBU leading to an interception, has made one of the biggest turnarounds in terms of technique. Gerald Alexander hates faceguarding, and he's broken Franklin of the habit.

- Drayden's pick was also impressive in terms of technique

- On the interior, Tevin Paul's name came up a lot, he got some solid push up front during his reps

- Gerran Brown made a bunch of plays up the middle, including the forced fumble, him and Kunaszyk worked very well together with the second unit. He also chased down McIlwain in the backfield after an attempt to scramble after a dropped snap. Malik McMorris deserves some credit for bringing him over

- Devante Downs is cementing his role as a blitzer, barreling through Jake Curhan and getting a sack. His explosiveness is on full display

- Cameron Goode and Alex Funches both looked to be improving on the pass rush front, while Russell Ude made a number of plays as well

- It's really good to have James Looney back up front, he is a legitimate difference maker on the defensive line, collapsing pockets and stopping runs before they start. Luc Bequette also looked solid in this regard

- Siu Fuimaono looked more aggressive than he has in the past, albeit with the third group. Seeing him get a hit on Zion Echols was an absolute mismatch

Other Notes:

- Noa may be one of the most clutch receivers to play for the Bears, coming up big on 3rd and 4th down situations. He has a knack for finding the open space in the zone, sitting in it, making the catch, and powering for some yards after the catch. He looks to have earned a starting spot, as he should

- Offensive line depth is still an issue, but Steve Greatwood has not finished moving guys around and there are still injuries among the group. The hope is for the positions to be more set next week as they start their prep for North Carolina.

- A lot of healthy scratches today, especially at the offensive skill positions, with Brandon Singleton, Greyson Bankhead and Tre Watson sitting out the scrimmage

- Evan Weaver continued to run at ILB, while Malik Psalms and Hamilton Anoa'i have been running at OLB

It's looking like Bowers is closer and closer to being named the starter, as only two weeks separate the Bears from their opener at North Carolina on September 2nd. As Justin Wilcox always notes, there's a lot to work on