Cal returned to the field Wednesday for its first practice since late last month. The Bears have been on spring break, so it was a good opportunity to see how the team responded to some time off. It was a solid all-around practice but Justin Wilcox stressed the need for more energy and fewer errors when the team gets back together Friday for the second practice of the week. There were certainly some bright moments on both sides of the ball, and here's a quick rundown of some things that stood out to me watching the action at Memorial Stadium earlier today.
• There was definitely a sluggish element to the start of practice, but things picked up when the team went to the 1v1 portion of the day. There were some good battles and that helped pick up the intensity around the field. Among the standouts during the one-one-one portion along the defensive line were Ricky Correia and Ethan Saunders who both had a couple wins during that period. Saunders probably had the best win among that grouping in a battle with Everett Johnson as he used his strength to get to the quarterback. On the other side, the starting offensive unit as a whole had a lot of success with each player picking up a win among that group. I thought T.J. Session had a particularly good performance in that period with wins over Myles Jernigan Moso'oipala Tuitele.
• The offensive and defensive first units seem to be pretty well settled at this stage although there will be more changes when everyone is back and healthy in the fall, but the groups stayed the same through the break showing that the staff has some confidence in the decisions it made through the first half of spring practice. Defensively, several newcomers have started to solidify their roles from the looks of it with David Reese, Sergio Allen, Nohl Williams and Matthew Littlejohn all playing a role for the first unit on that side of the ball. Allen lined up next to Jackson Sirmon with Reese coming off the edge opposite Myles Jernigan. Littlejohn has bounced around positions a bit but seems to be in line to be the nickel with the first group should things continue to hold.
• Overall, the defense continues to get hands on the ball to disrupt passes but there were far fewer "big" plays than in previous practices leading up to the break. Littlejohn had a big pass breakup on a throw from Sam Jackson V intended for Mavin Anderson on a fourth down play. Jackson tried to squeeze the ball into a tight window and Littlejohn swooped in to tip it away nearly leading to an interception for Raymond Woodie III. Littlejohn made a similar play to begin the final team period late in practice, and this time it did lead to an interception as Craig Woodson came up with the ball on a pass from Jackson looking for Monroe Young. Isaiah Young (vs. Elijah Mojarro), Kaylin Moore (vs. Trond Grizzell) and Nohl Williams (vs. Mavin Anderson) all came up with pass breakups in today's practice.
• As much as there were miscues on offense, it was one of the more productive days for the Bears on that side of the ball when it came to getting in the end zone. There were a ton of touchdowns for the offense in today's practice and it started early. The first team period featured four touchdowns for the offense and only two drives ended without a score. Fernando Mendoza found Grizzell for the first TD of the day on a 31-yard pass on second down. Jackson came back with a 31-yard touchdown throw to Anderson for 31 yards just a couple plays later, also on second down with Lu-Magia Hearns III in coverage on the play. Mendoza hit Grant Daley on the next drive for a 29-yard score with Isaiah Young in coverage on the play. Mendoza finished the opening team period with a touchdown on a swing pass to Kenden Robinson Jr. that he took into the end zone from about 25 yards out. Mendoza tacked on a rushing score in the final team period.
Jackson's best work came on the ground Wednesday as he had a pair of rushing touchdowns in the final team period and a big run on fourth down in the second team period that was called dead after about 15 yards but could have turned into a big gain if not for the whistle. Despite all the work in the running game, Jackson probably had the best individual throw on the day with a 20-yard connection to Jeremiah Hunter on a scramble play that ended with a rocketed ball to the left side of the field.
• At the receiver position, Jaiven Plummer had the best all-around day with some nice plays in the one-one-one portion of practice that he followed up with even more impressive plays in the team periods. He had the best catch of the day on a throw from Mendoza that went about 25 yards on a ball he had to go up and get. Plummer went up and snagged the ball with one hand away from Mayze Bryant in coverage. Tight end Jack Endries also had an impressive grab in the one-on-one portion of practice working against Craig Woodson.
Practice clips and interviews
