Day 3 of Cal spring football is in the books, and Monday marked the start of the first full week of spring ball for the Bears. There was a little more emphasis on contact today, and a lot more to see than in the previous practices. I'll have a full practice rundown a bit later highlighted by our lengthy conversation with Jake Spavital, but here are some notes and observations to hold you over until then.
Videos
Notes and observations
• I thought the defense built on what it showed Saturday with another all-around solid performance today. UNLV transfer defensive back Nohl Williams was one of the standouts as he came up with his second interception of the spring during the team period. This time he got Sam Jackson V by jumping a swing route on a ball intended for Mavin Anderson to the right side in the red zone. Williams returned it for a touchdown. Myles Jernigan was another defensive player I thought had an impressive day getting after the quarterback and being disruptive from his OLB position.
• The entire defensive line unit played well during the team portions of practice and was able to generate some pressure from all angles. The running lanes just weren't there as much today for the quarterbacks, and the defensive line had a lot to do with it. Nate Burrell, in particular, had an impressive tackle against Jackson who was attempting to run and would have had nothing but open grass in front of him. Kaleb Elarms-Orr had a nice stop in the red zone at the goal line on a rushing attempt as well. The defense also won the 1v1 battle at the end of practice in a drill where that matched up pass rushers and offensive linemen. The offense had to run to end practice after the loss.
• Along the offensive line, I thought Brayden Rohme had an impressive day overall. In the team period he was doing a good job of keeping Jackson and the QBs clean, but he really excelled in the 1v1 situations both early and at the end of practice. His pass protection abilities in those moments really shined and I don't believe he lost a rep during those periods.
• There were were a couple miscues on the QB-center exchange that led to balls being on the ground. Justin Wilcox mentioned it after practice and made it clear that those types of problems can't come up as the spring unfolds. Spavital expects for it to be cleaned up as the centers and QBs become more comfortable with one another.
• Receivers Mavin Anderson and Monroe Young earned special shoutouts from Spavital for what they have shown through three practices. He had high praise for each of them and Jeremiah Hunter as well as the returning group for the Bears.
• Both top quarterbacks had some tough moments, but there has been some steady improvement over the first few days of practice. Fernando Mendoza made some impressive plays both on the ground and through the air. He was scrambling a bit more than the staff would like today, but he made some plays happen in those situations including a floated pass over about four defenders to tight end Jack Endries that went for a touchdown late in practice. Jackson had a rushing score in the team period and made a great throw on a slant to Hunter in the red zone for a touchdown to beat Lu-Magia Hearns III.
• Also, one thing that was interesting that was bout half the team stayed out and got in some extra work without coaches for about 15 minutes after practice came to an end. A lot of the usual leaders were out there on the team leading the charge, so that was interesting to see and not something that had happened yet in spring ball. A lot of young guys were getting the opportunity to get some reps that they missed out on during practice it seemed but it was a good sign for leadership in my opinion.
Videos
Notes and observations
• I thought the defense built on what it showed Saturday with another all-around solid performance today. UNLV transfer defensive back Nohl Williams was one of the standouts as he came up with his second interception of the spring during the team period. This time he got Sam Jackson V by jumping a swing route on a ball intended for Mavin Anderson to the right side in the red zone. Williams returned it for a touchdown. Myles Jernigan was another defensive player I thought had an impressive day getting after the quarterback and being disruptive from his OLB position.
• The entire defensive line unit played well during the team portions of practice and was able to generate some pressure from all angles. The running lanes just weren't there as much today for the quarterbacks, and the defensive line had a lot to do with it. Nate Burrell, in particular, had an impressive tackle against Jackson who was attempting to run and would have had nothing but open grass in front of him. Kaleb Elarms-Orr had a nice stop in the red zone at the goal line on a rushing attempt as well. The defense also won the 1v1 battle at the end of practice in a drill where that matched up pass rushers and offensive linemen. The offense had to run to end practice after the loss.
• Along the offensive line, I thought Brayden Rohme had an impressive day overall. In the team period he was doing a good job of keeping Jackson and the QBs clean, but he really excelled in the 1v1 situations both early and at the end of practice. His pass protection abilities in those moments really shined and I don't believe he lost a rep during those periods.
• There were were a couple miscues on the QB-center exchange that led to balls being on the ground. Justin Wilcox mentioned it after practice and made it clear that those types of problems can't come up as the spring unfolds. Spavital expects for it to be cleaned up as the centers and QBs become more comfortable with one another.
• Receivers Mavin Anderson and Monroe Young earned special shoutouts from Spavital for what they have shown through three practices. He had high praise for each of them and Jeremiah Hunter as well as the returning group for the Bears.
• Both top quarterbacks had some tough moments, but there has been some steady improvement over the first few days of practice. Fernando Mendoza made some impressive plays both on the ground and through the air. He was scrambling a bit more than the staff would like today, but he made some plays happen in those situations including a floated pass over about four defenders to tight end Jack Endries that went for a touchdown late in practice. Jackson had a rushing score in the team period and made a great throw on a slant to Hunter in the red zone for a touchdown to beat Lu-Magia Hearns III.
• Also, one thing that was interesting that was bout half the team stayed out and got in some extra work without coaches for about 15 minutes after practice came to an end. A lot of the usual leaders were out there on the team leading the charge, so that was interesting to see and not something that had happened yet in spring ball. A lot of young guys were getting the opportunity to get some reps that they missed out on during practice it seemed but it was a good sign for leadership in my opinion.
Last edited:
