Cal football hosted a gathering for ESP ticketholders and other Cal boosters tonight at Plank Restaurant in Jack London Square. (Plank is an interesting bar/restaurant concept; a roughly 80' by 80' room, with four bowling lanes occupying roughly one half of the ground floor square area, and a bar and small table seating occupying the other half. There was also a mezzanine, which presumably had additional seating.)
Sonny and all of the football coaches were there, along with the AD, Mike Williams. Williams gave a speech in which he noted the various successes of Olympic Sports and the bright prospects for mens' basketball and football. He then introduced Sonny, who gave a decent (but rather bland) speech in which he noted that he was the new WR coach. He introduced Kaufman and Franklin, who each gave a short speech. (Franklin said they were REALLY focused on improving the running game.) Sonny then fielded some questions from the crowd. The first one concerned our DL and pass rush. Sonny expressed optimism about the pass rush, noting that Moose was returning, and opining that Kyle Kragen would be our top pass rusher this season. I then asked Sonny to confirm that we would be running a 3-4 (he did), and that he and Art would be "turning our OLB's loose" on occasion in order to put some pressure on the QB. He said that he and Art would certainly be doing that, noting that a pass rush would be critical to the success of our defensive secondary. No real surprises there.
Someone asked what he could do to keep Goff around for his senior season, and Sonny joked about having some ideas, not all of which were legal. Someone else asked about the OL, and Sonny said he thought it would be a strength, mentioning Rigsbee, Borrayo and Moore in particular. No mention of the situation at center or the other guard spot, other than to note that "we have some work to do at the other two spots." I ended the Q & A by asking Sonny who would be kicking our field goals, and he said that Matt Anderson and Noah Beito are presently duking it out for that position. He said they both have the leg for the job, but that consistency is the key, and he cares more about someone being nails from 40 yards and in than someone being able to hit from 45 yards plus.. Fall camp will apparently decide this battle.
There were a number of players in attendance, most of them wearing jerseys with just a number and no name on the back. Didn't see Goff, and no players spoke. One player who wore a jersey with a name on it was CB Darius White. He certainly looks athletic, but who knows? I got to meet James Looney, who looked every bit of 6-3 275. He has some serious guns.
Sonny and all of the football coaches were there, along with the AD, Mike Williams. Williams gave a speech in which he noted the various successes of Olympic Sports and the bright prospects for mens' basketball and football. He then introduced Sonny, who gave a decent (but rather bland) speech in which he noted that he was the new WR coach. He introduced Kaufman and Franklin, who each gave a short speech. (Franklin said they were REALLY focused on improving the running game.) Sonny then fielded some questions from the crowd. The first one concerned our DL and pass rush. Sonny expressed optimism about the pass rush, noting that Moose was returning, and opining that Kyle Kragen would be our top pass rusher this season. I then asked Sonny to confirm that we would be running a 3-4 (he did), and that he and Art would be "turning our OLB's loose" on occasion in order to put some pressure on the QB. He said that he and Art would certainly be doing that, noting that a pass rush would be critical to the success of our defensive secondary. No real surprises there.
Someone asked what he could do to keep Goff around for his senior season, and Sonny joked about having some ideas, not all of which were legal. Someone else asked about the OL, and Sonny said he thought it would be a strength, mentioning Rigsbee, Borrayo and Moore in particular. No mention of the situation at center or the other guard spot, other than to note that "we have some work to do at the other two spots." I ended the Q & A by asking Sonny who would be kicking our field goals, and he said that Matt Anderson and Noah Beito are presently duking it out for that position. He said they both have the leg for the job, but that consistency is the key, and he cares more about someone being nails from 40 yards and in than someone being able to hit from 45 yards plus.. Fall camp will apparently decide this battle.
There were a number of players in attendance, most of them wearing jerseys with just a number and no name on the back. Didn't see Goff, and no players spoke. One player who wore a jersey with a name on it was CB Darius White. He certainly looks athletic, but who knows? I got to meet James Looney, who looked every bit of 6-3 275. He has some serious guns.
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