Cal is nearing the end of its third week of spring practice and Friday the team prepared for what will be an active Saturday as the Bears get into some game-like situations to close out Week 3. There was a good atmosphere about the team Friday and it led to some competitive work during Practice 10.

The team closed out the day with some 2-minute drill work, and it allowed the Bears to get into a game situation for a few drives.

– Kicker Ryan Coe was the highlight of practice Friday as he connected on three long field goals to end the day including a pair of 56-yarders during that final 2-minute segment. Coe has not been in that setting yet this spring, and he delivered in his opportunity to showcase his skills. The UNC transfer had no issue with any of the three kicks and looked like he could have gone back even a few yards farther and still been on the money. His first make of the segment came on a 44-yard kick that he nailed.

– The first and second units each had two opportunities to score in the 2-minute drill, and the team came away with points in three of those instances. The second drive for the first unit was the one that came up empty, and it was the result of another impressive play by cornerback Marcus Harris. The Idaho transfer has been on fire intercepting passes this spring, and he added to his total Friday when he jumped in front of a pass intended for Trond Grizzell from Fernando Mendoza on a third down play.

– It was one of several impressive plays for the defense throughout the day. That group performed well early in practice as there were numerous stops from the group in the opening team period. Nickel Matthew Littlejohn started the day with a nice stop on running back Jaivian Thomas, and that was followed up with by cornerback Nohl Williams working against a bigger player, tight end Jack Endries, who was on the receiving end of a screen pass in the flat from Mendoza.

Isaiah Crosby highlighted the early defensive success with a pass breakup working against receiver Tobias Merriweather. The Notre Dame transfer looked like he made a great catch along the sideline only to have the ball knocked loose by the junior college transfer.

- Offensively, outside of the late interception, Mendoza had a strong showing on Day 10. He has been able to get himself dialed back in after a rough few practices where he didn't look as sharp as he did early on this spring. He has returned to form as of late, and he guided a touchdown drive late in the first team period that was capped with an impressive throw to receiver Mikey Matthews for an 11-yard score. Earlier in the sequence, Mendoza found Endries for an 8-yard completion on fourth down to help keep the drive alive. The third-year quarterback also had a couple 7-on-7 touchdown throws as he connected with Merriweather on a difficult pass from 10 yards out and a 15-yard connection with tight end Nate Rutchena.

Post-practice interviews and clips

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Bellevue, Wash. OL recruit Demetri Manning is visiting the Bears today. He’s part of the FSP program that Marcus Griffin has been connected to previously.

He had official visits set up with UCLA, Miami and Arkansas already.

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Cal’s first spring transfer is OLB Myles Jernigan who has announced his plan to enter the portal next week when the spring window opens. He has not participated in practice so far this spring.

As Peter Sirmon mentioned Wednesday, the Bears are beginning to see some separation and true development of the team at this point in the spring. Day 9 was one of the most competitive practices of the spring so far, and there were some big plays made on both sides of the ball.

Here's a rundown of the top takeaways and notes from Wednesday's practice inside California Memorial Stadium.

– The big story of the day was the three interceptions for the defense over the course of Wednesday's practice. Two of them came from players who look likely to lead Cal in that area as cornerbacks Marcus Harris and Nohl Williams accounted for two of the takeaways. Harris, who has made a habit of intercepting passes through his first nine days with the Bears, started off the strong day for the defense with an interception working against Fernando Mendoza. That was followed up by a beautiful play by Williams early in the second team period as he jumped a screen pass from Chandler Rogers intended for Mikey Matthews.

Rogers was picked off again late in the practice as freshman linebacker Aaron Hampton came up with a clean play with the offense backed up inside its own 20-yard line. It would have been returned for a touchdown in a normal situation. Miles Williams dropped what would have been an interception thrown by Rogers on the final play of practice as well.

The turnovers have become an issue for Rogers at this stage of the game, but he is still getting used to his new surroundings so maybe he gets some leeway there. Still, it is deep enough into the spring and it is happening often enough that it could be cause for some concern.

– The rest of the defense had some positive moments as well with Craig Woodson getting a little aggressive on a play along the sideline to knock the ball loose from Jack Endries during the first team period just before the interception from Harris. Inside linebacker BJ Jones had a pass berakup working against Isaac Torres during the 7-on-7 period while Ja'ir Smith batted another pass on a blitz working against Mendoza, who spent a good amount of time with the second unit Wednesday.

A defensive lineman who came up with a good play Wednesday was Derek Wilkins, who made an impressive stop against Kadarius Calloway early on in the first team period.

– Offensively it felt like one of the most productive days for the offense despite the turnover issues. The offensive reached the end zone three times during the two team periods highlighted by a 70-yard run for Jaydn Ott during the second team session. Ott was quick to find a hole and then used his breakaway speed to eventually get in the end zone. There was another gear he hit in the open field that left all the defenders in the dust.

Rogers guided the first touchdown drive of the day during the first team period as he used his arm to move the offense down the field in big chunks. He found Marquez Dortch on back-to-back plays of 16 and 19 yards to put the offense in position to reach the end zone. The scoring play came on a 12-yard screen pass to running back Justin Williams-Thomas.

Mendoza's best work Wednesday came on the ground as he continually was able to make pick up yards on the run throughout Wednesday's practice. That included a nice 15-yard run on fourth down during the first team period and a 23-yard run during the second. He guided a touchdown drive late in practice that was capped by a 13-yard touchdown throw to tight end Nate Rutchena. Earlier on that drive, Mendoza hit freshman Josiah Martin for 16-yard connection to move the chains.

– The receiver group overall was impressive throughout the day. It began in the one-on-one portion of practice, which you can see highlights of below, but it carried over into the team periods as well. Trond Grizzell has not had the best spring but he erased much of that with his play Wednesday. He was a star in the one-on-one period and he shined working with both quarterbacks.

Martin was another player who stood out throughout the practice and came away with some big catches. Newcomers Tobias Merriweather and Matthews continue to showcase their talent as top transfers, and both had impressive plays throughout Wednesday's practice. Both had impressive touchdown catches during the one-on-one drills.

– Inside linebacker Cade Uluave remains out of team periods in practice, but he has been able to stay on the field through all the other parts since returning. During team periods he has worked off to the side with the training staff. Defensive lineman Zurich Ashford has been out since last week and has not been able to participate.

– Personnel wise, the Bears continue to have Matthew Wykoff working at center with the first unit while Bastian Swinney is at left guard. That has been the alignment the last couple practices. BJ Canady briefly worked with the outside linebacker group but was back with the interior defensive line unit Wednesday.

Post-practice interviews and practice clips

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Cal has officially announced a couple moves within the recruiting/player personnel side of things today. Marcus Griffin, a former Arizona and Central Michigan DL, and David Ortega, who had helped with recruiting and video with the Bears previously, have been brought on as the new assistant directors of player personnel working alongside Marshall Cherrington. Ortega has plenty of familiarity with the program having worked for the Bears already while Griffin will help the program continue to build its connections in the Pacific Northwest.

He had worked closely with the FSP 7-on-7 program up in Washington that has been part of the Bears' efforts in the region. He has a number of connections throughout the recruiting world that should only help raise the profile of Cal among recruits in the West, in particular. I actually covered Marcus as a recruit and eventually player at Arizona, and he's always been well liked wherever he goes.

The new staffers have already hit the ground running and have been plenty involved with recruiting this spring.

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At football practice so will have more later but Cal has landed a commitment from Vanderbilt big man Lee Dort. He’s a former top-50 recruit.

Cal returned to the field at CMS Monday to open the third week of spring practice. Day 8 marked the return of a key defensive player and again presented the team with an opportunity to compete as they look ahead to a scrimmage this weekend. Saturday's practice, the first in full pads, left the offense feeling like it left a lot on the table. That group had difficulty putting the ball in the end zone, and both Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers felt they could have performed better at the quarterback position.

Monday, both quarterbacks looked more focused and the offense was more productive as a result.

– I'll start with an important personnel note. Middle linebacker Cade Uluave returned to the field for the first time Monday. The rising sophomore has been dealing with a lower body injury this spring but has slowly worked his way back. Today was the first day he was able to get in some work on the field with the linebacker group, but he still was not involved with the team side of things just yet. He is moving well and getting him on the field with seven practices remaining should mean he can be a full go some time before the end of the spring.

– As for the offense and the quarterbacks, there were still some errant throws but both Mendoza and Rogers played with a bit more confidence during Monday's practice. Both did throw interceptions with Colin Gamble getting the better of Mendoza during a period with the skill players while Miles Williams was able to snag an pass away from Rogers early in the first team period that he then took back for a touchdown.

The quarterbacks cleaned it up the rest of the practice though, and eventually both closed things out on a positive note. Rogers had some big throws down the field including a 25-yard pass to Mikey Matthews late in the 7-on-7 period. He also did some positive work with his feet throughout the practice. Mendoza was able to get the offense in the end zone on the final play with a 19-yard completion to Tobias Merriweather on a third-and-4 situation to end practice. He also had several big throws to tight end Jack Endries throughout the practice that ranged from 12 to 17 yards by my count.

– Endries was one of the stars of Monday's practice. He didn't get in the end zone but he was the safety net for both quarterbacks and continues to play with a ton of confidence right now. He bailed out Mendoza and Rogers on more than one occasion on plays in the middle of the field. Matthews also had an impressive effort throughout the day with his ability to make plays from sideline to sideline. The Utah transfer is going to be a big part of the offense this year and it's continuing to look like he will be used in a variety of ways under Bloesch. Merriweather also shined in a big way Monday with some nice catches down the field. He has become one of the best deep threats on the team this spring, and he has continually made plays on deep routes.

– Bloesch said he thought Monday's practice was the best for Byron Cardwell, and the former Oregon transfer running back has looked better each day this spring. He has not been hindered much by a big brace on his leg and has not shied away from contact either. On Day 8, the veteran running back had the biggest play of the day offensively with a 20-yard rushing score that ended with him in the end zone late in the first team period. It was a physical run but also showcased his burst, which seems to not have taken much of a hit despite his season-ending injury last year.

Kadarius Calloway had the other big rushing score for the offense as he took a handoff 20 yards for a touchdown in the second team period.

– There was a lot of mixing and matching with the first and second units Monday, including Rogers getting an opportunity to see some time with the first offense, but Jeffery Johnson was another player who stood out in many regards. He has been working his way up the depth chart this spring, and he was able to get some work with the second unit on Day 8. He was particularly impressive in the blitz pickup drills with wins over Xavier Carlton and David Reese.

– Bloesch is continuing to try some things out with the offensive line, and that included making a move among the first unit Monday. Matthew Wykoff has mostly been at left guard this spring but he was moved inside to center on Day 8. That moved Bastian Swinney out to left guard giving the group a little different work. Bloesch says he likes Wykoff's size at the position, and playing center is also not new to him since he did it at Texas A&M. Wykoff looked good in his new role, so we'll see if it sticks beyond just Monday's practice.

– Defensively, it was another solid day for Peter Sirmon's group. The two interceptions were the highlight plays but Carlton came up with a sack of Mendoza, and the defensive front was plenty disruptive once again. Stanley Saole-McKenzie had a huge stop in the second team period halting Kadarius Calloway in his tracks on a run attempt.

In the secondary, Marcus Harris continued to make plays Monday and he ame up with a pass breakup against Trond Grizzell on a pass from Mendoza during the first team period. Safety Ja'ir Smith also made a nice play to tip a pass on a blitz against Mendoza in the second team period on a play that ended with an incompletion.

Post-practice interviews and practice clips

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G/Wing Kevin Armstrong II announced his commitment to Cal Monday morning. Armstrong, 6-foot-6, will be an incoming freshman (class of 2024) from Breck School in Minnesota and becomes the second 2024 commit after Jeremiah Wilkinson, who committed last year.

Armstrong visited Cal in October of last year, and also garnered interest from Caltech, Pitt, Indiana State and Princeton, among others.

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To the Mods: Wasn't there a practice yesterday?! Why haven't you guys posted any information on it yet?

Hey @Ryan Young or @Matt Moreno ...got a list of potential Cal targets? Jordan Pope from Oregon State hit the portal today. ASU guard Frankie Collins has us in his top 6.

Any other names we should be paying attention to? I know Cal Twitter seems to be infatuated with Bronny James.

Would love to see a Big Board or something similar here. Doesn't Rivals have national bball guys you can tap into?

Cal had a number of prospects out at practice today and will have a nice group overall by the end of the weekend. There's only one official visitor this week, but he's an important one plus there is a mix of prospects from the current and upcoming classes as well.

Transfer

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2025

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2026
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Cal and women's basketball coach Charmin Smith have agreed to a 3-year contract extension that will keep her at the helm for the Bears through the 2028-29 season, the school announced this afternoon. Smith has guided the program for five years and is coming off her most successful season with Cal wrapping up the 2023-24 campaign with 19 wins.

"We are excited to extend Charmin's contract as we generate momentum with our move to the ACC," Cal AD Jim Knowlton said in a statement released by the school announcing the news. "Charmin took our team to a new level this season, and I'm excited about the direction of our program under her leadership. Charmin understands and embraces everything it takes to thrive as a Cal student-athlete, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for our team."

The Bears have a strong recruiting class coming in next season highlighted by top-100 prospects Kamryn Mafua and Zahra King.

"Cal is where I want to be and I'm thrilled that Jim and our university are committed to me leading this team into the ACC," Smith said. "We accomplished a lot of great things this season and have momentum moving into next year during the most exciting time in women's basketball. I'm proud of the progress we've made and I'm looking forward to taking the next steps with this special staff and the talent we are fortunate to coach."

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Had mentioned this during the season, but the expectation has been that Jaylon Tyson would ultimately enter the NBA draft. He’s made it official today and will forgo his final season at Cal for the professional ranks.

Cal is nearing the end of its second week of spring practice, and the Bears were back on the field at California Memorial Stadium Friday as they prepare for a more game-like day Saturday to close out Week 2. Friday's work again featured several big plays highlighted by continued strong performances from defensive players.

Here's a rundown of some new notes and observations on Day 6 for the Bears.

– By my count, there were three interceptions during Friday's practice and Nohl Williams came up with two of them. The fifth-year senior first came up with an interception working against tight end Ben Marshall. He stepped in front of the throw from Chandler Rogers early in the second team period. That was soon followed up with an interception off a tipped pass that Rogers intended for Marquez Dortch. Craig Woodson tipped the pass and nearly came up with the interception himself before Williams hauled in.

Marcus Harris came up with yet another interception earlier in practice Friday as he pulled in a jump ball on a pass from Rogers intended for Josiah Martin down the field.

Williams and Isaiah Crosby combined for a pass breakup against Tobias Merriweather during the 7-on-7 period while Marcus Scott II also had a PBU against Martin on a pass from Rogers.

– The defensive line had one of its best days of the spring Friday in my opinion. The group was impactful throughout the day Friday. Early in the first team period, Ethan Saunders and Xavier Carlton combined for a sack of Rogers, and that was just the start for the group up front. Saunders was able to flush Rogers out of the pocket later in practice forcing an throwaway.

Nate Burrell and Ricky Correia came up with a big stop during the final period inside the 10-yard line on a toss play to Kadarius Calloway.

– Overall, the defense shined again and it was particularly impressive when working against some different looks from the offense. Mike Bloesch was working in a lot of plays with the receivers carrying the ball so there were quite a few sweeps and the defense did a great job sniffing them out and stopping them. In the second team period that was highlighted by the play of Miles Williams who came up with back to back stops that energized the defensive sideline. First, he stopped Dortch on a screen followed by a big hit tight end Jeffrey Johnson on the next play.

Williams has been having a strong showing so far in spring running with the first unit at safety.

– Offensively, Jaivian Thomas was a standout as the second-year running back made several big plays helping him overcome a fumble early in practice. He had the lone touchdown of the day on an 11-yard screen play from Fernando Mendoza. He also had an impressive 15-yard run on a toss late in practice. Dean-Taylor Chapman put together the best run of the day on a 21-yard run toward the end of practice.

– On the injury front, Zurich Ashford was out for Friday's practice and had a big brace on his left leg cutting into the defensive line depth.

Post-practice interviews and practice clips

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Cal had four-star offensive lineman Champ Taulealea (San Jose-Valley Christian) and his family out at practice today. The Bears coaches were definitely giving him a lot of attention throughout practice. His little brother in particular was interacting a lot with the staff. He's currently rated as the No. 4 offensive guard for 2025 by Rivals.

Guess we have a better chance of winning the sad sack ACC now. Man did we blow not getting in the B10.

Cal returned to the field at CMS Wednesday with a short practice as they get back to work after 10 days off for spring break. Justin Wilcox opted for a shorter practice but there was still a good opportunity to see some progress for the team as it heads into its second week of spring ball.

Here are some quick notes and observations from Day 5 for the Bears.

– The big news was the return (at least in part) of linebacker Cade Uluave. He finally made his first appearance at spring ball Wednesday, though he did not work with the team. He did go through some walk-through work before staying off to the side with the training staff for the rest of the day. It sounds like the hope is that he is able to get back on the field soon in some capacity. Wilcox and the coaches have been mum on his status or what has kept him off the field up to now, so it is a good sign to see him at least back with the team.

– The break also allowed for Mason Starling to get back on the field for the first time. The veteran receiver made some noise last offseason but then went down with an injury. He was back on the field Wednesday as he works back from his latest setback.

– On the field, it was a big day for the defensive backs as there were numerous pass breakups and interceptions for the secondary group. Marcus Scott II had the highlight play on an interception against Chandler Rogers who was looking for Nyziah Hunter during the final time period. Scott had a nice pass breakup earlier in that drive as well while working against Hunter. Freshman Dayday Aupiu also came up with an interception on the day as he hauled in a tipped pass working against Rogers.

Craig Woodson also nearly came up with an interception early in practice. During the 1-on-1 portion of practice there were quite a few standout plays by the defensive back group including pass breakups from Cam Sidney, Nohl Williams and Marcus Harris.

– Offensively, it was a nice day for several receivers including Mikey Matthews and Mavin Anderson. It was clear how much the short passing game was in focus during Wednesday's practice as much of the early portion was dedicated toward getting the inside receivers and running backs involved in the screen game. Matthews shined quite a bit on the day overall with a couple 20-yard catches to his credit while Anderson also caught a 25-yard pass over the middle during the lat team period working with Fernando Mendoza.

Marquez Dortch also put together an impressive showing Wednesday with a nice catch during the 1-on-1 portion practice in addition to some shorter catches during the team periods. Newcomer Cole Boscia remains impressive as well and he was able to haul in a pass from Mendoza during the 7-on-7 period that went for a first down. He had a few connections with Mendoza throughout the day.

– The defensive line also was able to get some good work in as well with Ryan McCulloch and Xavier Carlton both having batted passes during Wednesday's practice. Two freshmen inside linebackers also made an impact on Day 5 with Aaron Hampton and Eze Osondu both having standout plays. Hampton came up with a nice run stuff against Justin Williams-Thomas during the first team period while Osondu was able to bring some pressure and flush Mendoza out of the pocket leading to an incompletion.

– One position change was made Wednesday as freshman BJ Canady worked with the outside linebacker group after opening the spring with the defensive line.

- The Bears had several visitors on campus for practice Wednesday highlighted by four-star offensive lineman Champ Taulealea. Archbishop Riordan sophomore teammates Michael Mitchell, Jr. and Judge Nash were also both present at practice Wednesday.

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My write up is here. I'm sharing this news because Stojakovic is from the Sacramento area having played at Jesuit High School. I would imagine Madsen will make a run at him. I should add, he's asking for a lot of money in NIL and I'm not sure he's worth what he's asking for. I know the amount and he's nowhere near worth it, imo. But, I do know he liked living close to home with his father Peja coming to see him play. Cal would be even closer to home. Definitely a name to keep an eye on for Cal.

Cal Men's finished 2nd in NCAA 's, ending a two year streak of being the national champs. Great stat: for 14 years in a row, and counting, Cal was either first or second.
Cal used to not get points in the diving portion, but recently went out and raised money from donors for better diving facilities. Got a coach, recruited divers, and, now gets points in that area.
Spare me the excuses of why Cal can recruit swimmers over other sports, skip the long posts about the administration not supporting athletics, and let's effing figure this out....let Durden run the whole damn athletic program if that's what it takes...

just happened. Announced on Twitter. Kollock to Minnesota.
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And more here:

Washington State is losing Kyle Smith to Stanford. Strong hire but an interesting move by Smith who seems like he could have had some other better options had he waited out the process a bit.


I know this doesn't impact Cal moving forward but Washington also hired its next coach pulling Danny Sprinkle from Utah State after one season. He's made the NCAA Tournament three times in the last three years (twice at Montana State and this year at USU). His contract is a pretty hefty one for a coach stepping into a power conference job for the first time.

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Devin Askew has entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal today. He played in six games this season before being shut down with an foot injury. He also battled an eye injury early in the season. Frees up another scholarship for the Bears.

Hopefully our future B10 conference mates. A man can dream