Spring Review: Cal's WR Group Slim for Now

The wide receiver group was not the biggest going into spring football for Cal, with nine total bodies going in, and with Jordan Duncan getting hurt in the first practice and not making it all the way back, the wideout group was slim. That didn't phase WR coach Burl Toler, who had four RBs last spring to deal with, so he set to work on getting his players confident with the scheme.

"I want guys to be themselves," Toler said, "I want guys to show personality. I don’t want robots out there, I want guys to be creative, and I want them to be relaxed, and the only way they can do that and show personality is if they’re extremely prepared, because preparation equals confidence. Having these guys prepared, they’re on their own with flashcards, flipping through, understanding concepts, the more they do, the better. Jeremiah’s done it, Nikko, everybody else, those guys are confident because they’re prepared."

The two that he mentioned, especially Hawkins, took that to heart. Hawkins probably showed the most improvement of the group, starting from somewhere around practice seven to the end of the fifteen sessions.

"Confidence is huge for Jeremiah," Toler said, "you can see it in the way he catches the ball, you can see it in the way he runs routes, he’s definitive, he doesn’t question things because he’s more prepared with how he approaches the game. Just to see his detail on routes and his detail in meetings, taking tests up there and doing well in school, he’s all-around improving. It’s not a surprise at all, he’s fighting for reps himself."

It stands out, as Hawkins' explosive ability had been apparent, but he'd had a handful of pivotal drops that saw him sitting on the bench. Now, going into his third year, he's getting more use in a variety of ways.

"You always notice the explosiveness and quickness," Justin Wilcox said, "but to be able to translate it into 11 on 11, catch a ball or perimeter run, fly sweep, tunnel screen, something, he has improved, there’s no doubt about that, and he’s a guy that can create some of those plays."

His fellow slot wideout, Nikko Remigio, also caught the eye of coaches, for Wilcox it was his blocking on the perimeter, for Toler it was the leadership aspect.

"If you talk about passion, about somebody that’s going to fight with everything they have, Nikko Remigio’s done a great job," Toler said, "I don’t consider him a young guy because of how he approaches the game. He does a great job on special teams, returning punts, playing slot and really just understanding the game, understanding what he can do and he has a high ceiling."

A third guy who stood, on the outside was Monroe Young. Young stood out in a handful of areas, blocking a big one for Wilcox, cutting in 1 on 1 drills, and his releases in coverage.

"He’s a very strong receiver. He’s very creative," Toler noted, "he wanted to work on his releases, his routes, using a lot of creativity with that. Seeing him translate what he says in the meeting room to the field, he’s being a catalyst and a leader in drills, and it carries over to the team competition things as well."

All three are set to play bigger roles than in 2018, as the Bears need all hands on deck for the wide receiver group.

It's a fool's errand to talk about depth right now, as impact players in Trevon Clark and Kekoa Crawford are soon to joining the group, and there's potential grad transfers on the horizon. Instead, we'll go through the rest of the group as it stands right now.

Duncan: When healthy, he's one of the surest handed wideouts on the squad with the ability to get a release on corners in coverage

Ben Skinner: Taller WR, got a ton of reps this spring, can make contested catches. He will challenge for playing time after redshirting in 2018

"He said before spring that he really wanted to work on getting his feet quicker and sure hands," Toler said, "On the field, he’s really focused, smart, knows what he’s doing. He’s playing mostly outside receiver now, but he contributes because he has great speed and sure hands. Putting those things together and putting him in the right spot are things he’s shooting out to do. He’s doing a lot out here, he’s showing up every day, he doesn’t miss a rep, doesn’t miss a day, he’s the first one in the meeting room, last one left on the field, so he’s showing a lot."

Ricky Walker: Earned his first start against USC last year, finally healthy. Quicker wideout who can be used on screens and quick routes. Wilcox is a big fan of his speed

Makai Polk: Was sick for parts of camp, but impressed in being able to make contested catches and his athleticism.

"Makai is a very talented guy," Wilcox said, "For a true freshman, he’s gifted physically as probably anybody in the group. He came in and he made some contested catches on some plays against our starting DBs."

Evan King: Another 6'3", big framed guy. Speed isn't top end, but he's economical and can get open with his size and footwork. Stayed healthy for spring ball after being out for a portion of last fall.

Ryan Regan: Was out for part of spring, played in the slot while he was healthy

Cal's in need of bigger wideouts, and both Clark and Crawford are expected to be contributors in the fall. Clark, a JuCo transfer from El Camino College, played for former Bear Geoff McArthur.

Toler on Clark (From February):

When I first watched Trevon’s film, I didn’t know he played for Geoff at first, I just watched his film and thought ‘hey, this guy’s a baller,’ then we found out later that Geoff was his coach. Geoff knows what it takes to be a Golden Bear, he knows what it takes to excel at this level, he knows what it takes to be successful not only in football, but in life. First time I talked to (Geoff about Trevon), he said ‘he’s one of us,’ he said ‘if he’d played with us, he’d have been one of us,’ and that referring to Geoff McArthur, Chase Lyman, Jonathan Makonnen, Vinnie Strang, all those guys in that receiver core that we had at the time.

When he said that, I took it to heart, say no more, let’s go. The big thing about Trevon, you can hear all you want from coaches and see all you want, but the deciding factor is when you come here. He came on his visit, got together with myself, coach Edwards and the rest of the coaching staff and a lot the players. There’s no bigger determining factor or tell-tale sign than the current player on the team about where a program’s going. He fell in love with the atmosphere and we’re extremely happy to have him on board, he’s going to contribute in tremendous ways to this team.

On Crawford

Kekoa Crawford comes to the Bears from Michigan by way of a year at Glendale CC, where he didn't play football. The former Rivals 150 WR has speed to burn, and here's what our Nam Le had to say about him in December:

The high school version of Crawford was a threat to score every time he touched the ball, creating separation whether it was on special teams or fake wheel, and showing off the best RAC ability of any candidate in this post so far. Not surprising, considering he was one of the most sought after recruits in the country. If Cal can get something close to that at this point, that’d be wonderful. At the very least, it’s an intelligent addition that shows the staff definitely isn’t sitting on its laurels -- it’s scouring all the connections they can find for an edge, if any.

Crawford had an issue with drops at Michigan, but that's an area that can obviously be improved in Berkeley.