Cal was back on the field Tuesday for its 11th day of practice in training camp. The Bears were given the day off Monday after the first scrimmage of camp took place Sunday. There was a renewed energy about Day 11 that really showed itself early, I thought. It is getting to the point in camp where some decisions will have to soon be made, and there are several spots where the pecking order still needs to be solidified.
These next few practices will ultimately tell a lot about how this year's team is going to come together, but there was still some more movement on Day 11 with the staff continuing to try and find the right pieces for a successful season.
Here is an overview of what stood out during Tuesday's work for the Bears on a day when the team went with a 10-period practice (fewer than most of the other days).
Practice 11 notes and observations
- There was some positive injury news for the Bears on Day 11 as defensive lineman Ricky Correia and freshman defensive back Dayday Aupiu were able to get back on the field. Correia has been banged up for a few days but suited up and went through some of the drills with his teammates, Aupiu has been on the mend since early in camp, and he was able to get in some work with the secondary Tuesday.
- The offensive line continues to change shape as camp rolls on with Mike Bloesch looking for his right compliment of players to roll out with the first unit. The latest change that took place Tuesday was moving Bastian Swinney once again. The redshirt junior has become a Swiss Army Knife for Bloesch up front, and he was moved to right guard on Day 11. Swinney began camp as the left guard but was moved to center with the first unit pretty early in camp. Tuesday he lined up at right guard to go along with a corresponding move that pushed Coastal Carolina transfer Will McDonald inside to center.
Swinney also took a right tackle rep during Tuesday's practice, so he has technically now lined up at four of the five offensive line positions in camp. On appearance, McDonald looks like a center at just 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds, and his technical skill set certainly lends itself to being at the position. There were a couple snapping issues on Day 11, so it will be interesting to see if the alignment stays as it was Tuesday for the coming days or if Swinney ends up back at center.
- The quarterback battle has turned into a situation of "who wants it?" with Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers still not taking hold of the job up to this point. Both have had their moments throughout camp, but neither player has been impactful enough consistently enough to truly outshine the other. The issue in camp has been the inability to get into the end zone with any kind of regularity. Neither Mendoza nor Chandler led a touchdown drive during the two team periods on Tuesday. Both players have been good about moving the ball down the field and hitting on chunk plays, but getting the ball into the end zone has been lacking for most of camp.
CJ Harris, on the other hand, has not had that issue. He again accounted for both of the passing touchdowns for the offense on Day 11 with a 10-yard play to Nyziah Hunter to end the first team period. He later found Jordan King on an impressive play that resulted in a 40-yard score for the offense. Harris, who spent one drive with the first unit offense for the first time on Tuesday, has been the most consistent and productive quarterback in camp.
Mendoza had the biggest pass play of the day on a 67-yard connection with Kyion Grayes to open the second team period. That drive took the offense close the red zone but again it failed to score a touchdown. He also had a couple chunk plays during the 7-on-7 portion of practice with completions of 33 and 24 yards to Jonathan Brady and Mavin Anderson, respectively.
- Running back Byron Cardwell continues to make positive steps forward as he returns from his injury last year. It has been tough to gauge who will ultimately be the top backup to Jaydn Ott, but Cardwell has certainly positioned himself to be part of the conversation and could eventually win that role. Tuesday, he worked with the second unit and finished the day strong with an 18-yard touchdown late in the second team period. That was set up by a nice 15-yard run as Cardwell worked through some contact.
- The defense came up with several near interceptions on Day 11 as the secondary got back to its stingy ways Tuesday. It was unclear if it was actually credited as an interception (the ball ended up coming back) but Marcus Harris made an impressive play to haul in a deep pass from Rogers looking for Brady down the field. Harris had to really stretch to make the catch, and he hauled it in late during the first team period.
Cornerback Nohl Williams and defensive back Isaiah Crosby both came up with nice pass breakups during the early portion of practice. Williams' play came while working against Tobias Merriweather while Crosby worked against tight end Corey Dyches. Miles Williams also nearly came up with an interception working against Rogers during the second team period.
- The defensive front continues to be a focus in camp, and the group had a solid finish on Day 11. The highlight play came during the second team period when David Reese was jawing with the offense a bit and nearly got caught on a hard count before coming up with a sack of Mendoza. It got the defensive sideline going and was indicative of a lot of how the second half of the practice went before Cardwell's big touchdown. Crosby also came up with a sack on a safety blitz late in practice, and Peter Sirmon bringing pressure from the secondary has been pretty common throughout camp up to this point.
- Freshman EJ Caminong was used again late in practice as he has seen his reps go up in recent days. He was able to work during the last part of practice, and he had success once again. He didn't get the offense in the end zone, but he had a couple big chunk plays highlighted by a 30-yard connection to freshman tight end Camden Jones. Caminong also found freshman running back Jamaal Wiley for a 15-yard gain on a screen play to end practice. Wiley shined in that segment as well as he had a 33-yard run early in the drive.
Post-practice interviews
Practice 11 clips
Practice 11 photo gallery
GoldenBearReport - PHOTOS: Cal training camp 2024 (Day 11)
A collection of our top photos from Tuesday's practice at California Memorial Stadium.
cal.rivals.com
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