It was back to shells Friday morning for Cal, as the staff is definitely trying to manage the load after a few guys look like they might have been dinged up a bit.

Offensive linemen Trent Ramsey, Ryan Lange, Bastian Swinney and Ender Aguilar did not participate in practice.

Really, just a teaching day today. Lots of install of RPOs and short play-actions, which will be huge for this offense going forward.

As for the notes and highlights, here's what we saw ...

As said just above, the team was working a huge amount of RPOs early, whether they be first or second level reads and throws. They looked pretty good on these, with quarterbacks making good run/pass decisions throughout.

Kai Millner had a nice pull on a read option (or designed run) and got a big chunk of yards behind a few pulling offensive linemen.

There was a heavy, heavy emphasis on getting Cal’s top athletes in space today, something offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave emphasized in his comments earlier this week. Chiefly: J.Michael Sturdivant, Jeremiah Hunter and somewhat surprisingly, Jermaine Terry. He did a few fast motions today designed to get Terry space and leverage on defenders behind the line of scrimmage. That shows how much faith they have in their young tight end.

The offensive line was pretty consistent in getting at least 2-3 yards before the defense made contact with the running backs, which is pretty much about as good as you can ask for. There were certainly plays where the defensive line got its tackles for loss but it was a fun battle to watch, especially with the added wrinkle of RPOs.

Receiver Mavin Anderson made a really nice fingertip grab while twirling in the back of the endzone, courtesy of a nice ball from Jack Plummer, who also looked especially sharp today.

There was also a nice connection between Millner and Keleki Latu that resulted in a touchdown grab for Latu on a well thrown out route.

Freshman quarterback Fernando Mendoza, not to be outdone, showed off the arm again and ripped another far-side comeback throw down and away, perfect placement. That’s a big boy throw, and he’s made it look pretty easy so far.

Freshman running back Ashton Hayes made two nice north-south cuts on a run to find his way into the endzone from 20 yards out -- definitely flashed his highly touted speed there