Wideouts Rideout: Cal's WR Group Embracing Youth and New Offense
The wide receiver room at Cal is pivotal to the Bears' success in 2020, and it will be a relatively young one for the year. Half the scholarship players are true freshmen. The other scholarship wideouts return 1618 reps from 2019 (1657 if you count walk-on Ben Skinner), and it's a position defined by those two sides.
The common factor between the youth and the veterans is that they're all learning a new offense, and Bill Musgrave's system makes sense for the group.
"This year it’s a little easier learning pass concepts because they make sense," sophomore wideout Makai Polk said. "When you read the playbook it breaks down itself and you can really understand it."
"The guys are most excited about it making sense," wide receiver coach Burl Toler added, "There’s a rhyme or reason to everything that we do. That’s important any time you’re teaching somebody what to do, you’ve got to have answers for guys, they’re going to ask questions. So to be able to answer those questions is important as I learn the offense and teach it myself."
The offense has been easier for player to digest because it's based around concepts, like 'smash' (a cover two beater concept with a quick smash route under a corner) or 'tosser' (two slants, with the outside one having a few steps more depth) among others. That has allowed the wideout group to understand multiple positions and to be interchangeable on the inside and outside.
"Why we’ve been so successful in these nine practices, and the four spring practices is because we’re diving into the details of concepts," Toler said. "Regardless of who’s there, whether it’s a running back, tight end or a receiver, if you understand the concept, you can be at any position and run the right route, you understand spacing, angles, and how we attack defenses."
As Toler has learned the offense to teach it to his charges, it has brought back some old memories. Musgrave has some west-coast roots, similar to what former Cal head coach Jeff Tedford ran during Toler's time at Cal.
"They’re both ‘west-coast,’ similar passing concepts," Toler said, "I would say we’re more abbreviated (now) as far as the terminology and the verbiage. It does kinda hit home for me, playing four years in college in a west coast system. I was always a fan of learning concepts, and coming back and hearing ‘tosser’ and ‘smash’ and some of those familiar words, it’s exciting for me as I’m able to relate to it in a different way."
The installation of the offense is over half done for the fall, per Bill Musgrave from last Friday, but two big pieces have pushed the process forward in the wide receiver room. The first, per Nikko Remigio, is the time they had in the spring and offseason to dig into the film.
"The great thing about it is that we got the offense back in spring," Remigio said last week, "so really it was just taking the initiative yourself when you were at home to really look over those plays and to get used to it. I think the biggest difference is running it against a defense and having realistic looks."
The second piece, per Toler, is how competitive the room is as a whole, starting with the core four group of Remigio, Polk, Kekoa Crawford, and Trevon Clark.
"Between Kekoa and Trevon being seniors, Nikko being a junior, and Makai being a young sophomore, those guys played the most time last year," Toler noted. "So to have them all returning is a blessing within itself. They play well together, they push each other, and there’s competition in the meeting room to have better drawings, in the classroom to have better grades, and without a doubt on the field to outdo each other. I think it’s the healthiest competition that I’ve seen amongst the core. Regardless of what grade they are, they all take responsibility to call each other out when they need to and they push each other. When you have leadership and ownership in a position group, it reminds people daily that they’ve got to put their best foot forward at all times. They’re fighting for more reps, more catches, more yards, better blocks, and they don’t have to look to other teams in the Pac-12 for that competition, it comes from within, and I think it’s a very healthy atmosphere we have."
Remigio and Polk put together Cal's first 100+ yard receiving performances in over two years last fall, eclipsing the marks against Stanford and Illinois respectively. The seniors, in Clark and Crawford, look to stay consistent and stay healthy as they're in line to see a lot of playing time. That starts with Clark, who made a season saving play with a late reception against Stanford last November.
"Trevon knows what he needs to work on, he knows what he needs to do, and he puts his head down and grinds," Toler said. "He’s a guy that you’re not going to hear him at practice vocally, but you’ll definitely notice him making plays. I love that aspect of him. He has his own motivation and he knows within himself that he’s his toughest critic and his toughest competition. That personality is great for our room, knowing that he’s going to be the same guy day in and day out."
Crawford, who transferred to Cal last year after spending his first two years at Michigan, played in six of Cal's 13 games in 2019 (Cal was 6-0 in those games). He's the highest graded returning wide receiver in the Pac-12, per Pro Football Focus. He's also one of the most knowledgeable receivers of the group.
"With Kekoa, it’s like having another coach in the room," Toler said, "he has the most clean and detailed drawings as far as the plays. He has a deep understanding of why we do things, he’s a guy I can move from outside, to inside, back to outside within the same series. I’ve really seen him take the step to being a true leader, grabbing some of those young guys to have conversations with them, whether it’s about football or it’s about life."
Behind that core four is Monroe Young. The redshirt sophomore from Oñate, New Mexico has played a handful of reps over his first two seasons in blue and gold, but has had injuries pop up at the worst times. Injuries will be what Young needs to overcome to stay on the field for the Bears, whether it's at wideout or on special teams.
"I’ve seen a lot from Monroe Young," Toler said, "especially those four days in the spring and at the beginning of fall camp. He unfortunately has had nagging injuries, but he’s a tough kid, he’ll get through it. I expect a lot of things from him, with his ability, he’ll be able to play some special teams and really contribute to this team. He just has to get healthy, stay healthy and we’ll see a lot coming from him."
The Freshmen
With the five freshman group Toler brought in in the 2020 class, there was the expectation that any of them could step into playing time. That expectation has stood through the first nine practices of fall camp, with Toler making a point to say that each of the five freshmen has a different skillset and will have the opportunity to find their niche.
So far, Jeremiah Hunter, Aidan Lee, and Justin Baker have been the names that have come up with Musgrave, but Toler's seen pieces from his entire group in the early going.
"Jeremiah Hunter has really been able to grasp the offense," Toler said, "that combination with his physical ability has been a big reason why he’s jumped out and has been noticed in the early part of camp."
"Aidan Lee, big body, very physical," Toler said, "he’s college ready if you look at his body, the way he works and how strong he is. He’s been able to pick up the playbook and when he puts those two things together, I won’t be surprised if he’s ready to go out there and get some action."
"Justin Baker jumps out because he’s a real student of the game," Toler said. "He makes me a better coach because he continues to ask questions over and over again, not the same questions, new questions. He has great energy, he’s excited to be here and it shows. Another thing that jumps out with him is that he’s a great punt returner and kick returner, he adds great value on special teams. That was one thing we expected when we were recruiting him, and it’s great to see that coming to fruition right now."
"Mason Mangum got a little jumpstart, he was an early admit," Toler said, "but Mason is picking up the offense. The strength coaches will attest to this, but Mason is very fast. The more he gets to be comfortable with showing that ability on the field, the better he’s going to get. He’s played a little inside and outside receiver, which adds great value, and he’s also done some gunner work and some punt return work. His biggest thing is translating his speed and being confident that that’s going to be his niche on the field."
"Tommy Christakos, he’s a big kid now, has a lot of length," Toler said, "which will be valuable for us. He’s a bigger body inside guy, which is great to have. He is a really smart kid, he understands the offense and his role. I expect him to get better and better once he catches on with the offense, once he’s able to utilize (his frame) to his advantage on the field, we’ll see what he’s bound to do."
The next two and half weeks will be about continuing to install the offense and getting the young guys that much more comfortable in the installation. It's a group that's bullish on future success, and one Cal needs to be explosive if they're going to compete for the Pac-12 North.