A Spring Game of Development

Cal’s spring game was the first time year media was allowed into Memorial Stadium, along with a first look at whatever this 2021 Cal football team is going to be. It was a reminder, that the goal of the spring is development, and not a showcase of the senior talent. Multiple tenured players, namely Mike Saffell, Cameron Goode, Kekoa Crawford, and TE Collin Moore didn’t participate. Others were injured, with the likes of Brett Johnson, Kuony Deng, Brayden Rohme , and Patrick Hisatake not hitting the field.

It left somewhat of a hodgepodge of players in for the Bears live sessions, with some of the tenured players who did participate, such as Chase Garbers, only in for a couple of drives. The day ended with the Bears waving to the few who made the hike up to Tightwad Hill and the cannon, after 69 plays and one two point conversion of live work

Watch: Post-Spring Game Video

“The goal of today was to get some more live reps for some guys that haven’t played as much, that we envision continue to develop roles on our team,” Wilcox said, “we really tried to slim down the variety in terms of offensive plays and defensive calls, just to make sure we were lining up and playing football.”

In that vein, it wasn’t the most complex day of football, combined with the number of tenured players who didn’t see as much time in the scrimmage. It allowed the Bears to see what they have with some of their young players or walk-ons, as even someone like Chase Garbers only ended up seeing two series. Facing a handful of 1st and 2nd team players, Garbers went 5-5 for 80 yards (stats unofficial) and a touchdown to tight end Elijah Mojarro, leading two touchdown drives and making a couple of explosive throws.

“I thought he was very comfortable,” Wilcox said, “he threw the ball on time, had one really nice play where he stepped up in the pocket and flicked it to Monroe (Young) on a crossing route, threw a comeback to Jeremiah (Hunter), threw a deep ball to Nikko, I think he’s getting very comfortable.”

The play of the day may have come on the second drive, where faced with goal to go from the 1-yard line, safety Miles Williams made a play to reach up, deflect a Zach Johnson pass in the flat, and tip it to himself for an interception. Williams, who came on late in 2020 to earn time on special teams, has carved out some playing time with his play this spring.

“Miles is an athletic guy,” Wilcox said, “he has made some real athletic plays throughout spring ball, getting more comfortable within the defense. The play he made in the low-red zone, tipping it to himself, was very impressive. He has battled a lower body injury throughout spring ball, so we appreciate him persevering.”

– This isn’t the ideal situation to work off a depth chart from, but there are a few places where the Bears look to have a more established group. At the linebacker spots, the four man rotation of Antzoulatos/Tattersall and Iosefa/Paster looks to be the top group. At corner, Josh Drayden, Chigozie Anusiem, and Collin Gamble (Nickel) are the top guys, with Daniel Scott and Elijah Hicks at safety.

– The front was less certain, though Cam Goode, Braxten Croteau and Orin Patu will play roles at OLB, along with Kuony Deng when he’s healthy. JH Tevis should be a starter on the DL, along with Brett Johnson when he gets healthy. In addition, the Bears ran the ‘elephant package,’ a nickel defense with Stanley McKenzie and Ricky Correia providing 670 pounds of defensive tackle up the middle.

– On the offensive line, the group of Craig, Cindric, Saffell, Mettauer, and Daltoso appears to be the starting group. Notably, Ben Coleman played three different positions on the day (center, right tackle and left guard), Brandon Mello backed up at left tackle, and Brian Driscoll subbed in for Saffell with the first team.

– At wideout, Nikko Remigio, Kekoa Crawford and Trevon Clark are the tenured seniors who didn’t play much. Monroe Young saw a little bit of time, along with Jeremiah Hunter, both of who have earned bigger roles in 2021. Ben Skinner ended up leading the group in receiving with 3 receptions for 57 yards, while Justin Baker and Aidan Lee both had a handful of touches.

– DeCarlos Brooks has a couple touchdowns running the ball, from 9 and 1 yard out respectively. There weren’t many breakaway runs, but the Bears had a handful of broken tackles to look at in film, especially from a tough Chris Brown run early. Brooks had 10 carries for 55 yards to lead the backs during the live period.

– A lot of focus was on Jermaine Terry, considering the local tight end had a solid camp. The 268 lb Terry, among a young TE group getting tons of playing time with Jake Tonges, Gavin Reinwald and Collin Moore all not playing during the spring game. Terry had a couple solid blocks, but got stopped behind the line of scrimmage on a couple of flat routes, the second of those causing him to limp off the field. Of the others, Elijah Mojarro scored the only passing touchdown, while Jake Muller had a couple nice catch and run plays.

– The Bears did break things up with a kicking competition, as Dario Longhetto hit two of three (make from 46 and 48, miss from 43), Nick Lopez hit 1 of 3 (make from 43, miss from 46 and 48), and Roman Donnelly hit two of three (make from 43 and 48, miss from 46)

The focus now turns to the offseason, after spring break this week, and how the Bears will come together and heal from injury before fall. They should have more defensive line depth then, as four of the eight scholarship linemen were out today. This is a Cal team that has plenty of experience coming back, and while today wasn’t the day that showcased it, it was a fitting end to a camp focused on development.